Who Helped Saul In Indian Horse?

A kindly farmer who befriends Saul Indian Horse and offers him work and lodgings. Ervin takes a strong liking to Saul and eventually becomes a kind of father figure, whom Saul leaves suddenly one night in a drunken stupor.

Who takes in Saul in Indian Horse?

In 1966, when Saul is thirteen, he is invited by Fred Kelly to live with his Ojibway family in Manitouwadge and play for the Manitouwadge Moose junior hockey team (nicknamed “the Moose”), coached by Fred and captained by their son Virgil.

How did Virgil help Saul Indian Horse?

Virgil furnishes Saul with the unequivocal love, guidance and solace of a brother. In addition, Virgil also portrays his positive influence on the protagonist as he frequently put his shoes in those of Sauls. After hockey practice, Saul and Virgil sit on the bleachers and talk.

How does the priest help Saul Indian Horse?

Leboutilier teaches Saul how to play hockey, and gives him endless encouragement and love. Without Leboutilier, Saul leads readers to believe, Saul would never have developed his skills as a hockey player, and would have continued living at St. Jerome’s in utter misery.

What happens to Saul in Indian Horse?

Though Saul vows never to be caught, he is eventually seized by local authorities and sent to St. Jerome’s Indian Residential School in Ontario. There, he bears witness to the abuse, assault and dehumanization inflicted upon First Nations children in the name of “assimilation” and religious conversion.

Who is the true hero in Indian Horse?

Saul Indian Horse
Its hero is Saul Indian Horse, a resilient Ojibway boy who becomes a self-made star on the hockey rink while enduring abuse by priests and nuns at his residential school.

Did Saul get adopted in Indian Horse?

At school, however, he becomes a talented hockey player, and is adopted by an Indigenous Canadian man who sees potential in Saul. For a time it appears that hockey will provide Saul with a path to a better, happier life.

Why is Saul a hero in Indian Horse?

Saul shows resilience in many areas of his life. One example is when he loses his entire family and is placed in a residential school but can withstand all his misery to find a new identity while playing hockey.

What did Naomi do for Saul?

The grandmother of Saul Indian Horse, Naomi is, in many ways, the key maternal figure in Saul’s life. A strong and sensitive woman, Naomi takes care of Saul by telling him stories, keeping him warm, and reassuring him that everything is going to be all right, even when it seems otherwise.

How did hockey help Saul?

Saul uses hockey as a major escape route and as he plays hockey he stops being reserved and becomes livelier. Hockey helps him forget about his problems. For instance, he said that the game kept him from remembering; that as long as he could escape into it, he could fly away (Wagamese 199).

How do the Kellys help Saul?

For Saul, the Kelly’s were a substitute for the family he had lost.. When Saul had no father of his own, Fred Kelly reached out to him and saved him from the chaos known as St. Jerome’s.

What happened to Saul Indian Horse parents?

Saul’s parents disappear into an alcoholic, nomadic existence in Northern Ontario mining and mill towns, leaving their remaining boy with his grandmother in the bush, a short-lived idyll that ends when the old woman freezes to death and Saul is sent to St. Jerome’s.

Where did Sauls parents go Indian Horse?

Benjamin would later escape, but his return is tainted by illness, which Saul later learns was tuberculosis. On the advice of Saul’s grandmother and family matriarch, Naomi, the family moves further into the bush to Gods Lake.

How is Saul a tragic hero?

Among Old Testament narratives, the life of King Saul stands out in its tragedy. Saul’s life consists of a series of situations and decisions that, because of his character, cause his own death, the deaths of his loved ones, and the destruction of all his hopes.

Why is family important to Saul?

Family and tradition play an important role in Saul’s coming-of-age. They give him a sense of higher purpose and remind him that he’s not alone in the world—that, on the contrary, he’s connected to his family members, both living and dead.

What gift does Saul have in Indian Horse?

Hockey
Saul is a seer, a gift he inherited from his great-grandfather, a skill that his beloved Ojibway grandma recognizes in the boy. Hockey, as Saul lives it in the first half of the book, is not a sport; instead, it is an embodiment of the same sort of life force that moves through the universe.

Why did they cut Sauls hair in Indian Horse?

This removal of hair parallels a common humiliation and dehumanizing tactic, such as the Nazis shaving the heads of prisoners in concentration camps. The scene where Saul’s long hair is cut off is a real moment for the actor, Sladen Peltier, who plays Saul.

What did Naomi do for Saul?

The grandmother of Saul Indian Horse, Naomi is, in many ways, the key maternal figure in Saul’s life. A strong and sensitive woman, Naomi takes care of Saul by telling him stories, keeping him warm, and reassuring him that everything is going to be all right, even when it seems otherwise.

Where do Sauls parents go in Indian Horse?

Saul’s parents disappear into an alcoholic, nomadic existence in Northern Ontario mining and mill towns, leaving their remaining boy with his grandmother in the bush, a short-lived idyll that ends when the old woman freezes to death and Saul is sent to St. Jerome’s.

How does Saul end up in the hospital?

Saul tries to stop drinking entirely. He winds up getting seizures—a symptom of withdrawal—and has to go to the hospital. In the hospital, he experiences vivid hallucinations, and is unable to eat any solid food for seven days.