Role of Family in Indian Horse (Essay Sample)

Student’s Name Professor’s Name Course Date Outline 1 Introduction This section introduces the book ‘Indian Horse’ by Richard Wagamese giving a brief introduction of the topic family. Thesis Statement: The articles will extricate the role of the family in Indian Horse because family is considered important in the social structure and foundation. 2 Body Paragraphs 2 This section introduces the life of Saul away from his biological family and being taken to St Jerome Residential School. It also explains how Saul was assimilated into the Kelly family and what transpired there. This section also covers the bond Saul had with Virgil Kelly. All these stories are introduced to show the aspect of the family. Paragraph 3 The paragraph covers the rituals and traditions of Ojibway culture and how they played a significant role in the family theme. This section shows the community brought together by tradition to become one family. Paragraph 4 This section examines the relationship Saul had as a hockey player. The most significant team that showed a familial bond with Saul was the Moose team. The Moose team acknowledged, welcomed, and fought for Saul making him part of the Moose family. 3 Conclusion The conclusion restates the thesis statement, summarizes and recapitulates the prevalent role of the family in the novel Indian Horse. Each account discussed demonstrated the role family plays in Saul's life. Role of Family in Indian Horse Richard Wagamese is the novel "Indian Horse" uses the first-person retrospective to tell the story of Saul an Ojibway Indian Residential School survivor. The novel gives Saul's personal history as well as unfolding accounts. The title of the Novel is borrowed from the Protagonist Saul Indian Horse's family name which indefectibly shows that family is one of the novel's central themes. Saul is a member of an indigenous Canadian tribe called the Fish Clan that has a great influence on his life. Wagamese narrates mutilating events Saul has braved through since his childhood. Saul was raised in a family that had strong principles and believed in their tradition moreover they encountered many incidents that instilled prejudice and racism. The articles will extricate the role of the family in Indian Horse because family is considered important in the social structure and foundation. Richard Wagemese utilized the concept of family to show the importance of relationship involving Saul's advantages and disadvantages particularly how the family helped support him to defeat his past. The values they hold as a family creates power because the bond they have formed helps them get through these struggles. After he was taken to St. Jerome, Saul never really got to see his family furthermore they never fell back to them. Being taken away from his family to St Jerome Residential School, Saul was denied his biological family and had no one to open up to or depend on in case of the underlying challenges and problems (Miroux 198). Saul was later assimilated into the Kelly family which sheltered him from fallback. Kelly's family treated Saul like family giving him respect together with love. The aspect of family strength is shown when Saul is assimilated into Kelly's family. The strength of the family is also visible when Saul visits Gods Lake where he sees a vision of his family coming to greet him. Virgil Kelly who was not related to Saul biologically played a major role in his life. Being related by adoption never separated them from helping fight for each other. Virgil became a true brother to Saul. Saul states, "Virgil sat up late with me and helped me with my lessons. He taught me how to understand school…. Virgil was my greatest ally" (Wagamese 114). Virgil welcomed Saul first encouraging him to get better with his exercise, weight, and practice. He also convinced Saul to play professional hockey at a higher level (Lewyn 109). Virgil told Saul that “You can come back anytime” (Wagamese 156) an indication that he can take him back regardless of the situation and state he is in. What Virgil did for Saul was an indication of the family which played an important role in his life demonstrating a great example of the power and strength of family. Saul says that "our individuals have rituals and traditions intended to bring us visions: the loss of that gift is my very best sorrow" (Wagemese, 3). The seers in Ojibway culture are extremely respected because of the viewing vision (Lewyn 96). Saul uses the words "our people" to develop the theme of family particularly its values when considering the shared traditions. This an indication that the people of Ojibway think about one another like family. Naomi indicates that "this country of rice was your place all of us found” (Wagemese 28). This was to inform the youths that their land inherited from ancestors was about the grain. The Ojibway people traditionally took rice as a symbol of importance to their economic life. The word "Sacred" has been used by Naomi to also show the importance of tradition. Holy meant the worship of a deity. In Ojibway rice had developed their religious beliefs and background. The rice service performance by Saul and his brother reveals the importance of family customs. This is indeed important because the family has the capability to acquire because of religious traditions. Saul in the novel indicates the roles of each individual within the community does for the ceremony. This is truly a representation of togetherness as well as intimacy where people are working together in the community because of the important function of commemorating their custom. After living school, Saul decided to join hockey but people at the stand were not welcoming. This gave him the perception that the audience was not trustworthy at the same time the first team was not nice to him. The turning point came when he joined the Moose. It was here that he would create a strong relationship with the players together with the audience. Miroux (204) states that “Being part of a team helps him foster a feeling of belonging he had not experienced” They became family to him because he would count on them for friendship and support. Even though they were not related biologically...