Father Laboutiller And Saul's Relationship

Saul is the main character in this novel, and he is also the narrator. Saul is important because he is a positive and reassuring figure who represents strength, power, and will. There are many things that we, the readers can learn from him.
Throughout the book, Saul had a very close relationship with Father Laboutiller, he was the one who introduced Saul and the “Indian boys” to the game of hockey. In my opinion Chapter 15 was one of the most pivotal chapters in the book, it was the time Father Laboutiller and Saul first spoke with each other. Saul was sitting on the steps when Father L approached him and asked if he ever played hockey; Saul reluctantly replied saying no and that he doesn’t like games. In the book Saul says that Father Laboutiller “reached out and rubbed [his] hair […] 'we need to get you outside to watch. I guarantee you'll love it.' [he said]”(Wagamese, 57). This is a very intimate moment in the story and it not only was the start of something amazing; but, it showed a true connection and a 'meaningful' relationship. Their

relationship was a roller coaster filled with ups and downs through the book, but whether there was love, or hate, or abuse Saul and Father Laboutiller were always connected in someway.
One of the greatest strengths of Saul is his personality, Saul is a strong courageous and powerful boy. He was thrown into a different world where he was surrounded by abuse, assault, torture, and craziness. Well Saul was surrounded by this inappropriate and negative atmosphere, he stayed strong and followed what he loved. He didn't let this stop him from following his dream of playing hockey. I think that Saul is an inspiring character and shows the true power comes from the mind. He was able to play hockey even when he wasn't allowed to, I find this so inspiring because he did something that he was not able to do yet and he proved father Laboutiller and the other boys wrong. Also the situation with the white boys they told him he was not good enough and he prove them wrong by winning."They kept at me the whole game, and when it was overI was covered in welts and bruises. And we lost. That hurt far more. I sat in the dressing room holding ice to the most painful areas. ' tough guys,' Virgil said. ' We could have won,' I said." (Wagamese, 142). I feel that this is a very important quotation and it truly reflects Saul's personality and his determination. He is saying that despite his immense physical pain, his dedication and devotion to winning made him hurt more. This is a strong sentence and it shows the goodness in him, also his persistence, he was vey confident to say that they could have won the game; he wasn’t going to give up. It is so amazing how we ended up learning and make something positive out of the negative cruel and harmful atmosphere that he was in-that the residential schools were.
I would say that a weakness Saul has is also his persistence, I don't want to sound redundant; but, it can be a good and a bad thing.

In retrospect, his 'rebellious' actions and persistent attitude could have been very harmful and he possibly could have got in a lot of trouble. He was given the duty of shoveling the snow on the hockey rink, and he decided to 'practice' playing the game; despite him not being allowed to, he says “I began to stash a hockey stick in the snow beside the boards. Once I'd made sure no one was around, I'd dig it out and run to the barn for a handful of frozen horse turds I'd bury beside the door […] Canada do.” (Wagamese, 61). Once Saul was introduced to this game he was so driven to play for himself; realistically any reaction could have came from him doing this, he could have been beaten and yelled at. Unfortunately his persistence attitude could be bad for him and his safety in many

situations.
Without a doubt one of major events in Saul's life was losing his grandmother, there is something more than just losing a relative, there is a symbolism and it lead on the rest of the story. When Saul lost his grandma it was a symbol for him being on his own, he lost his protection. When he lost his grandma he was alone and he was sent to the residential school; if she had not died than he probably would not have be sent there and the rest of the novel would have been very different. He also would not have met father Laboutiller and would not have found about about hockey which can be argue to be a good or a bad thing. Grandma was so worried about protecting Saul that she sacrificed her own life, “ instead she was gone. Frozen to death saving me, and I was cast adrift on a strange new river.”(Wagamese, 42) This is a very meaningful sentence, it is the end of chapter 10 and I think the direct meaning is so superficial. I think that this is an allusion to Saul's future, he doesn't have his protection anymore, and he has a whole bunch of new experiences ahead of him- its a new beginning. It also shows that the grandma died protecting Saul, and she was protecting him right up until her death; this is really special and powerful. So, having said all of that I would argue that this was one of the biggest defining moments of Saul's life.
There are many questions that I would have for Saul; however one of the ones I would want to ask him first is , “do you think your life would be different if you were not introduced to hockey? And how did it help you cope with what was going on around him?”
I chose to draw a little images that is full of symbolism for Saul, my vision for it (whether or not it comes across that way) was a 'dual image' It is a hockey stick and puck, as well as a flexing muscle and fist. My idea was for the fist and muscle to be an illusion (ie. Skate marks on the ice) and from the angle the symbol was drawn from it looks like a fist. The hockey stick and puck clearly represent his love and passion for hockey; however the puck has a peace sign to show his childish innocence. The muscles and fist represent his strength an determination throughout the novel.