Indian Horse By Richard Wagamese Character Analysis

Residential schools are one of the darkest parts of Canadian history. The schools were run by the Catholic Church and its main goal was to assimilate the Native American. The students in the schools were emotionally, physically and sexually abused by the nuns and priests. Many characters in the novel Indian Horse, written by Richard Wagamese, were survivors of the schools. They have been heavily influenced by the residential schools, even long after they left. The residential schools would take away the kids so young that parents would lose all capability to care for their children once they returned home. Many Aboriginals would end up using alcohol as their coping mechanism, constantly remaining in a drunken state. Since those at the schools

Some would be as young as six years old when taken away, which is exactly what happened to Saul’s older sister, Rachel. Saul’s mother fell into a deep depression once she found out that her son, Benjamin, was taken too: “[Saul’s] mother collapsed [...] no one could move her. She [laid] there for days.” She had lost not only one but two of her children. She was no longer a student in the residential schools however; the school was still able to victimize her all over again. Saul’s mother became traumatized; she started to repeat “the school” over and over again. His mother became so blinded with sadness and grief that she would neglect her remaining son. Saul described his mother as someone who “ceased to exist in the outside world.” How could she care for her son when she has allowed for a blanket of sadness to wrap around her. Benjamin was able to escape the residential school and found his way back to his family. However, Benjamin did not come back home alone, he brought tuberculosis. A disease that the parents knew very well, since many people in the residential schools would die by it. Once Benjamin started to show signs of the disease, “the grown-ups [shrunk] back a step, fear on their faces.” Nobody was there to help Benjamin, expect his grandmother. Saul’s grandma was the only one among them who did not go to the residential school, which allowed for her to maintain her maternal nurturing. She was able to help him stop the coughing and help him gain his breathe. She “cradled [Benjamin] back against her bosom and cradled [Benjamin’s] head,” she did everything a mother would do. Saul’s parents did nothing to help ease Benjamin’s pain or reassure him that everything thing will be alright, all they did was keep their distance and their mouths shut. Once Saul’s mother noticed the symptoms Benjamin had, she “retreated into her woe again,” a clear indication of the fear she has of the disease she had seen