Essay Example on Conflict in the Novel Indian Horse How would you Feel

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Conflict in the Novel Indian Horse How would you feel if you were not treated fairly just because you look different Racism is a big problem in the lives of the First Nations people It changed their lives forever and took away their culture It led many people to commit suicide or have drinking problems and these memories would stay with them forever The novel Indian Horse written by Richard Wagamese was about a boy from the Fish Clan of northern Ojibway who lost his family and was forced to attend a residential school Through the character of Saul Wagamese revealed how people overcome and deal with the conflicts that they are facing and how lives change through conflicts There were many conflicts that Saul faced in the novel The conflicts were related to the discrimination and racism towards the people who were not white The main type of conflict Saul faced was man versus society A lot of people did not respect the people of First Nations descent It could be seen in the novel when the Moose was trying to eat at a restaurant when they had beaten the Chiefs A man said Well you win a little hockey tournament and then you think you got the right to come in here and eat like white people and We don t eat with Indians Wagamese 133 Saul also faced conflict when he was playing for the Marlboros People laughed at him and called him names with no respect at all Just like when how a cartoon in one of the papers showed

Saul in a hockey helmet festooned with eagle feathers holding a war lance instead of a hockey stick 164 People called him Indian Whorses Horse Piss Stolen Pony 164 All of this happened just because Saul looked different The discrimination and racism the Saul faced were terrible and most white people did not even care or were not aware of it After Saul experienced the conflict of man vs society he hated his life He then struggled with the conflict of man vs self and started to use alcohol to relieve the pain and stress Saul would pass out listening to music or reading a book He would wake up early in the morning switch off the lights take a few more sips and fall back to sleep 181 He eventually consumed too much alcohol collapsed on a sidewalk of Winnipeg 190 and had to stay in the hospital He had no other way to relieve the pain he was experiencing inside himself until the social workers told him about New Dawn Centre 190 It was a centre that helps First Nations people recover After a while of visiting the centre Saul finally knew where he had to go to recover and eventually overcame the conflict with himself While Saul was experiencing conflict with himself he also slightly experienced the conflict of man vs man After he left the Marlboros he worked as a deadfall bucker 



A man named Jorgenson was trying to get Saul to get mad and they got into a fight Jorgenson stood up and swung a meaty fist at my face I blocked his punch with my forearm and reached out with my other hand and latched onto his throat I squeezed Hard I walked forward slowly with the man's throat in my hand wordlessly lifting and pushing and squeezing at the same time The big Swede clutched and grabbed and swatted at me but the pressure of my grip was so great he weakened and dropped to his knees red faced and gasping with his eyes bugging out As I let him drop to the floor I punched him in the head with everything I had and he crumpled onto the floor boards 175 Saul also had conflicts with other players when he was still playing hockey As Saul was skating back to the bench after his team scored a point he got slashed in the back of the knees by a Knights player and fell on the ice 164 Although Saul had conflicts with other people all of it was related to the conflicts he had with the society and himself After he fell on the ice the crowd howl and his teammates laughed 167 Even the people around him were making fun of him and it made him feel ashamed of his skin 164 and himself and had experienced man vs self conflict That's when he started to fight and have conflicts with other people and his life was changed forever

 Through the character of Saul Indian Horse the author Richard Wagamese showed how people overcome the conflicts they experienced and how it changed their lives All three types of conflict were used throughout the novel man vs society man vs self and man vs man Saul first started experiencing conflict with the society because he was Indian That lead him to have himself and experienced the conflict man vs self Then he could not handle it any longer because the conflicts with the society were getting worse He started to fight with others and experienced the conflict man vs self He tried drinking to relieve the pain he was feeling but he got addicted to it and ended up in the hospital The use of conflict in the novel helped us realize how racism and discrimination is still a big problem in the society today However it s much easier to seek help or find people to talk to now that it was back then It s also not as severe today as more people are aware of it Yet we should still use every opportunity to get help when we are dealing with these conflicts


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