1) Choose what you
think to be a key scene in Richard Wagamese’s Indian Horse and explain why you think this scene is so important
and how it connects with the rest of the book in terms of character
development, plot and theme. (8-10 sentences)
I feel that the scene, which begins on page 198 of
Indian Horse, is a great indication of
the true literary value of this novel. Here, Saul, returning to St. Jerome’s
during his attempt at sobering up, stands beside the rink that he learned to
skate upon near the barn. Whilst he is standing there remembering and
contemplating, a memory, long repressed, strikes him hard. He remembers Father
Leboutilier, his original mentor in ice hockey, watching a Canadians game with
him in his quarters. Saul, only wanting love at the academy, thinks nothing of
the awkward situation that follows. He also chooses to also repress and ignore
the sexual abuse that follows, as the Father takes advantage of Saul’s deep
love and trust in him to exploit his own perverted desires. Once Saul realizes
his falsehood of a childhood, he flies into a rage. This scene really drives
some nails into the coffin of St. Jerome’s. We see that Father Leboutilier, who
we may have assumed to be the “wise old man” of most works of fiction, is in
reality a dark and sick character that used a boy’s love of a game to his
sexual advantage. This scene also takes a major place in the plot, as Saul,
after coming to terms with this point in his childhood, resolves to move on,
and does so. This dark and depressing scene really contributes to the overall
depressing plot of this novel, and does so exceptionally well.
2) Provide an excerpt from the scene that you copy directly and write in italics as
well as the page number in parenthesis. (3-5 sentences)
“‘You are a glory,
Saul.’ That’s what he always told me.
It’s what he whispered to me in the dim light of his quarters, what he
said to me those nights he snuck into the dormitory and put his head beneath
the covers. The words he used in the back of the barn when he slipped his
trousers down. That was the phrase that began the groping, the tugging, the
pulling and the sucking, and those were always the last words he said to me as
he left, arranging his priestly clothes. ‘You are a glory, Saul.’” (199)
3) Select 2-3 images that you include that you believe enhance the content of your post. Write one sentence for each image, explaining why you selected it.
I feel this image really conveys the issue of these pedophilia cases in the Catholic Church; soiling almost two thousand years of glorious history by dithering around and refusing to change anything in their nature.
This image conveys the setting of the realization; beside an old, weathered, hockey rink near a barn in the middle of the Canadian wilderness.
This image of Graham James goes to show that it isn't just in the Church that sexual abuse exists; Mr. James got away with it coaching junior leagues as well.
