The theme of duality and dichotomy is present almost constantly in the novel Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese. Although there are multiple possible identities between the two worlds, the most important would be the difference between indigenous and European culture. This division is present in the personal development of the protagonist (Saul Indian Horse) and is the origin of the main conflicts of the plot. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay To begin with, the disagreement between the two worlds is one of the main causes of conflict in the novel. More specifically, the conflict between these two worlds is an effort by one world to eradicate and suppress another, and the effects of this shape the plot of the story. The residential schools that Ojibway children were forced to attend bear witness to this. Sister Ignacia (a nun at the boarding school) explicitly explains that indigenous culture had to be eliminated. “At St. Jerome we strive to remove the Indians from our children so that the blessings of the Lord may be manifested upon them. » This conflict is further heightened by the way Saul and several supporting characters (also indigenous) are attacked for their race later in the story. After Saul's hockey team (the Moose) is attacked behind a bar and urinated on, he talks with a member of the team (Virgil Kelly) about why they were attacked. Virgil explains that the team "crossed a line" by being in the same restaurant as white people, saying that "White people think they have the right to charge the Moose for this." » Virgil's explanation of racism and xenophobia is a key moment in the story, highlighting the injustice faced by indigenous people. The strong influence of the disparity between two worlds drives the story, always present in Saul Indian Horse, the protagonist, who is impacted by the relationship between these two worlds. It changes often throughout the story, changes brought on by the aforementioned conflict. His family and friends often experience emotional turmoil due to this cultural divide. This is established when her grandmother and her parents argue over religious differences and her parents have strong opinions about the divide between cultures. “ “He would have said that all the gods are one. » "She won't hear that." “This conflict in such a personal area, and similar conflicts between European and indigenous cultures, causes Saul to withdraw from others, fearing further hostility. When these hostilities are rooted in identity prejudices, Saul, who possesses aspects of both cultures, experiences reactions ranging from alienation to animosity from both worlds. “At St. Germs, the kids called me Zhaunagush because I could speak and read English. » “Then Saul and the Moose ended up in the black heartland of northern Ontario in the 1960s and we were hated. Hated. » There is hatred between these two cultures, and there is little or no common ground. As previously stated, this causes him to feel very lost and emotionally disconnected, a huge character change. Saul dissociates himself from his identity to “get rid of” the two worlds present within him, in the hope that this would avoid conflict. “It would never stop, would never change, as long as that school stood in its place atop that ridge, as long as they continued to take Indian children out of the bush and out of the arms of their people. So I withdrew. That's how I survived. Alone. When tears threatened to spill outme at night, I swore they would never hear me cry. I felt bad in solitude. What I showed them was a quiet, withdrawn boy, devoid of feelings. » Saul was sent to some of the worst times of his life at residential school. The boarding school, however, did not cause any mental changes in Saul's character. As he interacts more with the world, he connects more with other Ojibway and experiences more harassment from white people. Another crucial moment of character development - Saul gets angry and loses his (spiritual) sight, is due to the accumulation of all the racism and violence he has faced due to the antagonism between the two worlds. As explained previously, some of this antagonism comes from the boarding school and other teams, but some of it comes from the bush camp where he worked during his first job. He describes this by saying, “When I came out, I took the intensity of the bush camp with me,” and becomes prone to anger. After facing so much aggression and violence, Saul becomes jaded and vengeful, rejecting that same aggression and violence. There is “no joy in the game now, no vision” for Saul. He ends up losing contact with many of his loved ones and becomes lonely again. After so many changes in the protagonist in the world he was born into, caused by the world he was pushed into; Saul ends up feeling empty and damaged. His character faces a tremendous amount of pain and change. At the worst time of his life, he was beaten to the point where he indiscriminately lashed out at everyone for what people had done to him. However, Wagamese's goal in writing Indian Horse was not to write a book about rage and rage alone. The distance between two worlds and the hatred it aroused in the protagonist are not present only to tell how tragic it is. The actions against Saul and the other Ojibway characters might be unjust, but the reactions analyzed previously (repressing emotions, hurting everyone) were shown by the author to be a poor response to the adversity they faced from the part of “the other world”. The final development in Saul is how he learns to heal from what the world has done to him. He and his people were “not responsible for what happened to them.” After all the hatred of European culture, it's easy to see how much the Ojibway characters and Saul wanted retaliation. In fact, Virgil asks Saul if he wants him to hurt the people who hurt him. “'You wanted me to track down that bastard? Make him feel some of the same pain? » To this question, Saul refuses the offer. It is likely that Saul understands what anger can bring, because he had acted on anger before and ended up pushing everyone away and hurting people he didn't want. it was more than him. I would hunt for a long time if I went after everyone. In the end, I learned that the only one I could get rid of was me. » Saul knows that the problem of one world's oppression over another is not limited to him and those close to him. He also knows that revenge often ends up triggering more revenge, creating a never-ending cycle. After everything that's happened, he knows his own anger needs to be dealt with first. The key word in the term two worlds is “worlds”. Saul's depression occurs because he tries to act on his own, in his rage. He is too troubled to attempt this, and many others are too. The big conclusion is about how the protagonist recovers from the pain, from the hatred. Saul himself declares this, saying that there are "better ways than to flee,.”