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Chapter 49
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Indian Horse, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Family and Tradition
Cultural Genocide
Abuse and Trauma
Racism and Prejudice
Transcendence
Summary
Analysis
Saul catches the bus to Kenora, and then takes a taxi out to Minaki. Then, he rents a boat and takes it down the river, toward to Gods Lake.
After visiting one important place from his childhood (St. Jerome’s), Saul chooses to visit another, suggesting that he’s going to continue uncovering details about his tragic past.
Themes
That night, Saul camps by the side of the river. He remembers Father Leboutilier’s words, “You’re free,” and suddenly becomes angry. He realizes that Leboutilier was lying to him all along: hockey didn't free him at all. Furious, Saul picks up an axe he’s taken with him and begins to hit a nearby tree. He whacks the tree again and again; then, he drinks heavily and falls asleep.
Saul comes to despise Father Leboutilier, remembering him now as a manipulative rapist rather than a loving father figure. Furthermore, the passage shows that Saul has, in some ways, been driven to alcoholism and hatred out of a desire to suppress the painful reality of Leboutilier’s abuse rather than confronting it. Like so many victims of child abuse, Saul grows into an adult who has a hard time dealing with his pain and recognizing his own worth.
Themes
