English 11

Fishbowl Notes on Discrimination (Note: XXXX indicates no cited page number for a quotation)

• White people thought it was “their game” XXXX
• Throughout the book, Saul is an outsider.  Even his size makes him different.  The crowd mocks him as a “mascot”XXXX.  [, the Toronto team made him feel as though he didn’t exist although his “teammates never call [him] chief”XXXX.
• Racism is shown in the diner scene in Chapter 38.
• “We’re skins.  We crossed a line.  [They think that gives them the right] to make us pay. (p.136)
• After being ejected from the White River team, Saul says to Father Leboutilier, “It’s because I’m Indian”.   Father L. agrees with Saul. (p.91).
• The Toronto hockey players treat Saul differently, too.  Not part of the team.  Quote on page 174 about Saul being called “more insulting names” (by fans or teammates, I’m not sure).
• Hockey wasn’t Saul’s problem, it followed him to the logging camp.  Each time he worked hard, the other loggers got to him.
• There is a link between discrimination and alcohol.  Discrimination ruins everything in Saul’s life.
• Saul needs hockey to survive, but it’s killing him.
• White people drink too…is Saul’s escape into alcoholism because of his desire to assimilate or because of his desire to escape the circumstances of his life?
• The Residential Schools Act of 1876 used mistreatment and punishment to end a culture.  The act was rooted in racism.  Racism destroys FN (First Nations) culture.  For Saul, Hockey is ruined, his education is ruined, his ability to find love and friendship is ruined.  The resulting sadness causes him to turn to alcohol.
• Saul has suffered both physical and mental violence.
• When Saul played in White River, the he was prevented from playing the game.  The game was cancelled just for him.
• Violence and racism also go together.  Saul and other FN children suffered from violence from teachers and white society. Saul was a perfect victim of violence because of the racist Canadian culture in which he lived.
• Saul finally brings that violence to the ice, but he is not happy.
• Symbols of racism in the novel:
• Residential school, abuse, hockey (there is a lot of physical contact…Saul is small and is seen as a target), alcohol.
• Through hockey, Saul can tell his story in a different way.

Fishbowl Notes on Aspirations and Dreams

• Hockey is a symbol of Saul’s aspirations and dreams.
• Hockey keeps him on track and when he loses it, he becomes an alcoholic.
• The game inspires his whole team, not just Saul.  When Saul is offered a chance to play in Toronto, all the Moose want him to play for them.  See quote on page 153.  Saul carries their dreams too.
• Hockey also give Saul the inspiration to find community and family.  (p. 90)  “Nobody wins alone” (p. 178)
• Hockey was important because it was important for Saul to find something that he could be a part of.  Chapter 18 shows that Saul is participating in something that is important.
• Saul’s hockey dreams being even before he plays on the St. Jerome’s team.  It begins when he is cleaning the ice and only has the promise of playing when he gets older.  Hockey gives him hope and happiness.(p.57???). 
• Father L. says to Saul, “You will love it” when he introduces him to hockey. (p.57???)
• Hockey keeps Saul and his teammates going, “We came together every weekend…our dreams came to life [on the ice]”(p.113). 
• Saul’s dreams never die in this book.  They change.  His hockey dreams may seem to die, but at the end of the novel, he does still have dreams of being part of a community/a family.
• When Saul played on white teams, there was no community or family for him.  “They think it’s their game” (Ch. 31)
• As the book progresses, Saul’s dreams become less clear. 
• He seems to lose his dreams after leaving Toronto.  Erv Sift says to Saul on page 185, “Saul, you ever pine for anything else?”
• He turns to alcohol and forgets his dreams.
• Discrimination is related to dreams.
• Hockey keeps him alive and when it is gone, he doesn’t know how to live without it.
• The scout, tries to persuade Saul to come to Toronto in Chapter 35.  There, the harder the players are on Saul, the harder he works. (p. 174).
• In the end, Saul returns to Manitouwadge as it is the only place “something was possible for me” p. 210.  It was the place he could try to attain his dreams.

Fishbowl Notes on Identity

• Quote on page 81, “When your innocence is stripped…[you are seen as] less than human…[this is what they] inflicted on us.”
• Kids were taught that they were wrong in the residential school.
• Quote on pages 45-46, “He is unbaptized and unclean…your heavenly father [is your father now]…your [other father has nothing to offer you anymore].
• The sisters removed the children’s culture and this is the starting point of Saul losing his identity.
• The quote on page 48 about how Saul copes by becoming small and how he can “collapse the space” around him speaks to how the school is affecting his identity.
• Your identity is that which allows you to be special, unique, and different.  The residential schools forced these children to assimilate and lose what made them unique and special.  
• The symbolic action of Saul being grabbed away from his dead grandmother’s arms shows how Saul is losing his identity.
• Saul was not allowed to play on the White River team after parents complained about him getting too much ice time.
• The school took away his language and First Nations identity in an attempt to assimilate him, but white society still saw him as different, alien, not one of them.
• “They’d never hear me cry alone” (p. 55).
• School took away Saul’s identity, but hockey gave him a new one.  Then, he lost it again.
• On page 48, readers see Saul struggle with his identity.  The teachers see him as First Nations, but the children see him as Zauhnagush (check the spelling of this term—I know I’ve misspelled it).  The teachers disrespect him for speaking Ojibway and the children disrespect him for speaking English.
• Drinking is a possible consequence of losing one’s identity.
• When you don’t know who you are, you become confused and look for a way to escape (alcohol)
• Saul’s identity problems begin in the bush with his family.  He is torn before he even arrives at the school (torn between Naomi and his parents).
• At the start of the book, his culture is very present in the story…legends…how his family got its name…there is not much of that at the end…the culture doesn’t seem to be so prevalent.
• Father L’s touch reminds Saul of Naomi’s loving touch.
• The school changed the children’s thinking about themselves…it obliterated the children’s identity.
• The scene where the children catch fish is a good example of what the school does to the children’s identity.  Saul spends his life trying to recover/recapture it.
• Chapter 48, page 192….Saul has a vision of his grandfather.  His identity had been buried for decades, now as a mature man, it can be realized again.
• Identity can affect dreams...dreams can affect identity