Scout Finch Struggles

Strength in Struggles

Unfortunate circumstances form children into adults. Scout Finch, an adventurous tomboy from the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, and Saul Indian Horse, a native boy from Richard Wagamese’s novel Indian Horse, both prove that to overcome challenges you must have faith, resilience, and courage; Scout uses challenges to learn but Saul triumphs as he uses his past experiences to mature and develop a new sense of self. For instance, Saul’s superior growth can be proven as he went through hardship early in life. These hardships led to gained courage. His loss of all sense of familiarity caused him to fill the void in his heart which was once overwhelmed with love and kindness. He was lost. He was forced to discover
His thoughts on the school and Christian religion can be seen when he states, “We lived under constant threat. If it wasn’t the direct physical threat of beatings, the Iron Sister, or vanishing, it was the dire threat of purgatory, hell and the everlasting agony their religion promised for the unclean, heathen, the unsaved” (Wagamese 80). Saul must instead turn to his Indian heritage when he feels his faith is threatened. The school challenges Saul. It makes him different. The priests and nuns at St. Jerome's go to extreme lengths to ensure that Indian beliefs are scorched, like paper easily thrown in a crackling fire. Despite their efforts, Saul left the school holding onto his heritage as it was the one thing that truly made sense to him. Equally, Scout is made witness to a society that judges individuals based something so insignificant. Unlike Saul, she is a bystander. The young girl does not contribute to the harsh words thrown at blacks, but does not stop them. She does not fall victim to the words or actions but feels the effects. Surprisingly, these effects cause Scout to have faith in her community and family. She turns to them for guidance as it is the only thing she knows how to do; no
The light of faith is often bleak and goes unnoticed. Both characters take situations that are less favourable and pull the ultimate lesson of faith out of them. Although Scout does this well, Saul again surpasses and takes the larger lesson which is that faith forms maturity no matter the age. Finally, both characters show a resilience that is tested by the environment and people around them. Saul’s resilience is evident towards the end of the novel as he refuses to accept the taunts and harsh words thrown at him by the opposing hockey teams. Hockey is Saul’s life. It gives him purpose and allows him to escape from the staring eyes of people around him. His resilience is challenged to a greater length when he is scouted by the Toronto Marlboros. This team looked beyond the exterior barrier of skin, and saw Saul for who he really is; a great hockey player. When he finally accepted their offer and moved to Toronto, Saul began to feel a whole new level of stress and judgement. Instead of being commended for the great hockey player that he really is, once again, his native American ethnicity came first and makes local headlines. After name calling and loss of love for the sport, Saul decides to head back to the Kelly’s in