“I read once that there are holes in the universe that swallow all light, all bodies. St. Jerome’s took all the light from my world”
This quote really brings us into the mind of Saul. It shows how traumatizing this school is to Saul mentally and that Saul is completely aware about what’s going on around him, as majority of kids are. When Saul mentions all light being swallowed he is referring to his hopes, spirit and aspirations being taken away from him by St. Jerome’s. It locks him up and takes him away from the outside world taking all of his hopes and dreams with him into a dark hole rid of good emotion. A place that is governed by fear, and fear alone. There aren’t any positive goals or motivation left, they have been swallowed up by St. Jerome’s. Now about the bodies. Bodies are referring to the students that couldn’t make it through the torture that is called St. Jerome’s Residential School. This quote has tons of deep meaning and very bold imagery. I can picture a massive black hole that is brutally swallowing everything in our solar system, specifically, the earth collapsing while bright rays of light shine out from the broken shards that are the earth’s outer crust. I think the fact that these two sentences simple sentences can build so much beautiful imagery and open so many possibilities for creative thinking is amazing, and helps me to respect Richard Wagamese even more.
