Characterisations

The main character in the short story “The Hockey Sweater” by Roch Carrier is the protagonist, the ten-year-old boy. Other characters who are very important are the mother and the vicar, as they both are important symbols in the story. Characters who are only named are the players in the boy’s hockey team.

In what follows, we will present you the traits of:

The protagonist

The protagonist of the short story is a ten-year-old boy. He is not given a name, but, knowing that the story is based on Roch Carrier’s experience, we can assume that he is a persona of the author.

The protagonist is clearly passionate about hockey. For him, the skating rink is the only place where he feels comfortable: “Real battles were won on the skating-rink. Real strength appeared on the skating-rink.” (p. 276, ll. 3-5)

Instead of being concerned with school and studying, the boy spends his time at school coming up with creative tactics for the game. He does not even feel a connection to church; instead of praying to God for health or happiness, he only prays for talent like Maurice Richard’s. In fact, we are told by the narrator that the same goes for the boy’s teammates. They all seem to be more interested in ...