This is aboout analysis on All the pretty Horses, the significance of the title itself

Essay by jacporkUniversity, Bachelor's January 2004

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The title of Cormac McCarthy's novel - All the Pretty Horses, reflects the significance and variance of roles that horses play in this coming-of-age story, as they relate to John Grady Cole who is the focus of the novel. The horse, which was the social foundation of Western American culture then, is described as an economical and practical asset to the boys - John Grady and Lacey Rawlins. However, the author also describes horses' abstract qualities using idyllic and impassioned diction, depicting them as animals of a highly advanced spiritual nature, similar to humans in some ways. John Grady has an intimate relationship with all horses and understands the world of horses extraordinarily well. On his journey from Texas to Mexico, he learns that the world of men is very different from that of horses and is forced to rethink about the relationship between humans and horses. John discovers that his preconceived notions about men and human society are false.

He finds that they do not live in a romantic world, as he had believed. Therefore, the title that McCarthy has chosen is ironic and symbolizes the change that John experiences. The author uses the title to represent John's initial perspective on the world, which turns out to be the opposite later on.

John's life, like all of Western American society during the timeframe of the story, revolved around horses. In fact, I think that he is able to understand the horses more than he does about men. The horses in the novel represent strength, untamed passion, and most importantly, freedom of spirit. The veneration that the vaqueros have for horses is apparent in the tales Luis tells the boys. "... the old man only said that it was pointless to speak of there being no horses in...