Irony in All the Pretty Horses Essay

In an enticingly realistic novel, contemporary western writer Cormac McCarthy tells the coming-of-age story of a young John Grady Cole whose life begins and, in a sense, ends in rustic San Angelo. Page by page, McCarthy sends his protagonist character creation on a Mexican adventure, complete with barriers, brawls, and beauties. The events which bring about John Grady’s adventure and the reasons behind his decision to flight familiarity are the most intriguing aspects of the novel. Through an examination of the text, readers can determine that John Grady Cole’s hellish plunge from his position of grace on his grandfather’s ranch in Cormac McCarthy’s All the Pretty Horses is a

The end of John Grady Cole’s life in Texas spurs a new life in Mexico. At the death of his grandfather’s life, all that John Grady has known is taken away from him. His mother’s decision to sell his grandfather’s property and his father’s willingness to let her do it puts John Grady in a place where he no longer knows where he stands. Accompanied by his best friend Lacey Rawlins, the two run off to Mexico to create a new life with the horses. The unexpected company of Jimmy Blevins turns their smooth journey into one that makes sixteen-year-old John Grady Cole into a man. Throughout All the Pretty Horses, Cormac McCarthy writes John’s coming of age transition, or Bildungsroman, as shown by the archetypes and blood motif and parallel structure.

In his journey across the landscape of Mexico, John’s character in the novel begins to transform. He is beginning to move away from that boyish and naive kind of behavior and more towards the middle stage of between being a boy and a man; adolescence. McCarthy spends a great deal in describing John’s adolescent’s stage in this novel. Much of the time that McCarthy describes in this stage is when they are out on the prairie with the horses connecting with nature. This connection allows John to have and a clearer understanding that there is a divine line between men and horses and that you can’t apply the same characteristics that you would apply to a horse to a man.

It represents life, spirit, and soul. John Grady's connection to the horses is representative of this. The blood and sweat he shares with Redbo on his journey, the connection he feels with his horse. John Grady is shown to be the Jesus figure in the novel through the blood allusion. He is firmly devoted to others, selflessly helping the people and animals around him over himself.

Irony is not always funny; verbal, dramatic, and situational irony are often used to assert truth or to add depth to an author’s writing. In Erich Maria Remarque’s book, All Quiet on the Western Front, the reader experiences years of life on the front of World War I through the eyes of a young German man, Paul Bäumer, who has enlisted with his classmates at the expectation of their schoolmaster. Remarque uses irony throughout his novel, best displayed in the names of the characters, the various settings, and in the deaths of the characters.

Some people think of them as animals. Some people think of them as objects. Some people think of them as friends. Then there are the few who think of them as family. Horses have always been like family to humans, except sometimes closer. There are many benefits to owning or being around horses. They come in many different colors. There is a multitude of breeds, also. Additionally, they have a long history with humans. Horses have unique behaviors. Showing horses has been the past-time or even career of many people. Furthermore, caring for horses can be a handful, but is definitely rewarding. Finally, riding horses is not just a hobby or a sport, but an action of your heart. Horses are wondrous creatures that have lived with man or

In All the Pretty Horses, in order for Cormac McCarthy to tell her story uses many literary devices; circular movement, imagery, and polysyndeton. McCarthy gives her readers a glance at John Grady Cole’s lifestyle - heartbreak, his culture, and the death of loved ones. The parallelism allows us, as the reader, to increase our understanding of the protagonist’s journey.

In All the Pretty Horses, Cormac McCarthy tells the tale of John Grady Cole’s quest to capture the ideal qualities of a cowboy as he sees them: laid-back, unfettered, nomadic and carefree attitudes. These qualities soon clash, however, with the reality of darkness, suffering and mystery that seems to follow him. Reality constantly subverts his ideal dream. Time and time again, John Grady Cole works to be this fantasy, but through reality’s constant rejection of his fantasy, he lives the dream.

William Penn Warren’s All the King’s Men is novel that explores the political society and its influences. Like several politicians in modern society, several characters have qualities that seem unsuitable to the impression that have made. These ironies in All the King’s Men reveal how the characters have flaws, which can result in critical consequences. Jack Burden, Adam Stanton, Judge Irwin and Willie Stark are characters that with ironic traits.

John Grady is not your average cowboy. All the Pretty Horses is not your typical coming-of-age story. This is an honest tale. Cormac McCarthy follows John Grady as he embarks on his journey of self-discovery across the border. Armed with a few pesos in his pocket, a strong horse and a friend at his side, John Grady thinks he’s ready to take on the Wild West of Mexico. At their final steps in America, a stranger, aged thirteen, joins our heroes. This unexpected variable named Blevins challenges John Grady, testing his character and pushing him to uncomfortable limits. The dynamic of their relationship reveals John Grady’s capacity to care for others as he shelters this kid from the hardships of reality and the

In the drama Trifles, Glaspell shows two main view points. That is how the men have the role of being the head of everything and how the women do not get as fairly treated and are only house maids to the men. She characterizes the men as not giving the women the credit they deserve for their hard labors each and everyday. The sheriff, attorney, and neighboring farmer help prove how in the past men were completely superior to women. By showing these two points it makes us feel more sympathetic for the women because of how they are treated. The women always have to go along with what the men tell them, even if they disagree. Since the men are distinguished from the women, the women form their own

In The Outlaw Josey Wales, produced by Robert Daley and directed by Clint Eastwood, horses play a prominent role in determining the fate of Josey Wales. Often, they help Josey escape from danger or allow him to acquire an advantage over his enemies. Because the horse symbolizes the material world and the rider represents the spirit, horses in this film help reveal the humanity within Josey. They illustrate Josey’s willingness to alter his character and become a better person. The relationship Josey shares with horses throughout the film symbolizes his consistent preparation for adversity and, ultimately, his ability to complete the hero cycle.

George Orwell’s allegorical novella, Animal Farm is a satirical retelling of the events leading up to the 1917 Russian Revolution and the rise of Stalin. After the animals rebel against Mr. Jones and his employees, they set up a government constituted by “Animalism”, which in its raw state parallels the basic principles of socialism. In order to govern them, they create basic laws meant to unify them known as, “The Seven Commandments”, which they write on the outer wall of the barn. However, the pigs begin to disobey the commandments and change them to get away with it. None of the other animals notice due to their illiteracy, so Napoleon continuously exploits this fact to get what he wants. As a result, the farm that was meant to be utopic

The novel clearly reiterates the notion that more people conform than rebel when confronted with authoritarian control. The animals in the novel are divided into two categories. Those who have knowledge and therefore power, and those who lack knowledge and therefore are submissive. The main difference is that the submissive animals such as the horses and sheep represent the people that chose to stay uneducated, as it is a much less difficult pathway. They chose this because knowing consequences creates threatening actions against the livelihood of the animals. Despite the animals suffering from violence, poor conditions, and being overworked, they continue to conform as it becomes an easier lifestyle for them. The repetition of the lines “Napoleon is always right” and “I will work harder” showcases how the farm animals follow the routine of others and resign to conformity as their means of life, for it is an easier, simpler outlook to life for them. The idea of being an outlier and having a voice is forsaken by the animals, as the narrative evolves they witness more and more unruly acts of behaviour from the pigs, who are controlling the farm. The emotive language used within the line “Silent and terrified, the animals crept back into the barn” effectively demonstrate how a wave of melancholic and frightened emotions flood through the farm animals, creating a sense of compliance within. The use of threatening tone within the lines “At this there was a terrible baying sound outside, and nine enormous dogs wearing

When many people approach a horse, they instantly feel cautious of their surroundings. These people tense up and become terrified because of the horse’s size, how they look, or just because they have heard of people being injured from horses. Many people are intimidated by how big some horses can be and they do not want to be around them. Horses are only thought to be a dangerous animal, but they have helped humans in many ways. For instance, they have helped with farm work that humans couldn’t have done by themselves, and they were a mode of human transportation for many years. The things horses have done for humans have helped in many ways, but horses have many other purposes that can help people out. Although many people agree