Suffering in Cormac McCarthy’s All the Pretty Horses Essay

The hard-working ranch father loved his son but also lived by a realist unlike his son, “Last chance son, you had better pick a horse that you have some hope of riding one day” (Harrison 500). Kenneth’s mother Nell was very supportive to her son’s dreams and hopes of owning a colt. An author of New York times Rebecca Mead states, “We see private bedroom conversations between Rob and Nell, in which the mother, who recognizes her son’s dreaminess as an admirable sensitivity, not as an irritating handicap, challenges her stubborn husband’s rulings”. This support for her son is shown when the little filly is injured and Ken’s mother makes a poultice for the injury every

While John Grady works on the ranch he falls in love with the owner’s daughter Alejandra and has a relationship with her. Rawlins, his cousin, warns him not to fall for her because in the end Rawlins and maybe John Grady knew that it would work out. He was an American working on the ranch vying for the affections of Alejandra, the rich daughter of the owner of the ranch. It was a relationship that was doomed to fail mostly because I think it faced oppositions from everyone. The father when he found out his daughter had slept with John Grady decided to go find him on the mesa and kill him. He even could stop loving his daughter, who didn’t think this was possible. Her grand aunt paid the prison where John Grady and Rawlins were

John is a unique character in this book, he acts out on what he wants. He never speaks much but he acts a lot, and for john his actions speak louder than words. Such as riding away from San Angelo into mexico. He rode with his friend Rawlins and they do not encounter much trouble, this is when they are truly living the life of the cowboys. For John this shows that he's ready for what's going to come at him. Heading out into mexico with no plan shows us that John is ready to embrace any future that hits him. Whether it hits him like a train or rolls by like a tumbleweed. John Grady will be ready for what comes his way no matter what.

During the summer of 1984, Calvin Johnson trudges knee deep through a swamp in the wetlands of South Georgia. As snakes brush past his legs, he marches in line with nine other men, each dressed in an orange jumpsuit, swinging a razor sharp bush axe in collective rhythm. His crew entered the swamp at dawn and they will not leave until dusk. Guards, armed with shotguns, and equally violent tempers, ignore the fact that the temperature has risen well above 100 degrees and push the men even harder. Suddenly, an orange blur falls to the ground and a prisoner from Wayne Correctional Institution lies face down in the swampy floor. As guards bark orders at the unconscious, dying man, Johnson realizes "the truth of the situation, and the force of

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.

The story starts out with Hitch, Law, and Rascal working under Charlie Waide on a cattle drive through Texas. The first conflict in the novel arises when ownership of a cow is in question between Rascal and a fellow cowboy. This small infraction ultimately sets the precedent of the story as the ownership of cattle becomes a problem that builds up to the main conflict. As the story progresses forward, Law is caught violating the cowboys’ set of unwritten laws as he tries to cheat other cattle owners out of cattle, an offense he would repeatedly make throughout the novel that leads to his death and would add fuel to the main conflict over cattle ownership.

The reader can see a reflection of Jewel in the horse in a sense of wild freedom. Jewel is the horses’ only master, and the horse is a wild, free, beauty that symbolizes what every modernist wants. Jewel snuck out of his house as a teenager, during the middle of the night, and worked for the better part of a year this way so he could earn his own horse. He treats his new horse in a unique way. He will beat his horse, and then feed it; “Jewel kicks [the horse] in the stomach; the horse arches his neck back, cropped toothed; Jewel strikes him across the face with his fist and slides on to the trough and mounts upon it” (Faulkner 701-702). This type of interaction between the man and his horse is unique because of the emotions behind the actions. Beating the horse shows anger, and also dominance. The anger to his horse is because of the people around him, and the way they make him feel, so he takes it out on his horse. The dominance is clearly shown when Jewel beats the horse; Jewel feels he has to do this with his horse because Jewel is the horses’ owner. Establishing dominance between the two meant establishing a bond. The bond was important in creating the connection between himself and the world around him. Feeding for, tending to, and showing attention to an animal helped Jewel to create a connection between the human and the animal. These actions of beating the horse, then loving it are irrational. A man who worked so hard to obtain this animal, just to beat it whenever he pleases is an irrational action; but this is a reflection of Modernism. Modernists were very irrational in most of their decision making. The connection became so strong between Jewel and his horse that his family began to say that Jewel’s mother is a horse. “…Jewel’s mother is a horse” (Faulkner 731). This is all a reflection of Modernism, and how people felt in their daily lives. Jewel connects with the horse because the horse is simple and true. Humans are

Though John Grady follows this template in All the Pretty Horses, love is only one aspect of his rite of passage. Before leaving San Angelo, John Grady is seen unsure of himself and in a state of perpetual blankness like most teenagers, but also is unusually possessed by a search for meaning, for fulfillment. He searches the plot of his mother's play for divine significance, looks to the landscape for answers while riding with his father for the last time, and eventually leaves his hometown not to pursue a new destination, but rather on a quest for one, for some purpose to his life. In San Angelo, his life lent itself to a vacuous limbo; his mother neither offered him guidance nor ceded him control and his father is a beaten man on his last breaths, his last relationship with a girl ended apathetically. By the end of the novel, John Grady grows up in all the capacities of a true hero he has learned to be a father to Blevins, a lover to Alejandra, and a friend to Rawlins. Most importantly, he has lost his innocence without becoming disillusioned. At the end of the novel, he is a hardened hero, but also a wise one. His spirit is no longer defined by its emptiness but by its completeness; its synthesis of the moral and amoral, the serene and

Moreover, the novel portrays the harsh reality that money often wields more power than genuine affection. John Grady's romantic pursuits are continually overshadowed by the influence of wealth and social standing. When he and his friend, Lacey Rawlins, are imprisoned in Mexico, they witness firsthand the corruption and injustice fueled by economic disparity. Despite their innocence, they are treated unjustly simply because they lack the financial means to secure their freedom. Just

Moreover, the novel portrays the harsh reality that money often wields more power than genuine affection. John Grady's romantic pursuits are continually overshadowed by the influence of wealth and social standing. When he and his friend, Lacey Rawlins, are imprisoned in Mexico, they witness firsthand the corruption and injustice fueled by economic disparity. Despite their innocence, they are treated unjustly simply because they lack the financial means to secure their freedom. Just

7.) In the novel, a main character that disliked another character in the story was Rawlins. He loathed the young kid Belvins, who accompanied John Grady and Rawlins on their journey to Mexico. Rawlins was not a fan of Belvin’s because he was simply threatened by him, and he believed that Belvins was all trouble. He had a bigger horse, more ambition, and could do many things better than Rawlins even though he was so much younger. For example, in one particular scene, Rawlins is talking about how good of a “shot” he has. Belvins commented on Rawlins claim stating that he has a great shot, in fact the best one in town. Flustered after hearing enough from Belvins, Rawlins asks him to prove his shot by shooting a hole through his wallet. Agreeing, Belvins shoots a hole right through the center of Rawlins wallet when it is thrown into the air. This specific event shuts Rawlins up for the rest of the night.

These two cowboys have no use for an extraneous kid with a showy horse, and Rawlins makes that clear to him, but they do not deliberately run Blevins off. John Grady recognizes the beginnings of a relationship, and he does not refuse. “We aint seen the last of his skinny ass” (41), he reflects as they continue, abandoning Blevins in the dust. His words are not resentful nor does he appear aggravated. Blevins’ eventual inclusion reflects the nonchalant attitude John Grady maintains throughout the beginning of his journey.

After raiding the Snakes with High Back Bone his father bestowed a great honor to him, the name of his father, and his father before him, Crazy Horse. As his feats on the battlefield grew, so did his reputation and respect among the Lakota people. As Crazy Horse was raiding the Crows for nearly a month, the love of his heart was taken away from him by another. With his heart broken, it took a long time until he had gotten over it.

Andy, who had the hope that he would escape, was able to adjust to life outside. He posed as Randall Stephens and used the laundered money to live his life. However for Red, life was not only difficult, but Red had become institutionalized like Brooks. For the past 40 years, Red had asked to use the bathroom, once he got out of prison those habits stuck with him. Red had difficulty leaving his prison life behind, versus Andy, who was able to live his life normally. Eventually, this lead to Red having thoughts of committing a crime to re-enter prison life. Red had never planned a life for when he got out of prison, because he never had the hope of getting out. Red struggled to find his place in society and felt he did not matter. This made life extremely difficult for Red and everyday felt like a burden. However, Red remembered the promise he made to Andy and decided to follow through on it. When Red crossed the border to meet up with his old friend Andy, he stated that he finally believed in hope. This shows how powerful hope can be and how it can change one’s perspective of

Survival is the key struggle in The Shawshank Redemption. This film takes place in the corrupt Shawshank State Penitentiary where mental and physical abuses inflicted upon prisoners are the hard realities of the system. For the prisoners of Shawshank, life is often bleak and violent. However, the will to survive is what keeps the characters motivated to retain their humanity and challenge the institutionalization of Shawshank. In particular, the film’s main protagonists, Andy Dufresne and Ellis “Red” Redding, exemplify the struggle for survival in the face of a corrupt, frightening, and oppressive prison system. In order to survive the harsh realities of the world, people adapt with personal traits like courage and resourcefulness in addition to forming community with other people.