Character Analysis: All The Pretty Horses

726 Words2 Pages

Scott Kim 10/10/15 Period 7 Claps All the Pretty Horses Q3 Prompt A The story All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy guides readers from central United States to territories of Mexico. Throughout John Grady’s growth, from young and confused child to a mature, wise adult. In the process, the readers see major conflict McCarthy presents, which is John Grady’s response to justice or injustice in a corrupt society around him. Though John Grady’s surroundings are corrupt in All the Pretty Horses and he faces disappointments, he trusts in the fact that good will triumph over evil will make him able to maintain his moral in corrupt society, but only through limited scope of his conflicts not on scope of other characters. John Grady believes …show more content…

One of the place where his belief is apparent is when Blevins is executed. Blevins get executed with no trial or discussion of right or wrong at all. John Grady gets upset because he found out Blevins died without any fair trial. To John Grady, Blevins’ execution without a trial shows that the society is corrupt because John believed Blevins deserved good. So when Blevins died without deserving his good, the trial, he sees the world as a corrupt place. However, John Grady’s trust is not shattered as he thinks it is. John Grady does not know, but Blevins is actually corrupt inside because he lied to Grady about his entire identity. Though John Grady does not realize this and believes his ideal justice has been shattered, his ideal justice is actually not shattered because Blevins is …show more content…

Although he had a fair travel, he was never able to find the true owner of the horse. Winning a trial and gaining the horse back in the end serves to show there is a justice in the corrupt society and thus able for John Grady to maintain his moral. Not being able to find the true owner of the horse, on the other hand, shows some degree of failure in his ideal justice because he was only able to find his justice only through his, not any others. The owner of the horse, who we don’t know if he or she was corrupt, never gained his or her horse back. Based on John Grady’s ideal justice, readers assume that the owner must be corrupt because he or she never received the horse back as a punishment. Though there is an element of justice where John Grady was able to find one case of ideal justice, it was overall a failure because he was not able to fully see his justice appeared on anybody

Show More
Related

  • Character Analysis: All The Pretty Horses

    632 Words  | 2 Pages

    All the Pretty Horses involves many interesting characters in its story. Most of the characters are believable in this story. Many are flat and static with a few being round and dynamic. The characters are complex, with their own histories and personalities driving their actions. There are many minor characters in the story that do not really have any purpose than helping to move the plot along. There aren’t many characters with considerable roles. The protagonist is John Grady Cole and the antagonists are the captain, Jimmy Blevins, and Alejandra’s aunt. The main character is John Grady Cole, a round and dynamic character. He is revealed in the beginning of the story. He is a 16 year old boy and can be described as quiet, serious,

    Read More

  • John Grady's Journey in All the Pretty Horses

    1123 Words  | 3 Pages

    The times are changing and he's unwilling to give up the past. The world is becoming modernized and people like him, cowboys and ranchers, are slowly disappearing. He runs away from home because he desires to find peace within himself as well as a place where he can feel he belongs. Here begins the adventure of John Grady and his best friend Lacey Rawlins. It is important to note here the means of travel. The story is taking place after World War II, a time when cars are fairly common, yet these boys decide to go on horseback, like in the fading old days. This is just another concept of how they are unwilling to give up a fading past. When they first begin their journey, the boys are having a good time. In a sense they?re two buddies on a road trip with no real motive. Rawlins even mentions, ?You know what?I could get used to this life.? Then they meet Blevins, the foil in the plot that veers the two boys of their course and also has plays a role in the lasting change of their personality. Their meeting with him gives an insight into Grady?s character. Rawlins is against letting Blevins come along with them, but because of John?s kind nature he ends up allowing Blevins to come. It?s because of this kindness and sense of morality, he gets into trouble later on.

    Read More

  • Character Analysis: The Liles Of The Field

    256 Words  | 1 Pages

    In the Lilies of the Field by William E. Barrett, Homer and Mother Maria both display straightforward, hardworking, and stubborn character traits. Firstly, Homer and Mother Maria both display a straightforward personality by being brutally honest about their opinions. For example, when Mother Maria asks Homer to build a chapel, Homer speaks his mind by telling her he does not want to build it. Mother Maria shows her straightforward behavior during Homer’s stay at the convent. One morning, when Homer sleeps in late, Mother to becomes extremely upset and is not afraid to show how she feels about him. Secondly, both Homer and Mother Maria display a hardworking spirit. Homer is a hardworking man because after finally agreeing to build the chapel,

    Read More

  • Explanation of a Scene from All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy

    610 Words  | 2 Pages

    The specific explanation of a scene can change depending on who sees it and how they choose to interpret it. The scene of the book that I have chosen is on page 99-102. The scene is when the Vaqueros bring in wild colts from the mesa stuck out to me. The scene shows John Grady’s knowledge and care of horses and shows the common misconceptions of a horse by Rawlings. The scene also shows the level of confidence that John Grady has in his own ability with horses and the trust that Rawlins has in him when it comes to break the horses in only four days. As the owner of the ranch gave the permission to try, while still say in not so nice a way they had no chance, you can assume he had faith in them.

    Read More

  • Imagery In Cormac Mccarthy's All The Pretty Horses

    852 Words  | 2 Pages

    "Terrain as Narrative Lens in All the Pretty Horses." 2012 Brennan Prize Winning Essay // // University of Notre Dame. University of Notre Dame, 2012. Web. 02 May 2016. . Mexican wilderness comes to reflect John Grady Cole’s internal processes in its role as a vast tract of fenceless space, a canvas upon which McCarthy renders his main character’s experiences as they shape his identity. Meanwhile, the tightness of a Texan terrain scarred and lotted by barbed wire boundaries recognizes the restlessness that drives John Grady’s transience. The effect is a realization of the rapport between

    Read More

  • Irony in All the Pretty Horses

    1846 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the novel All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy, the author shows how important the roles of the horses are in the story and how they relate to John Grady, the protagonist of the novel. The horse has played an important role in the development of America. It has been a form of transportation, easy muscle, and companionship. In the Wild West, it was an essential resource for a cowboy to do his daily chores. McCarthy describes horses as spiritual and as resembling the human soul; meaning that horses came in many different forms. Horses are pretty, ugly, wild, tame, etc. in the story, they have so many different descriptions and different types of personality that they appear to resemble humans. In the story, John Grady is able to communicate with horses beyond a level normal people could. He could look into a horse's eyes and be able to see into its heart; because of this distinct relationship Grady is able to compare the world of horses to the world of humans. Throughout the novel, he learns that what he thinks of men and about his romantic idea of living in the world is completely false and wrong. Therefore, McCarthy's title shows that life can be full of change; and, at times, it can be cruel and ironic. Because of this, McCarthy's title shows how much a perspective can change when a man goes on an adventure and experiences things he did not experience before. Meaning that, McCarthy wanted readers to think before they read the book that life is pretty and easy, but after they read the book he wants the readers to know that life is not always how it seems.

    Read More

  • Cormac Mccarthy All The Pretty Horses Analysis

    1315 Words  | 3 Pages

    Cormac McCarthy, All the Pretty Horses, is an incredulous story with no happy ending, where no one attains what they were attempting to achieve in the end. The story begins with a flat tone, but eventually grows to be suspenseful .[It] is set in a world of comparative [regularity], which is not to say it is any less dominated by evil ,any more controlled by rationality , logic or a divine purpose, than that of its predecessors.”(McCarthy) John and Rawlins are seventeen year olds, who have left their hometown to seek a better life,but what John doesn't know is that things will only turn for the worse. Both individuals come across a boy named Blevins ,who will be a very important character throughout the novel. As the story progresses, John will be faced with many poisonous encounters . John will face evil and evil will face him in the wake of the resurfacing of the heinous crimes that Blevins has committed, which leads them to being arrested and tortured atrociously. From having everything he will go to having nothing. Nothing.. This was

    Read More

  • Cormac McCarthy's All the Pretty Horses

    1407 Words  | 3 Pages

    When John Grady leaves Texas at the age of 16, he seems to have a plan. He wants to become a cowboy and have a close relationship with nature. John Grady’s character is hopelessly romantic; he takes action without caring about repercussions. In All the Pretty Horses, John Grady falls in love with people or things that are unable to love him back at the same level. Whether it’s his relationship with Alejandra, or his love for horses, it seems as though he is obsessed with these unattainable relationships.

    Read More

  • Flight in Cormac McCarthy’s All the Pretty Horses

    1841 Words  | 4 Pages

    Because the premise of Cormac McCarthy’s text in All the Pretty Horses relies solely on John Grady’s decision to “run” from his familiar ranch-life in San Angelo, it is important to determine his reasons for leaving. The decay of western civilization casts a long shadow over all of McCarthy’s work, especially in this novel (M. Bell, 2). Ranch life is synonymous with McCarthy’s fictional character of John Grady Cole. When John Grady realizes that his ranch is to be sold, his very way of life is shattered. His normal routine is rocked when his mother, a virtual stranger to John Grady, chooses to sell the 18,000-acre cattle ranch he has called “home” following the finalized divorce and subsequent death of John Grady’s father. Until now, in 1949, his grandfather’s ranch has insulated him from...

    Read More

  • All The Pretty Horses Analysis

    712 Words  | 2 Pages

    In reading “All the pretty Horses”, we see how remarkable John Grady’s character truly is. Becoming a man and hero, Grady expresses ongoing faith and romantic ideals against all odds. Even tough Grady broke the cowboy code by leaving his country for another and we can not classify him as your typical “old west” cowboy, we can see an evolving image of the new cowboy ideals he has now seen for himself. Being rejected by his love Alejandra and left behind by his companion Rawlins, Grady is left relatively alone. In route to find a more fulfilling meaning to his life, Grady distanced himself even further from reality in the hopes of getting closer to his dream. Furthermore, I believe that though he was distanced, Grady succeeded in making a new place for himself because though he never really returned to his home he was at peace and happy ridding Blevins old horse.

    Read More

  • The Setting of Blood Meridian

    745 Words  | 2 Pages

    Apart from the novel's thematic development, McCarthy's setting and his detailed description of the ornate beauty of the desert southwest is deserving of praise. A lyrical quality and refined beauty are apparent in the novel's description. McCarthy's extended accounts of the pristine beauty of the desert can be seen as an artistic and visually appealing piece work apart from the plot of the novel. Such memorable accounts seem to be a lone highlight in a shockingly disturbing book (Moran 37).

    Read More

  • Indian Horse Character Analysis

    156 Words  | 1 Pages

    In Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard and Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese both the main characters overcome adversity and struggle as well as find personal discoveries and deal with being an outsider. Firstly, Saul from Indian Horse and Mare from Red queen face the struggle of being looked down upon for what they are and are treated as outsiders. This is one of the major struggles for each protagonist. Secondly, Saul and Mare both discover that they have special powers. A huge discovery that helps each of them in the novels. Thirdly, both protagonists show personal growth in each novel. Mare learns to control her powers and fight and Saul learns how to control his powers as well as play hockey. Lastly, Saul and Mare both overcome the loss of their

    Read More

  • The Meaning Of Cormac Mccarthy's All The Pretty Horses

    518 Words  | 2 Pages

    It also provides John with closure that helps him come to a moral reconciliation. In a sense the judge is a priest giving John, who is the sinner, absolution. The Judge comes to the conclusion that John is “somebody that maybe tends to be a little hard on theirselves” (McCarthy 291), and that he must put the past behind him. He reassures John that his actions were justified as he had the right intent. John did not have to reclaim and return the horses to their rightful owners. Whether it was out of guilt or a sense of duty John chose to do the right thing. John, much like the judge, saw injustice in the world and decided to take a stand against it. The judge never wanted to become a judge, and John never wanted to be a vigilante, but in the face of adversity they both did what was morally right. This conversation enabled John to put the past behind him, and allowed him to set out to find his own

    Read More

  • All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy - Individualism vs. Society

    1676 Words  | 4 Pages

    So finally he is back from where he started – the life influenced by those around him. Soon he found himself playing the ball accordingly. He recognizes that in contrast to his idea of seeing himself as an independent and unique identity is a myth in the real world. Nevertheless, in the end John Grady is still headed west (p.302), just as he does at the beginning (p.5). Does he still hope for better pastures further west of Mexico?

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast All The Pretty Horses Book And Book

    1255 Words  | 3 Pages

    Contrary to the story’s focus on horses, the movie focuses on the romance between John Grady and Alejandra as its poster has the couple with a greater presence compared to the miniscule graphic of horses shoved on the bottom; whereas the book’s cover is graced with the image of a horse and only of that horse. Of all the events that were absent from the movie, the romance scenes are the most kept intact as well as an odd addition of an onlooker dancing when John Grady finishes talking with Alejandra on the phone after being bailed out of jail. In fact, it feels like horses are more of an afterthought in this adaptation because John Grady does not put any emphasis on them as he does in the novel. While in jail, John Grady had a dream about horses, “… in the dream he was among the horses running and in the dream he himself could run with the horses …” (McCarthy 161) In the fashion of flickering images for a subliminal message, brief, flashing visions of Alejandra are injected into this dream when there were none. Romance is pushed as the main focus of the story, but it fails to make the couple fulfilling since the dynamic between John Grady and Alejandra is not developed well enough to make it

    Read More

More about Character Analysis: All The Pretty Horses

Open Document