William Faulkner's Spotted Horses and Mule in the Yard
"Spotted Horses" and "Mule in the Yard" are two short stories by William Faulkner that deal with comedic animal chases. Although both provide entertaining examples of Faulkner's work in very similar settings, on the scale of literary value, "Spotted Horses" rises above "Mule in the Yard" in depth and insight. This superiority is result of both it's narrative style and character development, which causes "Spotted Horses" to produce an overall more powerful effect than "Mule in the Yard".
The most notable and important difference between the two stories is the contrasting narrative style. In "Spotted Horses", the story is told in first person point of view by a narrator who observes the major events of the story but is involved in only a minor fashion. His narration provides the audience with a look at the town and it's inhabitants through the eyes of someone living in the county of Mississippi. This adds a realistic dimension to the image of the story. It is also through this narrative style that Faulkner weaves humor into "Spotted Horses". The narrator shows the story in a comic light simply through his words right from the introductory paragraph. For example, the audience is introduced immediately with a casual "Yes, sir. Flem Snopes has filled that whole country full of spotted horses. You can hear folks running them all day and night, whooping and hollering, and the horses running back and forth across those little wooden bridges ever now and then kind of like thunder." (349) In contrast, "Mule in the Yard" is told in the objective viewpoint. With this type of information, the reader can only observe what is seen and heard. Therefore, it follows that the re...
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...rmstid, comforts Mrs. Armstid, and then gives Mrs. Armstid advice on how to get her money back. The narrator of "Spotted Horses" brings an attitude of "regularness" to the story because he tends to look upon these characters as regular folks, yet finds the humor as well as the tragic within them. This is more than "Mule in the Yard" can accomplish with its more simplistic basis.
Both "Spotted Horses" and "Mule in the Yard" are very entertaining stories by William Faulkner. Despite their common theme of animal chase, setting, and character, a more powerful story is found within "Spotted Horses". While "Mule in the Yard" is well written and full of comedy, it does not delve as deeply as "Spotted Horses" does. "Spotted Horses" proves broader in scope due to it's in depth narration style which provides particularly effective humor and development of characters.
The story takes place after World War II, a time when cars were fairly common, yet these boys decided 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
At the same time, the author makes clear the harsh realities and disappointments of John Grady’s chosen way of life. 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.
William Faulkner wrote two short stories, which are alike in many aspects. 'Spotted Horses'; and 'Mule in the Yard'; are short stories that both involve comic animal chases and financial transactions. Even though the stories are written by the same author, have similar characteristics, and share similar plot features, they are entirely different stories. The stories are both examples of interpretive literature, however 'Spotted Horses'; is a more interpretive short story than 'Mule in the Yard because 'Spotted Horses'; fits Perrine's profile of interpretive literature, and 'Mule in the Yard'; seems to replicate Perrine's profile of escape literature.
Steinbeck was employed as a ranch hand during part of his life (Lisca). This is easily seen throughout the book The Red Pony. In this novel, a young boy named Jody gets a pony named Gabilan. This pony is described in detail that only a background with horses could give. Also, the story is centered around several characters. One of these characters is Billy Buck, and he is described to look very similar to the way Steinbeck looked as a young man (The Red Pony). This could very well be self-portrayal in his writing.
Works Cited I. Powell, Janice A. Teaching Faulkner. Online. Internet. Powell.html at www2semo.edu 15 July 1999 II. Who makes a Devil out of a Fair Lady? Du Fang/Canadian Social Science Vol.3 No.4 2007 18-24 III. Charters, Ann. The Story and its Writer : an Introduction to Short Fiction. Eighth edition. New York: St.Martin's, 1983. Print.
Though Cormac McCarthy’s All The Pretty Horses and William Faulkner’s The Unvanquished are completely different, their style and plot techniques share more similarities than differences. All The Pretty Horses and The Unvanquished both depict the importance of honor in a persons life, whether it be honor through vengeance, honoring family, or honoring the tradition of woman, these two novels teach that honor can create a stronger person.
Both All the Pretty Horses and No Country for Old Men have a lot in common between the common setting, style, and themes of the stories. The common setting for both is the borderlands between Texas and Mexico. The sparse setting in both cases helps to create a desolate mood, where the events of the story seem more lifelike and intense. The same style is employed by McCarthy in both books, both have longs descriptions and imagery coupled with a lack of heavily structured and punctuated dialogue. The themes of both stories seem to emulate that desire to survive and thrive within the context of the situation the character is residing within. In All the Pretty Horses, John Grady Cole decides for a life of hardship as a cowboy in the desert, and
Ernest Hemingway's "Hills Like White Elephants", is a story about a doomed relationship. Hemingway uses symbolism, dialogue, and also setting to tell this story. Behind the words said by the characters, and sights explained to the readers, are hidden meanings that when analyzed, bring the story to another level.
“All the Pretty Horses”, a novel written by Cormac McCarthy tells the tale about a man and his friend travelling the plains of Mexico after leaving their homes in Texas. As the novel’s name alludes to, horses are a central theme in the story as they represent manhood and freedom when John Grady, the protagonist, and his friend Rawlins get thrown in jail. McCarthy’s novel became critically-acclaimed which gained him more recognition, as well as a movie adaptation directed by Billy Bob Thornton. Even though Thornton’s adaption has the basics of the novel’s story it does not appropriately grasps its depth. While Thornton’s version stays faithful to the dialogue from the book’s included scenes it does fall short by having an erratic pace, having
Early in the novel, Steinbeck presents a direct contrast to the Joads, Muley Graves. Muley Graves’ name and actions accurately portray Steinbeck’s idea of a man resistant to change and fearful of new challenges. The name of this character has a distinct significance. The first name Muley can be related to mule, and then linked to the saying “stubborn as a mule”. By analyzing this name further, the reader can determine that Graves also has a meaning. Grave is symbolic to grief or death, both of which this character endures. Meaningful actions could only follow a name of such significance, and this is true with this character. Even though Muley’s family has left him for “easy livin’ “ in California, he refuses to get off “his” land. By refusing to leave for pride reasons, Steinbeck tries to justify Muley’s stubbornness when he is really terrified of leaving his land and having to change his life style. Muley’s refusal to adapt results in him being transformed into an animal with hi...
William Faulkner has written some of the most unique novels and short stories of any author, and, to this day, his stories continue to be enjoyed by many. Both “Barn Burning” and “A Rose for Emily” tell about the life of southern people and their struggles with society, but Faulkner used the dramatic settings of these two stories to create a mood unlike any other and make the audience feel like they too were a part of these southern towns. These two stories have many similarities in there setting, but they also have many differences to that make them unique and interesting.
Like any other novel or short story, a lot can be learned about the actual story by understanding the historical content embedded in the piece. Louise Erdrich draws from her her imagination, life experiences, and social climate to piece together American Horse into a fictitious short story that somehow manages to give the reader a very real sense of the socioeconomic divide between the two groups portrayed in the story.
“Old Boys, Mostly American: William Faulkner, The Short Stories.” Contemporaries (1962): 154-58. Rpt. in Short Story Criticism. Ed.
To conclude with, William Faulkner was an author that used uncommon technique in his works. The complexity of his themes make readers feel more engaged into thinking deeper and feel the beautiful Southern setting Faulkner describes ( William Faulkner: PBS). Faulkner based his stories on his childhood experiences and the experience of being an adult in the South (Unger, 67). Faulkner represents the Southern man in his works and the beautiful scenery of the South. William Faulkner wrote about his experiences of his childhood, his time in the war, adulthood, and Southern society (William Faulkner: Biography). Faulkner’s journey to find his passion in writing, the novels he created that would make him stand out from other authors, and the legacy he had on readers is what made William Faulkner a significant author in American history.
Kinney, Arthur F. Faulkner’s Narrative Poetics Style as Vision. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1978