Devin Gohel
Mr. Call
English II, Period 6
13 May 2014
In literary works, motifs help to convey symbolic significance in order to develop themes and the central message the author is attempting to portray. In All The Pretty Horses, McCarthy focuses specifically on horses and blood in relation to the main character’s overall development. Though John’s love for his horses never falters throughout his many trials, John’s transformation from a young boy to a mature adult is demonstrated by the expansion of that love and the dynamic motif of blood.
As a young adult, John’s love for horses and the description of blood are portrayed through his immature perspective. The color red is used frequently throughout the novel to represent blood and the theme of death and violence. The narrator explains how “the wind was much abated and it was very cold and the sun sat blood red and elliptic under the reefs of bloodred cloud before him” by using blood as a metaphorical example of how both nature and the life of humans are intertwined in the concept of death and violence. Also, John Grady uses the motif of blood as violence and death, the opposite of how he sees it in his future. Mundik looks at blood as “descriptions of the natural landscape [which] not only suggests that bloodshed and suffering is an inherent part of existence but also serves to reinforce the constant presence of death and the “transitory and violent” nature of human life. John Grady Cole would look at scenery and think of blood red; he would not look at blood as the energy force behind all beings. Due to his blood-painted childhood of abandonment and divorce, his perspective is tainted by negativity. Cormac McCarthy has John Grady Cole’s view of blood as metaphors as...
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...ding on life and relationships, and can realize the complexity of his passions in life both with horses and Alejandra.
John Grady’s transformation from a broken family as well as abandoned by his father was unexpected. Growing up around friends who were also abandoned and no mentor or role model made his transition difficult. His love and passion for horses is strong as it was one of the few family traditions he held onto his entire life. His views on emotions and depth of relationships changed once he met Alejandra. In addition, his view on blood as a metaphorical description, to the true life force of all beings is another lesson he learned during his transformation into a young adult. In All The Pretty Horses, McCarthy uses both motifs to spread his theme throughout the novel and portray John Grady’s metamorphosis dramatically from the beginning to the end.
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,
For instance the first chunk of the passage Richard Matheson operates a series of rhetorical devices to emphasize Robert Neville’s feelings such as , visual imagery and simile in line 1-3 from (He-Eyes) and more visual imagery on lines 4-5 (Robert-arm).Richard Matheson employs simile and visual imagery in a discrete manner and emphasizes that man’s skin to that “clammy turkey skin” and the visual imagery “red-splotched checks, the feverish eyes, “to highlight that Robert Neville is scared of the
At the beginning of the story Horses of the Night, Chris, who lives at Shallow Creek with a poor living condition, is introduced as a distant cousin of the narrator Vanessa. Since there is no high schools at Shallow Creek and as Chris’s dream of becoming a civil engineer, these two facts push him to seek for new opportunities in Manawaka. Though he is still undertaking various inconveniences and hopelessness while he studies in Manawaka, such as Grandfather Connor’s disdain sights toward him and lacking of financial support, he acts indifferently to respond to Grandfather Connor’s attitudes and speaks out his “great expectations” with assurance, as if his future of
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.
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
... red blood and white coat again suggests violence, but also hints at Morgan's main theme of today's brutal and vicious culture. His matter of fact tone also helps to convey his message that people are often unwilling to help each other. MacCaig's message is similar to this, but he conveys it by looking at a dwarf, who is ignored by tourists when he begs them for money. MacCaig cleverly uses irony throughout the poem, in the contrast between the dwarf and the church. His voice is also apparent throughout `Assisi,' as he comments on the hypocrisy and double standards of the tourists, as they are willing to learn about pictures of suffering, but unwilling to give money to a deformed dwarf. Conclusively, by examining both Edwin Morgan's and Norman MacCaig's `voice' through their style and tone, their `vision' of a cruel and uncaring society is revealed and developed.
Depression has a major effect on a person life. The accumulation of hidden emotion could cause difficulty in life. The consequences could be irrational thinking, suffering in ceased emotion or lead to a total disaster. In “Horses of the night” by Margaret Laurence and “ Paul’s case” by Willa Cather, both authors introduce the concept of depression. Although both selections offer interesting differences, it is the similarities that are significant.
Cormac McCarthy All the Pretty Horses depicts the American romanticized view of the west. John Grady, emerging from a dilapidated family ventures out on a journey in pursuit of his dream of the cowboy lifestyle. Through out the novel there is a constant tension between John Grady destiny or fate and the nature of his dreams. Dreams keep the dreamer from reality and because they are unreal, they paralyze the dreamer’s reality. Nonetheless, they motivate his journey through Mexico. The different roles that his dreams play depict the different characters that John Grady assumes: the Texas teenager, the lover, the prisoner and the man. John Grady’s dreams are as complex as his character.
This can be perceived in the names of her characters, the sky, and even the weather. Jennifer Bouchard explains O’Connor’s hidden meaning behind the antagonist’s given name, “The aptly named character of The Misfit serves as a symbol both of evil as well as a symbol of the villain’s inability to fit into society.” (82) Flannery articulates how symbolism is used within her stories stating “You might say that these are details that, while having their essential place in the literal level of the story, operate in depth as well as on the surface, increasing the story in every direction.” (334) Understanding the elements within a story not only has superficial meanings, but hidden implications as well expand the reader’s knowledge and enjoyment. “O’Connor includes several symbols in A Good Man Is Hard to Find. For example, skies and weather are always symbolic to O’Connor, and she often uses such descriptions to reveal a character’s state of mind.” (103) To represent this technique take this excerpt from the story, “…the grandmother who half sat and half lay in a puddle of blood with her legs crossed under her like a child’s and her face smiling up at a cloudless sky.” (309) Upon first glance we might miss the true meaning in this passage, which is the grandmothers receiving of salvation and happiness in her final moment. O’Connor’s use of symbolism causes the reader to dig deeper into a story, so be mindful of
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.
Cormac McCarthy was raised in a Catholic home and even attended a Catholic school. Being a part of that denomination, it is no wonder that his novels incorporate a dark themes and ideas that suggest harmonious living between all human beings is impossible, as we all possess aggressive instincts and have lived in such a way that suggests life cannot be achievable without bloodshed. In McCarthy’s first instalment of the Border Trilogy, All The Pretty Horses features characters that live their life in a hurricane of evil that is only escapable in death.
Red this color can symbolize blood, passion or danger. Irony is another technique used in the story to give it a better understanding. Irony is said in a sarcasm way, twisting the actual meaning. It is the opposite of what is intended. Saying the same thing but with a different idea/meaning behind it. For example it’s very funny when people go to McDonalds and order Big Mac, extra large fires, and a diet coke. Another example is when someone states “ oh great!” now you broke your arm, there is nothing great in breaking an arm.
Throughout the book, Robert develops a bond with the animals as he lacks connections with the everyday people in his life. Robert’s natural instinct to save but failure to do so is portrayed with horses: “I’m going to break ranks and save ...
Many authors are recognized by a reoccurring theme found throughout their works. The author D.H. Lawrence can be classified into this group. He is well known for his reoccurring theme that romantic love is psychologically redeeming. He wrote “The Horse Dealer’s Daughter” , a short story that exemplifies this theme quite accurately, in 1922 (Sagar 12). Through excellent use of symbolism in “The Horse Dealer’s Daughter”, Lawrence renders his theme of romantic love being psychologically redeeming through the emotional development of the two main characters, Mabel and Dr. Fergusson.
Hester, Paul’s rocking horse and the whispering of the house represent greed, selfishness, and love. They also reveal the character’s real feelings and thoughts of neglect, detachment, greed and selfishness. These symbols convey a theme and make the characters in the short story. The Rocking-Horse Winner is a tragic story where Paul dies trying to gain his mother’s love and compassion. The mother was just interested in the money he was winning in the derbies. The story conveys a major them of materialism and shapes the characters through the symbols.