In Clint Eastwood’s film, The Outlaw Josey Wales, horses are extremely prevalent. Whether it’s Josey’s horse or the Union soldiers’ horses, they are seen everywhere throughout the film. Horses are not frequent in the film just because it is an old western film; they are frequent in the film because they hold a great amount of symbolism. The most prominent horse in the film is clearly Josey’s horse, and it symbolizes a lot of things. Typically, a horse symbolizes ideas such as the spirit, freedom, or power. In the film, however, Josey’s horse represents a different idea: Josey’s heroic, animalistic and instinctive nature. When he puts horse down, when he rides to Ten Bears on horse, when he rides out of forest and kills the union soldiers on his horse …show more content…
As soon as this happens, Josey rides in on his horse and begins saving some of the outlaws by killing nearly all of the Union soldiers, revealing his heroic nature. His horse plays a big role in this. The fact that he does all this while on his horse portrays the idea that his horse represents Josey’s heroic character. Clearly, Josey was utterly outnumbered in this scenario and there was an noticeable chance that Josey would die, but he proceeded anyway because he felt that he needed to do so. Additionally, Josey rode out to Ten Bears and his tribe towards the end of the movie. Undoubtedly, he was on his horse. Before this, Josey said that he was going to kill as many indians as he could, including Ten Bears, and that he had no intention of coming back (The Outlaw Josey Wales). This was an extremely courageous sacrifice for the rest of his group. Without his horse, Josey would not have had the courage or ability to perform these gallant acts, which is why it represents his heroic
The issue of racism against the black race in Harper Lee’s, To Kill a Mockingbird, and the issue of prejudice of the Native American race in Richard Wagamese’s, Indian Horse, reveal the hardships that these two races endure. It also highlights how these races, as a whole, attempt to push through these hardships, but only one race is headed towards success. The effects of such hardships differ between the two races. Firstly, in To Kill a Mockingbird, Tom Robinson is accused of rape by the daughter of Bob Ewell, who is known as the town drunk. This novel takes place after the Great Depression, and at this time it would be considered unheard-of to pronounce a black person innocent in a trial against a white man. Atticus Finch
"Relocating the Cowboy: American Privilege in "All the Pretty Horses"" Pepperdine University: Global Tides Seaver Journal of Arts and Sciences. Maia Y. Rodriguez, 2014. Web. 2 May 2016. . The Western typically illustrates the journey of a man, usually a horse riding cowboy, into the Western frontier where he must conquer nature "in the name of civilization or [confiscate] the territorial rights of the original inhabitants... Native Americans" (Newman 150). What this brand of mythology promotes is precisely the values of American culture: rugged individualism, achievement and success, activtity and work, democracy and enterprise, and--most importantly--
Saul Indian Horse is an Ojibway child who grew up in a land which offered little contact with anyone belonging to a different kind of society until he was forced to attend a residential school in which children were being stripped away of their culture with the scope of assimilating them into a more “civilized” community. Saul’s childhood in the school, greatly pervaded by psychological abuse and emotional oppression, was positively upset once one of the priests, Father Leboutillier, introduced him to the world of hockey, which soon become his sole means of inclusion and identification, mental well-being and acknowledged self-worth in his life. It is though universally acknowledged how, for every medal, there are always two inevitably opposite
John is a cowboy and as with all cowboys, their lives all revolve around the horse. While he is at home at his grandfath...
Today Custer’s last stand is one of the most famous events in American History. Two Thousand Sioux Native Americans slaughtered General George Custer’s army of 600 men armed with guns. Crazy Horse was a very important leader in the Great Sioux War of 1876.
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.
Few events in history have impacted a culture as much as the introduction of the horse into plains Indian culture. The positive impact of the horse on North America's indigenous people has been romanticized forever in popular culture. The portrait of a plain Indian horse created by the likes of John Wayne and Clint Eastwood is far from complete. While the horse did make nearly every aspect of Native American life more efficient, the spread of horses also contributed to the violence in the southwestern region of the United States in three ways. The trade of horses among the plains Indians created competition for resources, encouraged and contributed to raiding, and allowed the domination of the region by the Apache Indians.
In reading “All the pretty horses” by Cormac McCarthy, we are introduced to the protagonist John Grady Cole. At the beginning of the story, John Grady is attending his grandfathers funeral in the ranch that he now shares with his mother. John Grady Cole, grew up in world where being a cowboy meant freedom and a ever growing relationship with the one thing he cared about more than anything… horses. The story seems to unravel in the early 1950s when the old west began to evolve to the new ways of the west and the definition of what made a man a cowboy increasingly blurred. As the story evolves, it becomes evident that the selling of his grandfather’s ranch leaves Grady feeling adrift and incomplete. Henceforth, he deicides to set foot on his own and find a new place to call his home. We see that the loss of his grandfathers ranch and the passing of the old west he knew, serves as a reflection of how John Grady’s character attempts to maintain this cowboy lifestyle that he witnessed growing up . John Grady Cole’s character tough young, serves as a hero in his journey of becoming a man. Combined with his passion and idealistic mentality, his love for horses and the open plains of Texas/Mexico sets him off into new adventures. Realizing that each scenario encountered paves the way towards a journey of harsh reality, this story serves as one of growth and the passionate search of the old cowboy life. Grady sets out on a journey to Mexico with his comrade Rawlins riding off into the sun with hopes of finding a new home; they rode in hopes of regaining their sense of beloning.
For many Americans, the image of the cowboy evokes pleasant nostalgia of a time gone by, when cowboys roamed free. The Cowboy is, to many Americans, the ideal American, who was quick to the draw, well skilled in his profession, and yet minded his own business. Regardless of whether the mental picture that the word cowboy evokes is a correct or incorrect view of the vocation, one seldom views cowboys as being black. The first cowboy I met was from Texas and was black. After he told me that he was a cowboy, I told him that he had to be kidding. Unfortunately, I was not totally to blame for my inability to recognize that color has nothing to do with the cowboy profession; most if not all popular famous images of cowboys are white. In general, even today, blacks are excluded from the popular depiction of famous Westerners. Black cowboys were unheard of for almost a century after they made their mark on the cattle herding trade, not because they were insignificant, but because history fell victim to prejudice, and forgot peoples of color in popular depictions of the West and Western history.
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 foolhardiness of youth. The journey into Mexico demonstrates his readiness to be recognized as a man, but when the critical moment arrives, John Grady’s will fails to meet unforeseen demands. His inability to speak at this crucial juncture acts as a mirror for self-reflection, returning him to the beginning.
In ‘horse,’ the speaker describes a horse being betrayed and then killed in a small town in Texas. The first two stanzas described the horse thundering towards outstretched hands being attracted to a field of corn but instead it is attacked by a group of white teenage boys who leave it mutilated. The sheriff of the town does not do anything because he believes that it is in their nature to do so. In the last stanzas the Mexican owner puts the horse out of his misery and someone tries to pay him for the damage. His people are disappointed because they believe that money could not make up for the death of the horse but, they do nothing about it. It would seem the horse in the poem is meant to represent the Mexican culture and how it is being eradicated by the dominant white society in the United States.
John's life, like all of Western American society during the timeframe of the story, revolved around horses, and until he runs away, he knows more about horses than he does about men. These creatures represent strength, untamed fervor, and most importantly, freedom of spirit. The veneration that the vaqueros have for horses is apparent in the tales Luis tells the boys. "The old man only said that it was pointless to speak of there being no horses in the world for God would not permit such a thing" (111). ...
When we look back to their original history that we can see they were not only work against the nature for their life but also fight against the bandits to protect their hometown. Based on this situation, people live and work in west place paying more attention on functional stuff is not strange thing. As we all know, cowboys has a cowboy suit and that one formed a new style during the following decades of years and was famous of its durable and this style almost be loved by everyone who was going to the west to explore the gold and dream of becoming rich in one night. When we talk about the cowboy suit, we usually connect it with horses and wilderness and that one also indicates one main characteristic of cowboy – freedom. In the western movies or books we can often see that cowboys save or help one’s life while he is riding a horse or when a group merchant is trying to across one wide Gobi, they always can find a vagabond cowboy to protect them. This spirit always evokes Americans to fight against injustice and discrimination and many writers write about liberty by learning this kind of spirit. Although many people consider cowboy as a man with no property, no schooling, no social standing, no ambition for money, cowboy has boundless courage, competence, self discipline, physical
Dorothy Johnson in “A Man Called Horse” writes about a young man who was born and raised in Boston. He lives in a gracious home under his grandmothers and grandfather’s loving care. For some reason, he is discontent. He leaves home to try to find out the reason for his discontent. Upon leaving he undergoes a change in status and opinion of himself and others. He begins a wealthy young man arrogant and spoiled, becomes a captive of Crow Indians- docile and humble, and emerges a man equal to all.
In conclusion, horses mean more to me than many other things. They are part of my friends and family, but I also have great respect for them. Horses are surrounded by benefits that make us feel exceptional. Their colors are all attractive. Their breeds are marvelous and unique. Their history with us is quite a beneficial relationship. Their behavior is different from ours, but is an easy language to learn. Showing horses is exhilarating! Caring for them can seem like a chore, but is actually an overall fun and propitious experience. Riding horses is fun and meaningful, not just something to learn or do just because. And, no matter what people say, I believe there is something truly special about my dear friend the horse.