Preview

All The Pretty Horses Journey Essay

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
688 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
All The Pretty Horses Journey Essay
In All the Pretty Horses, McCarthy uses the theme of journeys to relay the message that life is not only a physical journey, but there are emotional journeys through life also. Through the theme of journeys, McCarthy demonstrates a maturing aspect of the characters. Throughout John Grady Cole’s life, he wishes to take part in his grandfather’s ranch; even after his grandfather dies, John purses this dream and tries to gain a closer connection to the ranch by dropping his mother’s name and becoming John Grady. This appears to the reader as strong persistence usually found in a young, stubborn child, who always gets what they want. Another example of John Grady’s immaturity is when he comes across challenges and responds by completely dropping …show more content…
Although at first John Grady believes an important element of his life is the ranch life, he realizes there is more to life than horses and a ranch. This journey takes John Grady some time since the ranch is so close to him and his family showing the psychological journey John undergoes in the novel. Another part of John’s journey is his physical journey to Mexico, which ends up turning psychological as he finds a new person inside himself; John Grady’s new destiny, however, makes him become an ill-behaved man when he is imprisoned and has to kill a man in prison because he attacks John. Although this incident on John’s journey is not part of his original dream, it does interrupt his new destiny showing a disturbance on John’s journey emotional journey through life. Finally, John’s dreams trend toward the end of his journey such as facing death. This dream connects all aspects of John’s journey while he looks at how far his journey takes him in his life; he is able to see how he grows and develops a better sense of maturity and now has experience along with his dreams to take him as far as he needs. In his novel, McCarthy uses dreams to drive the journeys theme, especially since dreams are what spark most

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    All the Pretty Horses is the first volume of The Border Trilogy by Cormac McCarthy and it is a tale about two cowboys who decide to leave their hometown in search of a new life in Mexico. The two young men, John Grady Cole and Lacey Rawlins, are close friends that live in San Angelo, Texas; they decide to travel south on horseback.…

    • 63 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The novel begins at the funeral of a young boy’s grandfather in the year 1949. The boy is introduced as sixteen-year-old John Grady Cole who lives in San Angelo, Texas. John Grady is not close with his father but he meets with him and his father gives him a special saddle. Also, John Grady tries to buy the family ranch from his mother but she refuses. (IM)-John Grady decides he does not have anymore use in Texas so he and his friend Rawlins plan to run away. The boys leave and ride south into Mexico. Along the way they meet a young boy who looks around thirteen but says that he is older. He also claims that his name is Jimmy Blevins. It is obvious that he lies a lot so Rawlins does not trust him and keeps telling John Grady that they should…

    • 814 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    John Grady Cole makes many decisions in the book and many of them are life changing ones, if any one of his choices had been made differently the whole book would have been drastically different. John Grady Cole is the main decision maker of the group because both Rawlins and Blevins look up to him. The first decision he makes for himself is choosing to leave his home because if he hadn’t everything that follows wouldn’t have happened but he wouldn’t have been able to follow his dream. When we finally meet Blevins, Rawlins isn’t a big fan of him from the start. Later when Blevins runs away because of the lighting Rawlins finds the opportunity to leave him behind but Grady convinces him to go look for him (page 71). If they had left him behind the book would…

    • 522 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In the novel All the Pretty Horses, Cormac McCarthy illustrates the coming-of-age protagonist, John Grady Cole, who impulsively decides to travel to Mexico in search of an adventurous lifestyle. Although a teenager, John Grady Cole reveals rather matured behaviors towards his fellow companions, but he preserves the notion that he has control over everything. This very attitude backfires in severe consequences, in which John Grady Cole is essentially powerless. Subsequently, his ideals of cowboy life confronts the reality of adulthood because John Grady Cole loses his most prized attribute -- the child-like belief of…

    • 95 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Cormac McCarthy gives his story All the Pretty Horses an unique organization. The book only has four chapters within, yet each chapter is lengthy. There are also very few flashbacks in this story. This flashback was needed, however, to show how things did not change after John Grady Cole’s grandfather died. “On the wall opposite above the sideboard was an oilpainting of horses. . . . his grandfather looked up from his plate at the painting,” shows the painting being there while his grandfather was alive and is stirs up John Grady’s memory of it. There was also one dream sequence in the novel. “That night he dreamt of horses in a field on a high plain . . . they ran in that resonance which is the world itself and which cannot be spoken but only praised,” implies how the horses are wild and…

    • 566 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A journey can be different for everyone and can show them who they really are. Macon Dead, Pilate, and Milkman all experienced journeys that changed their life. Their journies teach us about never giving up on family, discovering the truth, believing in yourself,…

    • 275 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “The Story of Tom Brennan” is a novel reflecting our own sense of crushing a negative life experience and overcoming that with new and positive adventures into a new world. The novel written by J.C. Burke demonstrates journey of acceptance and hardship that the Brennan’s had to face throughout their stay at Coghill and their past from Mumbilli, especially for Tom.…

    • 543 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A journey is a physical movement from one place to another and the emotional outcome that comes with it. Obstacles and challenges are faced by both George and Lennie in “of Mice and Men” and the persona of “I was only 19”…

    • 404 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In "Dream House" the speaker once lived in a dream house of theirs, which allows them to create memorable moments in life. However, the demolition of the house causes the speaker to develop hopeful thoughts, such as "if we're moving back the clock,/can the door to my room, this time, lock?" (Solod, 27-28) This shows that the place that the speaker used to live has transformed their reality by causing them to imagine unrealistic images of life. Consequently, this shows that the speaker will become a person who will not have the ability to see through their own illusions. Likewise, in His Life on the Reservation, the place that John is living in is affecting who he will be in the future because of the influence of culture by his family. Therefore, this allows him to practice his traditions, like playing "Scrabble using [his] tribal language" (Alexie, 8). Also, it allows him to be truthful to his family, such as stating the truth when his mother asks him "What did you do today?" (Alexie, 16). Last but not least, the imaginations that John makes during the family gatherings after dinner allow him to have the freedom to express himself in any way he wants. As a result, these family values show that John will become a truthful, open minded person, and one who practices his traditions. All in all, these texts represent how people in the real world…

    • 716 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    World and Tom Brennan

    • 993 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Entry ‘into the world’ involves perseverance and motivation in order to adapt to new condition in which an individual may achieve opportunities for growth and development. In the novel, ‘The Story of Tom Brennan’, the seventeen year-old protagonist, Tom Brennan, confronts a traumatic catastrophe, which compels him to undergo physical relocation and tumultuous emotional change. The predominant transition, Tom faces moving into Coghill whereby he has to deal with social alienation and the agonies of trauma, hindering his growth and development. It is evident that Tom experiences flashbacks of the tragic car accident of his brother in the quote, “Running towards the car. Running into headlights. Running into the silence of death.” The anaphora of ‘running’ highlights his emotional devastation, which emphasizes Tom’s paranoia in the initial stages of the novel. The technique of using flashbacks allows the reader to empathize with Tom and stimulate the reader’s curiosity. As a result of this crisis, Tom responds adversely to transferring to a new paradigm of Coghill.…

    • 993 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    journey to further the characters change. Bret Harte is successful in using a physical journey to alter…

    • 642 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    At the start of the story we see John Grady Cole feeling powerless and out of control of his future. His mother is forcing him off of the ranch – a place where John Grady feels most at home – and his father is belittling him by saying, “when I come around askin you what I’m supposed to do you’ll know you’re big enough to tell me,” in reply to John Grady’s concerns about him smoking. Feeling powerless and rebellious and somewhat irrelevant, he runs away with Lacey Rawlins. From the beginning of the journey the reader can tell that John Grady has come…

    • 534 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    I really enjoyed reading All The Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy. I personally read it as a novel about a young boy’s quest for what life is all about as well as a sense of belonging, which is why I was surprised that even though he returns home, at the end of the novel, he soon leaves to continue West. Therefore, ending the novel with the reader questioning whether or not John Grady ever finds the place he truly belongs. John Grady Cole is a sixteen year old boy with a naive view of what life might be like, and he enters Mexico with this mindset and gets into various predicaments because of this. During John Grady and Rawlins time in prison they have a conversation with Emilio Perez, which really resonated…

    • 341 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Horses are the tangible symbol of John Grady's Romantic aspirations and his deep desire to be the right sort of man--a cowboy who is intricately connected with the animal he rides…

    • 396 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Essay On Quarter Horses

    • 507 Words
    • 3 Pages

    From the beginning of equestrian time, many people have pondered which of the two most powerful horses ranks to be the highest athlete. The Quarter Horse comes in all sizes and is known for its stocky beautiful build with a sensible mindset. While the Thoroughbred being typically on the taller side, is known for its sleek slender build with its angelic beauty. Although both of these horses possess undeniable agility and immense power, it is anything but tough to pick between the two. The Quarter Horse is an all-around treasure. Their mind, body, and soul are an unbelievable gift that only God himself could have created.…

    • 507 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays