Analysis Of All The Pretty Horses By Cormac Mccarthy

149 Words1 Page
bulb-icon

Recommended: Violence in literature

In the article The Changing Landscape of Violence in Cormac McCarthy’s Early Novels and the Border Trilogy. by Vince Brewton, the author explains the effects of violence and the cultural context in which the work was written on the novel All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy. Brewton points out the McCarthy experienced two wars during the writing of his early work and the Border Trilogy, the Vietnam and the Gulf War respectively. These events greatly affected McCarthy’s “aesthetic of violence”. The author remarks that the violence in the early works of McCarthy is random and most likely going to happen again. This is contrasted with the violence of the Trilogy, which represents a thematic element in the story and is high point of tension.

Show More
Related

  • Analysis Of The Road Prologue By Cormac Mccarthy

    254 Words  | 1 Pages

    It has been three years since humanity was still alive. The year is 2020; very few people are left in America. A great series of large volcanic eruptions covered the region. No one could have prepared for them, and not one person predicted these tragedies. The author, Cormac McCarthy, shows the enticing travel of a father and his son. They must travel south for warmth, fight the starvation they are facing, and never let their guard down. They will never know what insane people might be lurking around the corner.

    Read More

  • Juxtaposition In Joseph Mccarthy Enemies From Within

    888 Words  | 2 Pages

    McCarthy laments the “swiftness of the tempo of communist victories and American defeats” (McCarthy, 2) in the progression of war. By contrasting the victories of the communists and defeats of the Americans, McCarthy presents the American audience with knowledge of an aggressor challenging traditional American superiority and thus far succeeding, thereby eliciting feelings of shared scorn for the perceived lower-class belligerents, the communists, and generating unified sympathy and nationalism behind their own countrymen. Further juxtaposition is used by McCarthy to express the nature of the internal communist infiltrators in America. He describes the “ones who have been the worst [traitors]” (2) as being “bright young men who are born with silver spoons in their mouths” (2). McCarthy appeals to the everyman in America, instilling feelings of disdain for the elite bourgeoisie who have seemed to leech their nation of resources and then turned on a whim to become communist traitors to their own great nation. Further juxtaposition of this bourgeoisie element to its unexpected downfall to communism

    Read More

  • Imagery In Cormac Mccarthy's All The Pretty Horses

    852 Words  | 2 Pages

    McCarthy simply stresses imagery, setting, and conflict all of which show that effortless decisions can lead to great outcomes.

    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

  • Blood And Symbolic Themes In All The Pretty Horses

    883 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Blood in Cormac McCarthy's All The Pretty Horses

    947 Words  | 2 Pages

    In All the Pretty Horses, Cormac McCarthy uses blood as a unifying concept allowing it to flow within the body of the text; the reader gets a sense that the novel is giving life to someone while simultaneously bringing upon its death. The reality of John Grady exists within the use of blood, connecting his life to the natural beauty and animals through which his character emerges. Blood is essential for the human race; we need it to live, once having bled we learn and if we lose it all, we die. Nonetheless, blood associates us to the world around us; its flow so similar to the flowing waters, its color so alive and “nothing can be proven except that it is made bleed.” (p.230)

    Read More

  • Horses Of The Night Analysis

    990 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Senator Joseph McCarthy and Communism

    1178 Words  | 3 Pages

    Straight, Michael. "The Fanaticism Of Joseph Mccarthy." New Republic 130.26 (1954): 6-8. Publisher Provided Full Text Searching File. Web. 17 Feb. 2014.

    Read More

  • Biblical Allusions In The Crossing By Mccarthy

    169 Words  | 1 Pages

    McCarthy’s use of biblical allusions help to create a setting in which all the characters have more complex parts to play than what it seems like at first glance. The allusions also create the tone, which is somber, and almost dream like. The protagonist had his “palms up” while sleeping, which could mean that he fell asleep as he was praying, or in other words pleading. Yet when he woke up “it was still dark”, this creates a hopeless ton because even after all of the begging, the world he woke up to was a dark one. When the wolf dies, the protagonist imagines her “running in the mountains” with different

    Read More

  • Faulkner Vs McCarthy

    682 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Justice In Cormac Mccarthy's All The Pretty Horses

    696 Words  | 2 Pages

    Cormac McCarthy’s novel All The Pretty Horses depicts the constant search for justice in a world plagued with injustice. John Grady, while never given the justice owed to him, never gives up on his search for a place wherein he can find justice. Through John Grady’s experiences we can more clearly view the idea that, even though you may never find justice in the world sometimes it’s more important to focus on your quest for justice than your outcome.

    Read More

  • Literary Analysis Of The Rocking Horse Winner

    1196 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Rocking Horse Winner This story opens up about a mother that has 3 children, a boy and two little girls. The story explains how the mother is a beautiful woman who has no luck. According to the story, “she married for love, and the love turned into lust. She had bonny children, yet she felt they had been thrust upon her and she could not love them” (151).

    Read More

  • Theme Analysis of D.H. Lawrence's The Horse Dealer's Daughter

    1188 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • A Man Called Horse Character Analysis

    350 Words  | 1 Pages

    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.

    Read More

More about Analysis Of All The Pretty Horses By Cormac Mccarthy

Open Document