Cormac Mccarthy All The Pretty Horses Essay

584 Words2 Pages

John Grady Cole's venture into the Mexican western setting in “All the Pretty Horses” shows a clear representation of a stark encounter, as he approaches the forces of modernity. Based on the myths in the cowboy manifesto, Cormac McCarthy includes timeless themes of honor and cultural attitudes. "In what was now a vast and empty landscape of hills and valleys, hills where the wheat grew that would soon be cut and laid by hand, John Grady saw them and saw the muleskinners plodding in the gray light with their packsacks following like mules in a train and he felt what he would feel for the rest of his life” (Page 201). This passage shows how John Grady reflects on the changes happening around him. Traditional changes in life are being altered by modernity. He captures …show more content…

McCarthy's use of western genre adds depth to John’s expedition as he is exposed to defeat, loss of innocence, and mortality. As he proceeds on his journey, his vision of the West gets shattered, and he faces the realities of consequences and death. Cormac McCarthy uses frontier fiction in “All the Pretty Horses” to represent the transformation of a young, modest cowboy into a cynical individual. The protagonist, John Grady Cole, contends with the challenges of his adventure through the Mexican countryside. By confronting the harsh realities and experiences of life, he is filled with a profound sense of disillusionment. As he reflects on the emotional toll throughout his experience, he expresses a haunting realization about his inner turmoil. “He felt something cold and soulless enter him like another being and he imagined that it smiled malignly and he had no reason to believe that it would ever leave” (Page 301). By the description of something “cold and soulless” entering him, this quote vividly illustrates John Grady’s internal

Open Document