John Grady Cole is a sixteen-year-old southern boy from Texas who is trying to live his life as a cowboy while following in his great grandfather’s footsteps. Saving his grandfather’s ranch, where he’s lived the entirety of his life, is no longer an option; instead he chooses to flee from the United States towards Mexico in order to the live out the western lifestyle that he wants. With his values of honor, respect, loyalty, and skill he leaves for a new life. Cole has a romantic vision of living his life as a cowboy. He values the horses, mountains, and sunsets which reflect as a symbol of the West. Cole also feels that he needs to live his life a certain way so therefore he must leave the United States and go to Mexico. His best friend Rawlins …show more content…
travels with him and they soon come across another boy named Blevins to travel along with them. Cole is loyal towards Rawlins and is like a father figure towards Blevins. All three of them are faced with many decisions in which some were difficult and life changing. One decision Cole was faced with was whether or not to keep fighting for Alejandra. Alejandra is the daughter of the owner of the hacienda in which Cole falls in love with. His love affair is quickly ended and forbidden due to Alejandra’s family values and beliefs. For John Grady Cole, going out west is the only way to go. McCarthy explains in the beginning of the book that in the evening of his grandfather’s funeral “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” (McCarthy 5). As he is riding on his horse on the ranch he shared with his grandfather it reflects on how he cherishes the ranch and wants to follow in his foot steps. With their love of the West and passion with nature, John Grady Cole and Henry David Thoreau share a lot in common.
Cormac McCarthy describes Cole before he falls asleep that “as he was drifting to sleep his thoughts were of horses and of the open country and of horses” (McCarthy 117). The repetition of horses shows his strong passion for them and this quotation also explains his love and enjoyment of the West and the landscapes. Thoreau can relate to this because he explains that “I love even to see the domestic animals reassert their native rights — any evidence that they have not wholly lost their original wild habits and vigor; as when my neighbor's cow breaks out of her pasture early in the Spring and boldly swims the river, a cold grey tide, twenty-five or thirty rods wide, swollen by the melted snow. It is the Buffalo crossing the Mississippi” (Thoreau 25). This quotation is describing Thoreau’s passion for animals (in this case a cow) and how he enjoys watching them roam wild and free. Cole and Thoreau both feel that they need to go toward the West because life is just simply better there. Thoreau describes that “every sunset which I witness inspires me with the desire to go to a West as distant and as far as that into which the sun goes down” (Thoreau 13). This quote is explaining his deep affection towards nature and how it inspires his life. In comparison to Thoreau, McCarthy explains to the reader that “He rode with the sun coppering his face and the red wind
blowing out of the west across the evening land and the small desert birds flew chittering among the dry bracken and horse and rider and horse passed on and their long shadows passed in tandem like the shadow of a single being. Passed and paled into the darkening land, the world to come” (McCarthy 302). Therefore, this is describing Cole continuing on towards the west and putting his old life behind him. Thoreau also considers the west as a new beginning because he implies that “we go westward as into the future with a spirit of enterprise and adventure” (Thoreau 12). By this, he means that the west is the future and is where we need to be headed because living in the past will bring you no where.
As they continue toward Mexico, Josey and the gang ride through a small town in Texas. They encounter Union soilders and bounty hunters as they pass through. Since Josey is a wanted man, it is likely that everywhere he goes trouble will follow. Leaving a trail of more dead men behind, Josey and the gang continue on in search of freedom from those pursuing them. Shortly after their encounter in Texas, Josey and the gang come across a group of Comancheros who have taken in their captivity a family from Kansas. Here Josey not only saves a Grandmother and her husband, but also his second damsel. This scene features Josey riding in on his horse, out numbered by the Commancheors, yet he still manages to kill them all with the quick draw of his pistols. Although Josey saves the day yet again, this creates more trouble for Josey because the Commancheros he killed had intended to trade the captives to the Comache Chief, known as Ten Bears, in exchange for horses. There is also the conflict of Josey trespassing on the land of the Comanches.
Into the Wild by John Krakauer is a rare book in which its author freely admits his bias within the first few pages. “I won't claim to be an impartial biographer,” states Krakauer in the author’s note, and indeed he is not. Although it is not revealed in the author's note whether Krakauer's bias will be positive or negative, it can be easily inferred. Krakauer's explanation of his obsession with McCandless's story makes it evident that Into the Wild was written to persuade the reader to view him as the author does; as remarkably intelligent, driven, and spirited. This differs greatly from the opinion many people hold that McCandless was a simply a foolhardy kid in way over his head. Some even go as far as saying that his recklessness was due to an apparent death-wish. Krakauer uses a combination of ethos, logos and pathos throughout his rendition of McCandless’s story to dispute these negative outlooks while also giving readers new to this enigmatic adventure a proper introduction.
So finally he is back from where he started – the life influenced by those around him. Soon he found himself playing the ball accordingly. He recognizes that in contrast to his idea of seeing himself as an independent and unique identity is a myth in the real world. Nevertheless, in the end John Grady is still headed west (p.302), just as he does at the beginning (p.5). Does he still hope for better pastures further west of Mexico?
The epigraphs presented by Krakauer before each chapter of the memoir Into the Wild dive deep into the life of Chris McCandless before and after his journey into the Alaskan wilderness. They compare him to famous “coming of age characters” and specific ideas written by some of his favorite philosophers. These give the reader a stronger sense of who Chris was and why he made the decision to ultimately walk alone into the wild.
"Terrain as Narrative Lens in All the Pretty Horses." 2012 Brennan Prize Winning Essay // // University of Notre Dame. University of Notre Dame, 2012. Web. 02 May 2016. . Mexican wilderness comes to reflect John Grady Cole’s internal processes in its role as a vast tract of fenceless space, a canvas upon which McCarthy renders his main character’s experiences as they shape his identity. Meanwhile, the tightness of a Texan terrain scarred and lotted by barbed wire boundaries recognizes the restlessness that drives John Grady’s transience. The effect is a realization of the rapport between
I really don’t understand the scene when Cole burnt all the supplies he was given, to stay on the island. Cole was mad in this scene and poured gasoline all over his supplies and lit a match and all the supplies burnt up. I don't understand this because I don't know why you would burn the things that are meant to help you stay alive. When Cole stated “ You don’t get it do you? My parents are divorced and they don’t give a rat is I live or die” (27) It made me feel bad for him because that is the main reason why is the way he is, I hope that later in the story he finds someone who cares about him or realizes how much garvey cares about him. I dislike his parents because they just became drunks and treat Cole poorly, which is unfair and not right for his parents to do. I think if Cole realized that he is doing the same thing his parents are doing to him, to others such as when he beat up the boy from school, Cole had mentioned that his parents had beat him up and no he is beating up kids at school. I noticed a lot in the story so far
...Mexico teaches him that the world is completely different. The real world is filled with hardship and disappointment, not his idea of simple innocence. John also learns that the romanticism he finds in horses only exist in horses and cannot be applied to people like you and me. His relationship with the horses exists on so many levels: he uses them for friendship, comfort, transportation, and as spiritual mentors. Also, McCarthy describes the horses passionately. John's distinct relationship with the horses causes him to believe humans are like that. Yet, on his journey he learns that men do not have the same passion as horses but instead are violent creatures that make the world ugly, not pretty because of all the heartbreak, and death he has to go through on his long journey.
Both Thoreau and McCandless had a deep appreciation for solitude in nature. In Walden, Thoreau explains how he’d “... love to see Nature that is so rife with life that myriads can be afforded to be sacrificed and suffered to prey on one another; that tender organizations can be so serenely squashed out of existence..” (Thoreau, Walden 238). While being on his “adventure”, Thoreau was able to observe all of the little things in nature, and appreciate all of the little things. While in civilization, one would not be able to notice such things because there are much too many people around to notice. While on his journey, McCandless “No longer.
The times are changing and he's unwilling to give up the past. The world is becoming modernized and people like him, cowboys and ranchers, are slowly disappearing. He runs away from home because he desires to find peace within himself, as well as a place where he can feel he belongs. Here begins the adventure of John Grady and his best friend Lacey Rawlins. It is important to note here the means of travel.
The protagonist is to find disappointment and failure in all his pursuits. “Bordertown” opens with a law school commencement where Johnny is introduced as a “tough kid” who came out of the barrio and overcame many obstacles to successfully graduate from law school. Here, we are also introduced to Johnny’s over- affectionate, dim- witted mother and his local parish priest. Together, they act as his support group and often discourage his ambitions.
Chris McCandless does not wish to follow defined life structure that society enforces to simply be alive, instead, he chooses to take a seek a path to live a life with purpose. Such an eagerness to seek detachment from what is expected by society, is enforced by not only McCandless but also Thoreau. A primary factor resembling this, is McCandless’ view that many people “live within unhappy circumstances...yet will not change…they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism...damaging to the adventurous spirit(40).” The detesting tone risen through the confliction of “unhappy circumstances” and “damage,” to “safety, conformity and conservation,” emphasis his will to separate from a lifestyle lacking change. This is done
“The very basic core of a man's living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun.” (Chris McCandless) This was said by McCandless because he could not find happiness from his family so he went out to go find happiness. The book Into the Wild, by John Krakauer, was a book about a person named Chris McCandless, who could not find happiness from his family because they always provided him with all the materials he needed. This caused him to go out for an adventure or to the wild in Alaska. While on his journey, he had read books finding self- definition and so he used the authors from the book as literary heroes to get him past the journey. He was really inspired by the writers. With the inspiration he was set out to find happiness, and so he went into the wild. It is where he spent the rest of his days until he died because of poisoning. Many of his literary heroes inspired him to do what he did, but one stands out the most. Leo Tolstoy, who is considered to be one of the best novelists, Leo really inspired Chris because they had a life that they could relate. He also appreciated him because he had realistic views of the life. Chris McCandless needed inspiration for his adventure, so he looked up to the literary heroes as his guidance to the wild.
In Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer explores the human fascination with the purpose of life and nature. Krakauer documents the life and death of Chris McCandless, a young man that embarked on an Odyssey in the Alaskan wilderness. Like many people, McCandless believed that he could give his life meaning by pursuing a relationship with nature. He also believed that rejecting human relationships, abandoning his materialistic ways, and purchasing a book about wildlife would strengthen his relationship with nature. However, after spending several months enduring the extreme conditions of the Alaskan wilderness, McCandless’ beliefs begin to work against him. He then accepts that he needs humans, cannot escape materialism, and can never fully understand how nature functions. Most importantly, he realizes that human relationships are more valuable than infinite solitude. McCandless’ gradual change of heart demonstrates that exploring the wilderness is a transformative experience. Krakauer uses the life and death of Chris McCandless to convey that humans need to explore nature in order to discover the meaning of life.
After a few days of traveling, the convoy came across a man that was looking for a slave. Cole was picked because he wasn’t afraid of heights. Cole was taken to work as a Sky
“All the Pretty Horses”, a novel written by Cormac McCarthy tells the tale about a man and his friend travelling the plains of Mexico after leaving their homes in Texas. As the novel’s name alludes to, horses are a central theme in the story as they represent manhood and freedom when John Grady, the protagonist, and his friend Rawlins get thrown in jail. McCarthy’s novel became critically-acclaimed which gained him more recognition, as well as a movie adaptation directed by Billy Bob Thornton. Even though Thornton’s adaption has the basics of the novel’s story it does not appropriately grasps its depth. While Thornton’s version stays faithful to the dialogue from the book’s included scenes it does fall short by having an erratic pace, having