Suffering in Cormac McCarthy’s All the Pretty Horses

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Recommended: Reality vs.fantasy in a modern world

Suffering in Cormac McCarthy’s All the Pretty Horses

In All the Pretty Horses, Cormac McCarthy tells the tale of John Grady Cole’s quest to capture the ideal qualities of a cowboy as he sees them: laid-back, unfettered, nomadic and carefree attitudes. These qualities soon clash, however, with the reality of darkness, suffering and mystery that seems to follow him. Reality constantly subverts his ideal dream. Time and time again, John Grady Cole works to be this fantasy, but through reality’s constant rejection of his fantasy, he lives the dream.

John Grady Cole starts on his journey to live the dream of a cowboy with his companion, Rawlin. Both are searching for a better life as they wander the plains waiting for adventure. The bump in the previously smooth road arises from Blevin, a thirteen-year-old boy, eager to join the adventurous party. Only after persistent persuasion, a valuable horse and an impressive demonstration of skill, John Grady and Rawlin allow Blevin to join them.

Not long after, the characters face their first challenge; during a thunderstorm Blevin stripes himself of any metal and clothing because of his fear of lightning. When morning comes, naked Blevin has lost everything: clothes, horse and rifle. Continuing their journey, they ride into the village of Encantada to discover someone else has possessed Blevin horse and rifle. Eager to recapture his own possessions, Rawlin predicts trouble because of Blevin’s prides, however, John Grady decides to be true to his heart and help Blevin to retrieve his horse and rifle. The situation creates tension between the reality of the consequences and the fantasy of a cowboy.

The tension results in disaster. The friends leave Encantada b...

... middle of paper ...

...er and roam. In this vast land uninhabited between the United States and Mexico, John Grady encounter three men. “The man studied his eyes in the firelight” (McCarthy 281), looking for truth and honesty. This is who John Grady wanted to be. “Men of the country” (McCarthy 281). This was John Grady’s dream, his quest, laid out physically in front of him, but a struggle is created from the dream-like image of these men and the reality of becoming these men, although, John Grady has yet to reach this point. As the curtains close, John Grady rides off into the sunset, into vast plains, searching for the ideal qualities of a cowboy he will never find because of the unrealistic nature of his fantasy. For John Grady to live the dream, conflict between reality and fantasy leads to pain, suffering and darkens, forcing John Grady on a never-ending search for his fantasy.

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