In Clint Eastwood’s film, The Outlaw Josey Wales, horses are extremely prevalent. Whether it’s Josey’s horse or the Union soldiers’ horses, they are seen everywhere throughout the film. Horses are not frequent in the film just because it is an old western film; they are frequent in the film because they hold a great amount of symbolism. The most prominent horse in the film is clearly Josey’s horse, and it symbolizes a lot of things. Typically, a horse symbolizes ideas such as the spirit, freedom, or power. In the film, however, Josey’s horse represents a different idea: Josey’s heroic, animalistic and instinctive nature. When he puts horse down, when he rides to Ten Bears on horse, when he rides out of forest and kills the union soldiers on his horse …show more content…
Towards the beginning of the film, Josey’s fellow outlaws are at the Union soldier camp, after giving up their arms, swearing the oath to the Union when the Union soldiers pull out their guns and starting shooting the them.
As soon as this happens, Josey rides in on his horse and begins saving some of the outlaws by killing nearly all of the Union soldiers, revealing his heroic nature. His horse plays a big role in this. The fact that he does all this while on his horse portrays the idea that his horse represents Josey’s heroic character. Clearly, Josey was utterly outnumbered in this scenario and there was an noticeable chance that Josey would die, but he proceeded anyway because he felt that he needed to do so. Additionally, Josey rode out to Ten Bears and his tribe towards the end of the movie. Undoubtedly, he was on his horse. Before this, Josey said that he was going to kill as many indians as he could, including Ten Bears, and that he had no intention of coming back (The Outlaw Josey Wales). This was an extremely courageous sacrifice for the rest of his group. Without his horse, Josey would not have had the courage or ability to perform these gallant acts, which is why it represents his heroic
nature. Not only does Josey’s horse represent his heroic nature, but it also represents his animalistic and instinctive nature. In the middle of the film, when Josey and Jamie are riding through the field, Josey halts Jamie and himself, dismounts his horse, and helps Jamie dismount his horse because he hears Union soldiers riding behind them. Immediately, Josey quickly and forcefully pulls down his and Jamie’s horse onto the ground so that they would not be spotted. Due to his instinct, he knew exactly what to do at the right time. Through this, his animalistic nature is also revealed. He was at one with his horse. His horse, as well as Jamie’s, was an integral part of this scene, which affirms the idea that his horse represents his instinctive and animalistic nature. Many people see a horse in a film and think only about the fact that is is used by a character to ride from place to place, but it carries much more meaning. Particularly, in this film, Josey’s horse symbolizes his heroic, animalistic and instinctive nature. This is displayed when Josey courageously rides his horse while killing the Union soldiers, when Josey sacrificially rides out to Ten Bears on his horse, and when Josey instinctively pulls down his horse and Jamie’s horse when the Union soldiers ride past them. This reveals that not only in film, but in the world itself, an animal can hold great meaning and can symbolize much more than what is perceived at first glance. People must start to recognize the true beauty and meaning behind animals.
In order to begin their journey to Mexico, Josey must first acquire a horse for Watie. He rides into a trading post. It is at this post where Josey encounters his first damsel, a young Navajo woman, who is raped by the two men who own the horses at the post. Josey approaches the men, and they recognize him as the wanted outlaw. The two men try to corner Josey. However, Josey is a legendary gunfight and he kills off the men with ease, saving the young Navajo. As a token of her gratitude, she joins Josey along his journey.
The issue of racism against the black race in Harper Lee’s, To Kill a Mockingbird, and the issue of prejudice of the Native American race in Richard Wagamese’s, Indian Horse, reveal the hardships that these two races endure. It also highlights how these races, as a whole, attempt to push through these hardships, but only one race is headed towards success. The effects of such hardships differ between the two races. Firstly, in To Kill a Mockingbird, Tom Robinson is accused of rape by the daughter of Bob Ewell, who is known as the town drunk. This novel takes place after the Great Depression, and at this time it would be considered unheard-of to pronounce a black person innocent in a trial against a white man. Atticus Finch
"Relocating the Cowboy: American Privilege in "All the Pretty Horses"" Pepperdine University: Global Tides Seaver Journal of Arts and Sciences. Maia Y. Rodriguez, 2014. Web. 2 May 2016. . The Western typically illustrates the journey of a man, usually a horse riding cowboy, into the Western frontier where he must conquer nature "in the name of civilization or [confiscate] the territorial rights of the original inhabitants... Native Americans" (Newman 150). What this brand of mythology promotes is precisely the values of American culture: rugged individualism, achievement and success, activtity and work, democracy and enterprise, and--most importantly--
Saul Indian Horse is an Ojibway child who grew up in a land which offered little contact with anyone belonging to a different kind of society until he was forced to attend a residential school in which children were being stripped away of their culture with the scope of assimilating them into a more “civilized” community. Saul’s childhood in the school, greatly pervaded by psychological abuse and emotional oppression, was positively upset once one of the priests, Father Leboutillier, introduced him to the world of hockey, which soon become his sole means of inclusion and identification, mental well-being and acknowledged self-worth in his life. It is though universally acknowledged how, for every medal, there are always two inevitably opposite
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.
Crazy Horse was born with name Cha-O-Ha meaning he was one with nature. He was given the nickname “Curly” because of his curly hair. His mother died when he was only four years old. He had a brother and a sister. His best friend or Kola was named Hump. When Crazy Horse was young he had a spirit vision of himself in the future telling him to never gloated and dressed just like the vision of himself for battle he would never be wounded in battle. This vision would protect him in many battles later in life. As Curly grew older he and Hump became inseparable. Together they became great hunters and shot many animals, but neither had ever been in battle. One day when he and Hump heard that a group of warriors were headed to an Omaha village. Curly and Hump went with the warriors. During the battle Curly got his first coup (touching another warrior
Few events in history have impacted a culture as much as the introduction of the horse into plains Indian culture. The positive impact of the horse on North America's indigenous people has been romanticized forever in popular culture. The portrait of a plain Indian horse created by the likes of John Wayne and Clint Eastwood is far from complete. While the horse did make nearly every aspect of Native American life more efficient, the spread of horses also contributed to the violence in the southwestern region of the United States in three ways. The trade of horses among the plains Indians created competition for resources, encouraged and contributed to raiding, and allowed the domination of the region by the Apache Indians.
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.
In ‘horse,’ the speaker describes a horse being betrayed and then killed in a small town in Texas. The first two stanzas described the horse thundering towards outstretched hands being attracted to a field of corn but instead it is attacked by a group of white teenage boys who leave it mutilated. The sheriff of the town does not do anything because he believes that it is in their nature to do so. In the last stanzas the Mexican owner puts the horse out of his misery and someone tries to pay him for the damage. His people are disappointed because they believe that money could not make up for the death of the horse but, they do nothing about it. It would seem the horse in the poem is meant to represent the Mexican culture and how it is being eradicated by the dominant white society in the United States.
For many Americans, the image of the cowboy evokes pleasant nostalgia of a time gone by, when cowboys roamed free. The Cowboy is, to many Americans, the ideal American, who was quick to the draw, well skilled in his profession, and yet minded his own business. Regardless of whether the mental picture that the word cowboy evokes is a correct or incorrect view of the vocation, one seldom views cowboys as being black. The first cowboy I met was from Texas and was black. After he told me that he was a cowboy, I told him that he had to be kidding. Unfortunately, I was not totally to blame for my inability to recognize that color has nothing to do with the cowboy profession; most if not all popular famous images of cowboys are white. In general, even today, blacks are excluded from the popular depiction of famous Westerners. Black cowboys were unheard of for almost a century after they made their mark on the cattle herding trade, not because they were insignificant, but because history fell victim to prejudice, and forgot peoples of color in popular depictions of the West and Western history.
When one thinks of the United States of America, they probably consider our history, our culture, our media, our impressive cities and the extremely wide variety of beautiful wildernesses that we are lucky enough to still enjoy. We are lucky enough to have a melting pot of cultures in this country, and many different kinds of people. However, when thinking of an original, all-American figure, cowboys come to mind for many people. Our history and the settlement of the U.S. was unlike any other country, and the development of the country in the more western states came with the unique and fascinating time period referred to now as “The Old West”. The Old West was a crucial time in American history, and though it was a simpler time it also came with its share of excitement. Some of the most memorable details about the Old West were the characters that came with it, and some extremely interesting ones were the least conforming- the outlaws. Jesse Woodson James was one of the most notorious outlaws in American history. His name would go down in history as one belonging to a tough as nails and fearless bank robber who led a group of outlaws across the mid-west robbing banks and trains, and even murdering people. When we look at the big picture of what the U.S. has become today, The Old West certainly has had a large impact on our culture, and Jesse James certainly had a large impact on the Old West. Though most would argue that he was not a decent or moral person, one cannot argue that he was still a very interesting and unique icon of the west. So how did Jesse Woodson James change and leave his mark on the United St...
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.
Contrary to the story’s focus on horses, the movie focuses on the romance between John Grady and Alejandra as its poster has the couple with a greater presence compared to the miniscule graphic of horses shoved on the bottom; whereas the book’s cover is graced with the image of a horse and only of that horse. Of all the events that were absent from the movie, the romance scenes are the most kept intact as well as an odd addition of an onlooker dancing when John Grady finishes talking with Alejandra on the phone after being bailed out of jail. In fact, it feels like horses are more of an afterthought in this adaptation because John Grady does not put any emphasis on them as he does in the novel. While in jail, John Grady had a dream about horses, “… in the dream he was among the horses running and in the dream he himself could run with the horses …” (McCarthy 161) In the fashion of flickering images for a subliminal message, brief, flashing visions of Alejandra are injected into this dream when there were none. Romance is pushed as the main focus of the story, but it fails to make the couple fulfilling since the dynamic between John Grady and Alejandra is not developed well enough to make it
When we look back to their original history that we can see they were not only work against the nature for their life but also fight against the bandits to protect their hometown. Based on this situation, people live and work in west place paying more attention on functional stuff is not strange thing. As we all know, cowboys has a cowboy suit and that one formed a new style during the following decades of years and was famous of its durable and this style almost be loved by everyone who was going to the west to explore the gold and dream of becoming rich in one night. When we talk about the cowboy suit, we usually connect it with horses and wilderness and that one also indicates one main characteristic of cowboy – freedom. In the western movies or books we can often see that cowboys save or help one’s life while he is riding a horse or when a group merchant is trying to across one wide Gobi, they always can find a vagabond cowboy to protect them. This spirit always evokes Americans to fight against injustice and discrimination and many writers write about liberty by learning this kind of spirit. Although many people consider cowboy as a man with no property, no schooling, no social standing, no ambition for money, cowboy has boundless courage, competence, self discipline, physical
In conclusion, horses mean more to me than many other things. They are part of my friends and family, but I also have great respect for them. Horses are surrounded by benefits that make us feel exceptional. Their colors are all attractive. Their breeds are marvelous and unique. Their history with us is quite a beneficial relationship. Their behavior is different from ours, but is an easy language to learn. Showing horses is exhilarating! Caring for them can seem like a chore, but is actually an overall fun and propitious experience. Riding horses is fun and meaningful, not just something to learn or do just because. And, no matter what people say, I believe there is something truly special about my dear friend the horse.