Equestrian Symbolism

A detailed Summary of Equestrian Symbolism

"The ancient road was shaped before him in the rose and canted light like a dream of the past where the painted horses and the riders of that lost nation came down out of the north. . .When the wind was wild in the north you could hear them, the horses and the horses' hooves that were shod in rawhide" (McCarthy, 5). This vivid description suggests the encompassing theme of the horse in Cormac McCarthy's All the Pretty Horses. As John Grady Cole stands on a lonely desert road in his homeland of west Texas, his home falling into the hands of another, he imagines himself a warrior like the Indians-- free and wild-riding on horseback, and headed toward adventure and the fulfillment of his dreams. Although it may seem at times to be merely the background in this novel, the horse is, nevertheless, an ever-present influence in the life of the hero, John Grady Cole. The very title, All the Pretty Horses, suggests a significant involvement and connection with horses as the central theme. Though its representation is extremely complex and intricate, the portrayal of the horse seems to reflect a few subtle allusions in John Grady's coming-of-age adventure.

One primary representation of the horse is that it seems to symbolize John Grady

Up till the last refrain, the horse is again the ever present, underlying backdrop to John Grady's odyssey. The horse was an important means for the advancement of his dreams. It the figure of romance and intense passion and of the deepest emotions of the human heart. Above all, the horse and his rider will be forever moving on. Like the metaphor of a desert shadow, they will be ever changing and growing until they have "passed and paled into the darkening land, the world to come" (302).

In nearly every one of John and Alejandra's early encounters, the constant presence of horses seems to symbolize the high emotional sparks flying between them. Various horse references and images are so entwined with almost every one of their early rendezvous that it seems almost inevitable that the horse is their love symbol-the link that ties them together. A most striking example of this horse-entwined allusion occurs at one of their clandestine dates on the campo where the author repeatedly makes three references to both them and the horses in an almost identical pattern of words in the same paragraph: " . . .they rode the horses side by side at a walk, sitting the animals bareback and riding with hackamores . . .riding the horses side by side up the cienaga road . . .and holding his cupped hands for her to step into and lift her onto the black horse's naked back. . .and turning the horse and then riding side by side up the cienaga road. . ."(140). The repeated referral to "riding side by side up the cienaga road", again, seems to indicate a strong correlation between the presence of the horse and the themes of strong affection and ardor.

But of all the various symbols the horse image may imply, the idea of wildness and freedom strikes as perhaps the most authentic. John Grady's objective, in the first place, was to stake out on his own-to find his own niche in a world more to his liking. However, when he is suddenly imprisoned in Mexico because of false charges, his freedom, for time, is laid to the dust.

Some common words found in the essay are:
John Grady's, Don Hector's, John Alejandra's, Grady Cole, , Grady Cole's, Hamley Formfitter, Apocalypse Horses, Pretty Horses, DH Lawrence, john grady's, cienaga road, john grady, wild horses, side cienaga road, side cienaga, john grady's odyssey, horses john, night dreams, horse symbol, john grady cole, grady cole, grady's odyssey horse, riding side cienaga, pretty horses,

Approximate Word count = 1367
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Novels