Cormac McCarthy wrote All the Pretty Horses as a novel title to reflect the many roles horses play in John Grady’s coming of age story. The horse, the social basis of Western American culture, was described as a practical and economical asset. McCarthy describes horses’ abstract characteristics using idyllic and passionate diction. He also depicts them as being animals with a high-level spiritual nature that is similar to humans. John Grady is close to all horses and has a deep understanding of the horse world. As he travels, he discovers that men are different than horses. This forces him to rethink how humans and horses interact. John discovers his preconceptions about men, and the human society they live in, are incorrect. McCarthy chose the ironic title because it epitomizes John’s experience of change. McCarthy uses this title to show John’s original perspective of the world. This is later refuted by John’s later experiences.
John’s entire life revolved around horses. These horses represent strength, bravery, and freedom of spirit. Luis tells his boys about the love that vaqueros have of horses. “The old gentleman only said it was pointless to talk of no horses in this world because God would never allow it” (111). The vaqueros value horses so much that they consider them almost divine. John’s romantic view that horses can be spiritual also is reinforced by this quote. The boys are just like the vaqueros and revere horses. Horses play an important role in their daily lives. The novel shows how the boys use horses as companions, escape or transportation, and even as judges of strangers’ character. John had dreams of horses and even dreamed of them. This is almost poetic in its use of the words “wild” and “souls” to refer to horses. John’s dreams of horses in this manner and his desire to “reside forever” in their souls show that John considers them to be a mentor, almost mystical.
McCarthy uses romantic, emotional language throughout his novel to describe horses. McCarthy portrays the horses as noble, wild creatures with venerable diction. McCarthy portrays horses with vivid imagery. McCarthy (5) says that the painted ponies and riders of that lost country came down from the North with their faces drawn and their long hair pixie-cut. Each was armed for war and they could be heard, their breath and the horses’ breathing. McCarthy attributes horses passion and fervor in this passage. The emotions and passion that are evoked by words like “painted ponies” or “the breathe of horses” create a passionate, emotional atmosphere. The author describes the energy and life flowing through horses as follows: “John Grady…held the horse…with his long bony head pressed against him chest and the sweet, hot breath of it rising from its dark wells over his neck and face like news from another planet” (103). The metaphors “news from another planet” and “the dark wells in its nostrils” are powerful reminders that these mysterious animals have a different nature to us. Horses’ “hot sweet breath…flooding upward” is a sign of the energy and life that they have. McCarthy later wrote that McCarthy saw this mysterious energy and said, “He rode the five last horses…the horses were dancing, turning under the light, flashing their red eyes…they moved with a great elegance & seemliness” (107). It is a striking image of horses dancing and their red eyes flashing, which is both mysterious and quite striking. It is easy to imagine these scenes being made into movies because of their cinematic description. The extravagant depictions of horses are almost too realistic. These are John’s romantic images, the “pretty mares” of his title.
John Grady has a mysterious connection with horses. He can communicate with horses on a deeper and more intimate level than any other character in the tale. This is evident in the scene where John and Rawlins break the horses. John “cupped the horse’s eye and stroked them. He spoke in a steady, low voice and told the horse what he was going to do. John’s ability “stroke the terror from the horses” is similar to a parent soothing a child who is afraid. McCarthy states explicitly that there is a strong bond between John Grady’s horse and his. He wrote, “The boy riding on lightly before him sat a horses not only as though he had been conceived to it which he was” (23). This passage shows John’s connection with horses. The metaphysical aspect of John’s relationship is highlighted throughout the novel. Luis stated that horses share a common spirit. “If a person understood all horses, then he’d understand them all.” (111). McCarthy seems to be suggesting that John Grady is capable of understanding the soul and nature of horses, which is why their relationship is so special.
John relies on his knowledge of horses to help him navigate the world of man. But, eventually, John discovers the differences between the two species. John doesn’t know much about human society at large, but he believes that horses and humans are very similar when he starts his journey. McCarthy says that McCarthy loved horses and men as well as the blood and heat of the blood they were bred from. All his reverence, all his fondness and all of the leanings in his life were for those who are ardenthearted. They would never change. John understands that horses can be “ardenthearted” but believes men should do the same. His journey is romantic and passionate. He believes it will help him see the world better. But he soon discovers the opposite. John hears Luis tell him that “among humans there was not such communion among horses” (111). John begins to doubt his abilities and discovers the truth.
His journey is not filled with “pretty horses”, but murder, stealing and prison. John’s misguided journey proves Luis right and destroys John’s belief in the human world. When it’s all over, John returns home disappointed to discover that his father and abuela had died. John’s fantasy world of men has been replaced by a “world…that…seemed not to care for the old, the young, the rich and the poor, dark or pale or he/she.” Nothing for them, nothing for themselves. Nothing for the living and the dead” (301). The world of “all-the-pretty horses” is a distant dream to John. This is the irony of the title: A story called All the Pretty Horses wouldn’t seem to include the violence and death that John experiences on his travels. John “full circled” his beliefs about men and found that they were incorrect.
McCarthy’s novel All the Pretty Horses does not mean to be taken literally. John Grady believes that “all the beautiful horses” exist because he’s never experienced anything else. However, his experiences in Mexico make him realize the reality of life, which is not easy, free, or as innocent as he thought. John discovers that horses are not romanticized in the same way that men can. John loves horses and hears the praise for them in folklore. He has a complex relationship with horses. They are his friend, his transport and even his spiritual companions. McCarthy’s emotional diction creates almost a theme of passion in McCarthy’s descriptions of horses. John believes that men and horses are alike because of his unusual understanding of their passion. On his dark, disappointing journey, John discovers that horses have a different passion than men. Their world is unpredictable and often violent, and they certainly are not pretty.
