Introduction
All the Pretty Horses is a novel written by American author Cormac McCarthy. It was first published in 1992 by Alfred A. Knopf and was noted for its romanticism in contrast to the bleakness of his previous novel, Blood Meridian. It also brought McCarthy to the attention of a wide audience.
Cormac McCarthy's Border Trilogy
The first book of Cormac McCarthy's Border Trilogy, All the Pretty Horses, is a national bestseller. It tells the story of sixteen-year-old John Grady Cole, who is cut off from his ranching family. The second book, Cities of the Plain, continues the story.
The Border Trilogy
The Border Trilogy is comprised of three stories set in the 1930s Southwestern United States. In these stories, young American men cross the border in search of their fortunes. They encounter the brutal realities of life in Mexico, and they are able to interact with each other in a way that only a novelist could. The Border Trilogy is not for the faint-hearted.
The Paradox of Reality
The trilogy also explores the paradox of reality. It explores the possibilities of reflection, remembrance, witnessing, and a higher self. The other side of the paradox is depravation and spiritual sickness. While the protagonists in this trilogy struggle with these dilemmas, they are still able to experience moments of soul movement and Beyond.
Cormac McCarthy's Character Traits
Cormac McCarthy's novel, All the Pretty Horses, is a character-driven story, focused on the development of the main protagonist. Jimmy Blevins is a sensitive and impressionable young boy who runs away from home to find freedom in Mexico. His impoverished and violent upbringing causes him to make poor decisions, which worsen his living situation. However, despite these problems, he has a few redeeming qualities that make him a compelling protagonist in the story.
Graphic Violence and Historical Setting
While this novel does have its moments, it does have its share of gruesome violence. The novel depicts many deaths, and the characters are portrayed as feeling the aftermath of these deaths. This graphic violence is standard fare in modern popular fiction, often used to shock and titillate the reader. However, McCarthy attempts to restore the more ancient qualities of violence to modern-day stories. The historical setting also plays an important role in the novel's narrative, and the characters are a product of their era.
Nuances of Human Nature
Cormac McCarthy explores the nuances of human nature through All the Pretty Horses, a novel about a young boy trying to live up to his rancher forefathers' ego-ideal. The novel focuses on the conflict between what is real and what is imagined, and the way we experience it. The protagonist struggles with the tension between the ideal cowboy and the savage landscape.
Cormac McCarthy's Literary Style
Cormac McCarthy's literary style is characterized by a mix of various genres. His novels deal with a variety of issues, including violence and pandemic. Most of his works contain explicit depictions of horrific situations and violence. For example, in his novel Blood Meridian, a young boy escapes from his father's command and becomes a worker for a murderous gang. Other books are set in science fiction and horror genres, but some of his work is more classical in nature.
Influence and Writing Style
In addition to the above themes, Cormac McCarthy has a particular literary style that is distinctive from most other writers. For example, most of his dialogues do not contain punctuation, but this does not affect the sense of dialogue. This style was admired by a professor at the University of Tennessee, where McCarthy studied. But some critics see this as a flaw in McCarthy's writing, such as Saul Bellow, who calls his style "over-emphasizing language."
Cormac McCarthy's Life
McCarthy attended the University of Tennessee, where he published two short stories. He married Lee Holleman, a fellow student, in 1961. The two lived in a shack without running water and heat. The couple had a son, Cullen, in 1962. In 1967, McCarthy's wife filed for divorce and moved to Wyoming with their son. McCarthy then wrote his first novel, "The Orchard Keeper," which was about a man and two instructors in a small, isolated community. He then wrote "The Outer Dark" (1974), which is a novel about the social rejection of a man.
Cormac McCarthy's Setting
Cormac McCarthy's All the Pretty Horses is a popular novel and film adaptation of the 1992 novel. It follows the adventures of 16-year-old cowboy John Grady Cole and three young men who live in the country of Mexico. The novel was widely acclaimed upon its release and won a National Book Award and National Book Critics Circle Award. It was also adapted into a 2000 movie starring Matt Damon and Billy Bob Thornton.
Themes and Literary Influences
Cormac McCarthy's All the Pretty Horses is a classic hero's journey that explores the coming-of-age process of a young man. The novel explores the ideas of honor, responsibility, courage, and a strong sense of honor. It also features a quest theme similar to Don Quixote. As the novel moves forward, John Grady and Rawlins find themselves no longer children, but are trying to live up to their grandfather's legacy in the west.
Although McCarthy has been secretive about his writing, he has given a few interviews. In order to understand his books, readers must try to discern the literary influences he has drawn upon. Some of McCarthy's dialogue echoes the dialogue of Ernest Hemingway, who pioneered the fine tuning of American dialogue.
