Growing Up Too Fast: A Reader’s Response to All the Pretty Horses

As I was making my way through McCarthy’s novel, which apparently “puts other American authors to shame” (The New York Times Book Review quote from the cover), I realized that it is a bildungsroman of John Grady Cole. When he runs away, he is a 16 year-old boy still clinging to that teenage sense of invincibility, excited for what the future holds. Upon his return, however, he is a grown man, having aged beyond his years due to his intense experiences in Mexico. Personally, I know that I get the “you’ve grown up too fast” sentiment from my parents and relatives pretty frequently nowadays, but compared to John Grady, I have grown up at a rather snail-like pace. Just think about it – John Grady leaves the “comfort” (although comfort is a debatable term) of his home in San Angelo, Texas to the vast unknown of Mexico, having just lost his grandfather and his dream of ranch. Already, at 16 years old, he has lost his one dream in life, while the only dream I lost was when I was 8 years old and my mom told me that singing was not a promising career for someone of my vocal talents.

When John Grady and Rawlins run into Blevins along their journey to the boarder, John Grady begins to serve as the older brother to both Blevins and Rawlins. Even though he is the same age as the other two boys, he is more mature and has useful wisdom to bestow upon his fellow travelers. Again, John Grady is forced further into adulthood because he feels responsible for the safety of Rawlins and Blevins, like an older brother or father. An example of this father like relationship is when Blevins panics during the lightening storm and loses all of his belongings, including his clothes, so John Grady offers his spare shirt and allows Blevins to ride on the back of his horse. “John Grady shook his head. He reached and unbuckled his saddlebag and took out his spare shirt and pitched it down to Blevins” (72). John Grady expresses his disappointment, but ultimately aids Blevins because he feels a parental obligation for Blevins. Keep in mind; this is only in the first section of the novel.

In section two, he begins working for Don Hector Rocha’s ranch, La Purisma, and falls madly in love with Alejandra Rocha, the gorgeous and rebellious daughter of Don Hector Rocha. When Rocha finds out about his daughter’s love affair with John Grady, he turns Rawlins and John Grady in to the police as criminals. The two boys proceed to go to prison, and John Grady gets in a knife fight, which is apparently pretty common in that prison, killing his opponent. Again, at the age of 16, John Grady has lost is one big dream of inheriting his grandfather’s ranch, fallen head over heels for his boss’s daughter, and killed a man in a common prison knife fight. And if that wasn’t enough, in section three, Alejandra breaks John Grady’s heart and upon his return to San Angelo he discovers that his father has passed away. In the span of only one or two years, John Grady has faced many of the curve balls that life will throw at an average person in his or her lifetime.

Let me reiterate, compared to John Grady, and I may only be speaking for myself, my process of growing up has been pretty lethargic, whether or not my parents want to agree. Did John Grady miss out on a significant portion of his childhood? Or is this a common phenomenon for a 16-year-old boy in 1949? Has society made it more acceptable for children to slow their maturity? If so, is this in turn affecting society in a positive or negative way? I could argue both sides for hours.

 

Jimmy Blevins: A Shy Runaway or A Calculating Criminal? – A Reader’s Response to All the Pretty Horses

When we first met Jimmy Blevins in All the Pretty Horses, my initial reaction was utter confusion, which says a lot considering how confused I already was. For starters, his sudden appearance was not only bizarre but also slightly creepy. It was clear from the moment Rawlins and John Grady noticed Blevins that he had been tailing them, yet Blevins fervently denies this, assuring them, “I ain’t huntin you.” (39). Personally, I find this really hard to believe. How does one just happen upon someone in a massive Mexican desert? It gets even weirder when Blevins runs into John Grady and Rawlins a second time, at which point, it became pretty clear that he was after them. But why? After putting some thought into it, I have a theory to propose: Jimmy Blevins is not just a scrawny thirteen year old who panics at the sight of lightning storms. He’s a dangerous criminal on the run.

The first sign that Blevins is a calculating criminal is his incessant need to lie. Not only does he tell the boys he’s sixteen when he’s clearly not, he also refuses to reveal why he fled the United States or who exactly he’s hiding from. He concocts a strange and seemingly unrelated story about being attacked by a pitbull at a bowling alley, which is clearly an attempt to make them think he’s dumber than he really is. He goes on to lie about his name, giving the name of a famous radio host. Why would an innocent kid need to conceal his identity? While some may argue that Blevins is simply a private person, I personally think he dodges their questions as an attempt to hide his background as a criminal.

Additionally, Blevins possesses skills that could only be acquired through illicit activity. He’s exceptionally talented with guns and even shoots Rawlins’ wallet out of the air, leaving John Grady and Rawlins in disbelief. He’s also a skilled horseback rider and exhibits years of experience, which brings me to another point: his horse. Blevins’ horse is so impressive that neither of the boys believe it belongs to him. Where could a kid like him get a horse like that? It seems pretty obvious to me that Blevins stole it. The same goes for his pistol, the Thirty-Two Twenty Colt (although I’m not quite sure what that is, it sounds expensive.)

Although it may seem like a stretch to some, it’s clear that Blevins has a sketchy past. Whether he was part of a bigger group of criminals or worked his own solo gig, he undoubtedly had nefarious intentions in coming to Mexico. This leads me to my question, why do you think Blevins chose to cling on to John Grady and Rawlins? Was he simply seeking safety, or did he have secret ulterior motives?

 

Raw(r)lins: The Sassy Cowboy

Raw(r)lins: The Sassy Cowboy

To start off this post, I would just like to say how much I enjoyed reading All the Pretty Horses. Although its plot was long and slightly confusing, I truly enjoyed the several adventures that John Grady Cole and Lacey Rawlins went on together. At the beginning of the novel, I respected both John Grady and Rawlins as they set off on their adventure away from home. Both boys semmed to have had enough of their lives in San Angelo and they wanted fresh starts. Personally, I relate! There have been times in my life where I have wanted to just pick up everything and leave for a new beginning. What do you think about their decision to leave home? However, in contrast to Rawlins and John Grady, I have been smart enough to stick around. Although their decision was somewhat rash and not all that smart, I respect them for building up the courage to venture off into the unknown. Of all the interesting events and characters within All the Pretty Horses, my greatest interest was Rawlins. While most readers would argue that Blevins is the most mysterious characters in the novel, I would argue that Rawlins is.

I argue this for several reasons. First of all, Rawlins decision to leave San Angelo is not quite clear. We are informed that John Grady wants to leave because his grandfather has died and his mother is going to sell the family ranch, symbolizing the end of his life in San Angelo and the beginning of his life elsewhere. However, when Rawlins is introduced to the story, he doesn’t really have a reason for leaving Texas. He simply leaves just because. In addition to his lack of reasoning for leaving, we are not really informed of what Rawlins looks like; all we know is that he’s 17, tall, thin, and has long arms.

As the novel progresses, we learn more about Rawlins’ personality. We learn that he is impatient; that he is not quite as smart as John Grady, and we learn that he is loyal to John Grady. For example, when Jimmy Blevins becomes part of the story, Rawlins consistently begs John Grady to ditch the kid and keep on riding. His attitude towards Blevins reveals to us readers that Rawlins is impatient; but why? Why does he care so much that Blevins has joined the journey? It seems to me that Rawlins just wants to have some alone time with John Grady and doesn’t want anyone else to get in on their fun. For this reason, I find Rawlins’ role in the novel quite mysterious. I am still curious as to what his intentions were in participating in the journey to Mexico. In fact, after everything that happens, Rawlins returns to Texas, where the story ceases to include him in the plot. What do you think Rawlins intentions are in All the Pretty Horses?

 

Don’t Drink: A Reader’s Response to All the Pretty Horses

Sotol. Unless you are an aficionado of old western spirits or you read All the Pretty Horses very carefully, you probably do not know what sotol is. I certainly would not if I did not go back and re-read this part of the story. In addition to being the state drink of Chihuahua and Durango, sotol is arguably the catalyst of all the conflict in the story.

Shortly after the trio of Blevins, John Grady Cole, and Rawlins venture into Mexico they find themselves without any water. They did not have any currency small enough to buy water with so the next best thing of course was to buy a “canteenful of sotol” (67). After the trio had passed the sotol around, gotten drunk, and traveled down the road further, a thunderstorm had approached. This is the part where the problems start for the trio to which the alcohol can be blamed. Blevins in his drunken and superstitious state believes that the only way he can survive the lightning is to get off his horse and take off all his clothes because of the metal. As the storm gets worse Blevins loses his horse, most of his clothes, and his gun. However, John Grady and Rawlins help him out and they eventually find his horse in the town of Encantada. After they steal the horse back John Grady and Rawlins split up from Blevins and go on their way. Blevins returns and kills a man. As you know the problems eventually catch up to John Grady and Rawlins and they are arrested.

I like to think that if they had simply purchased water instead of sotol then all of these problems would have never happened. Blevins wouldn’t have lost his horse and John Grady and Rawlins would have eventually split up from Blevins to go work on the ranch. John Grady wouldn’t have been arrested and Alejandra would have never been forced to never see him again. The story would have had a happy ending…or would it? Maybe Blevins is reckless enough to create these problems without the help of alcohol. What do you think?

 

An Animal Worth Dying for: A Reader’s Response to All the Pretty Horses

It would be a safe bet to say most people who read this post have probably never ridden a horse. If you have, congratulations you most likely rode one at a birthday party in a controlled environment and honestly that doesn’t count. The point is today the majority of Americans feel no connection at all with these now seemingly obsolete animals. We have cars and planes, why on earth would we need a horse? In All the Pretty Horses, Cormac McCarthy unveils just how connected a man and horse could be in the past. Horses weren’t just a meaning of transportation; they were a way of life in the West. To illustrate this point, McCarthy creates two distinct instances in All the Pretty Horses where characters willingly risk their own lives in order to regain a lost horse. They risk gunfire, jail, and cold-blooded execution in order to gain back an animal that many of us have never come into contact with.

The first instance is when Blevins, just a 13 (or 16) year old kid, steals back his horse after crossing into Mexico. He gives little thought to possible consequences. There is one thought on his mind: his horse. John Grady Cole also risks his life to regain Rawlins’, Blevins’, and his horse from a hacienda. John Grady gets shot in the process, but relentlessly pushes on and refuses to give up. I doubt the thought ever crossed his mind. Why would these characters go through such trouble to recapture a horse? Especially John Grady, who already had an adequate horse from La Purisíma. The answer is simple: it wasn’t just a horse.

These characters share a strong personal relationship with their horses. They are living, breathing beasts in need of constant care and affection. There are multiple scenes in the book describing how often John Grady Cole would talk to his horse. In the book John Grady goes as far as to compare horses to men. It is described, “what he loved in horses was what he loved in men, the blood and the heat of the blood that ran them” (7 McCarthy). The horses weren’t just animals to their owners, they were amigos. The horses depended on Blevins and John Grady for survival (food and water) just as John Grady and Blevins depended on the horses for transportation and livelihood. A mutually beneficial relationship existed between them; a relationship that required neither of them let the other down. While this alone would have been enough for either John Grady or Blevins to go after their horse, they were compelled by another reason; pride. In this time, a man’s horse was his pride. Both of these kids had fine horses and were extremely proud of them. By loosing them, the characters did not only suffer a personal loss, but a loss of pride. It was this combined feeling of companionship and an attempt to regain pride that pushes Blevins and John Grady after their horses, despite the dangers.

In his work, McCarthy reveals a way of life very foreign from ours today. Imagine feeling the same way about your car, as they did about their horses. The world today just isn’t the same. It’s quite a deal more complex and perhaps less personal and intimate. McCarthy paints an appealing picture of a simpler world in a simpler time.

 

A Rollercoaster of Anticlimaxes: A Reader’s Response to All The Pretty Horses

All the Pretty Horses starts by giving the reading the impression that this will be a typical Coming-Of-Age/Loss of innocence novel as John Grady Cole ventures off with his bud, Rawlins, to the great scary world. The reader expects this grand adventure as he tries to find his way in Mexico. For me at least, I was expecting JGC and Rawlins to be this strong dynamic duo, a Woody and Buzz or Scooby and Shaggy (differing personalities that click) and fight the inevitable teenage-angst we all come across. In my opinion, I was very disappointed. This book was full of anecdotes about these boys and full of rising scenes, but rising scenes that landed flat. This about it; he didn’t get Alejandra, didn’t win over the grandmother, and grew up not to appreciate life’s challenges are grow, but to go home, and go home alone, without his dynamic partner!

Now, whether or not McCarthy wanted this to be a novel for teenagers to learn about the difficulties growing up or not, this book was just plain anticlimactic. JGC confronts problems we all face when growing up: when do we go out on our own? When is it worth it to fight for the girl (or boy)? How do you know which friends are loyal? McCarthy put JGC in all of these situations, only for us to watch him fail. As a reader, the more I read this book, the more depressed I become on JGC’s behalf. I was rooting for him when he finally got with Alejandra, and when he fought for Rawlins in the jail, and when he conversed with the grandmother and met his love against the grandmother’s wishes. I kept cheering for him, only to see him end up heartbroken and alone. He learns the disappointments in life. And it even states, “He stood at the window of the empty cafe and watched the activities in the square and he said that it was good that God kept the truths of life from the young as they were starting out or else they’d have no heart to start at all.” He grew up only to realize that reality sucks! Maybe McCarthy’s intention was to make JGC’s life suck, to make a fight between romanticism and reality. The book states, “He saw very clearly how all his life led only to this moment and all after led to nowhere at all. He felt something cold and soulless enter him like another being and he imagined that it smiled malignly and he had no reason to believe that it would ever leave.” He lost all hope.

Now as boring as the book was McCarthy took a very unconventional route. He taught us readers that life is full of disappointments, life is full of hard work that doesn’t pay off, and life is full of big dreams that stay dreams. But for McCarthy to not let JCG win once was harsh. Even for the readers, how could they continue to watch JGC get up just to get knocked back down?

 

Spanish is Hard: A Reader Response to All the Pretty Horses

First, I’d like to start by saying that I really did like this book. It was substantially better than Wuthering Heights, not that being better than that book is a super high bar to reach. I thought this story was interesting and fun to read, though at times the writing was a bit confusing. I’m not sure what Cormac McCarthy has against quotation marks, but I’m sure he has a reason for not using them.  My only real issue with this book was all the spanish that was spoken.

I don’t speak spanish. I took french for a while, but my french is mediocre at best. I found the lines of the book that included a lot of spanish to be very hard to read, and I skipped over a lot of them. I’m hoping that I didn’t lose a lot of the meaning of the book by doing that, but I have a feeling I might have. However, some of the words I either knew or could make sense of in context. Overall I understood maybe 35% of the spanish in the book.

Though I didn’t like having to read the spanish parts because I didn’t understand them, I do think the spanish was important to the book. Confusing though they were, the spanish lines emphasized the transition from Texas to Mexico that John Grady and Rawlins underwent. I noticed that as the book went on and the boys spent more time in Mexico, the amount of spanish in the book increased. I expected it from the other people at the ranch because spanish is by and large their native language, but I was surprised that even amongst themselves John Grady and Rawlins spoke more spanish. Like I said before, I skipped over most of the spanish parts, but I think I need to go back through my book and try to figure out what they’re saying. Because I think those lines are important, I want to make the effort to have a deeper understanding of the importance of not just the words, but of having them written in spanish.

I’d like to ask y’all, do you think the spanish lines were important to the story or would have the same lines in english been just as good? Let me know in the comments!

 

All the Ugly Run-On Sentences: A Reader’s Response to All the Pretty Horses

One of the things I admire most about literature is the author’s ability to describe and articulate where the characters are, what they are doing, what they are seeing, and what they are feeling. I really did think Cormac McCarthy did an excellent job of providing imagery for the reader, which allowed me to transport myself into John Grady Cole’s surroundings. I could see the greenery, I could (alarmingly) smell the horses (ew?), and I could view the world through his eyes. I appreciated this descriptive detail, but (and this is a HUGE but) I was unfortunately irritated and distracted by McCarthy’s extreme lack of punctuation, his tendency to write sentences longer than the Great Wall of China, and his blatant disregard of grammar. After about the tenth instance of these terrible grammatical errors, the book was ruined. I was done.

The New York Times Review says, and I quote, “McCarthy puts most other American writers to shame.” Sure, the pacing is solid, and yes the relationship between John Grady and Alejandra is intriguing, but how could these esteemed reviewers overlook the anti-grammatical manner that McCarthy uses with his dialog? If I were to copy and paste this book onto a Word Document, the page would light up like a Christmas tree with those dreaded red and green squigglies that “yell” at you to fix your wording and grammar.

Would it bother any of you if I decided not to use any punctuation in this post? Won’t this be fun? First off let me say that All the Pretty Horses is extremely hard to follow (even excluding the Spanish) and McCarthy likes to ignore the standard conventions of punctuation and has a strange tendency to avoid commas and I am never able to decipher who is speaking take for example this passage from p.63:

“Strangest thing I ever ate, said Blevins. I guess I’d have to say that would be a oyster.

A mountain oyster or a real oyster?

A real oyster.

How were they cooked?

They wasn’t cooked. They just laid there in their shells. You put hot sauce on em.

You ate that?

I did.

How’d it taste?

About like you’d expect.

They sat watching the fire.

Where you from Blevins? Said Rawlins.”

I am going to switch back to using punctuation because it takes concentrated effort to ignore the standard rules. (Seriously how did McCarthy do this?). Maybe it is just me (hopefully not), but I always had to read and re-read conversations between the characters to figure out who was who. Does he have something against quotation marks? Not to mention McCarthy will randomly throw in a line of text that is not in the dialog. Without even going through most of the book, the longest sentence I could find in the first 10 pages was ONE HUNDRED and FORTY words; Eleven of which were the word “and.”

Did anyone else mind the grammar as much as me? Do you think McCarthy did this on purpose? Does it add to the feel of the story and the characters, or is it just plain annoying?

 

La Novela Bella: A Reader’s Response to All the Pretty Horses

“I couldn’t understand it” were the first words that came out of the mouths of my friends who take French or Latin regarding to Cormac McCarthy’s All the Pretty Horses. As a student who has taken Spanish since 7^th grade, I found myself thoroughly enjoying this novel for it’s consistent use of Spanish and it’s Mexican cultural and gastronomical references. I actually understood it. Yet, I still found myself wondering what McCarthy was thinking when he wrote this book.

While the Spanish in All the Pretty Horses brings in important dialect, I don’t understand why McCarthy would deliberately try to confuse his audience. I doubt that he was targeting only Texans close to Mexico or Spanish speakers to read his novel; if that were the case, then I don’t know how many people would read it. I am not saying by any means that no one else can understand this novel, but there were parts that I knew people would not be able to understand. For example, just on the first page, when John Grady is talking to the servant who worked on their ranch, he has a mini conversation about who lit the candle and if that person had gotten up yet. Another area where I felt having knowledge of Spanish would have been beneficial was when John Grady, Rawlins, and Blevins encountered the traders in Mexico. The leader of the pack offered to buy Blevins, but John Grady had said no. For others, I would assume that these frequent Spanish conversations were not necessarily depreciated, but were rather considered frustrating. A trend I have noticed in novels that use foreign dialect is that the author always translates into English what was said; however, after a character would say something in Spanish in All the Pretty Horses, McCarthy hardly translated what was said into English.

Overall, while I really liked this book because it had references I was familiar with, I ended up with more questions then I had envisioned having. What do you all think? Does having multiple languages in the novel limit his audience, and does McCarthy explain his dialect enough to where the non-Spanish speakers could understand what was going on?