Irony in all the pretty horses. Irony in All the Pretty Horses 2022-10-16
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Irony is a literary technique that involves the use of words or events that are opposite or unexpected in relation to their intended meaning or context. It is often used to create a sense of humor or to convey a sense of the ridiculousness or absurdity of a situation.
In the novel "All the Pretty Horses" by Cormac McCarthy, irony is used to great effect to illustrate the theme of the loss of innocence and the harsh realities of the world. The novel follows the story of John Grady Cole, a young man who embarks on a journey to Mexico in search of adventure and freedom. Along the way, he encounters a number of ironic situations that highlight the theme of the novel.
One example of irony in the novel is the title itself, "All the Pretty Horses." On the surface, the title suggests a romantic and idyllic image of John Grady's journey, but as the novel progresses, it becomes clear that the journey is anything but pretty. John Grady faces numerous challenges and hardships, including violence, betrayal, and loss, which serve to shatter his illusions of a romantic and carefree life.
Another example of irony in the novel is the character of Rawlins, John Grady's traveling companion. Rawlins is portrayed as a tough and practical man who is able to adapt to the harsh realities of the world. However, as the novel progresses, it becomes clear that Rawlins is just as vulnerable and innocent as John Grady, and he ultimately suffers a tragic fate as a result of his naivety.
Irony is also used to convey the theme of the loss of innocence in the character of Alejandra, John Grady's love interest. Alejandra is presented as a beautiful and innocent young woman, but as the novel progresses, it becomes clear that she is trapped in a loveless and unhappy marriage. Her circumstances serve as a stark contrast to the romantic ideals that John Grady holds, and her tragedy serves as a reminder of the harsh realities of the world.
Overall, the use of irony in "All the Pretty Horses" serves to highlight the theme of the loss of innocence and the harsh realities of the world. It serves to puncture the romantic illusions that John Grady holds, and ultimately serves to underscore the theme of the novel.
All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy Plot Summary
All the Pretty Horses. They spend several days and nights riding. As soon as this happened, the new pregnant horse was whisked away, it was all just for mating purposes. From Alexander the Great conquering Macedonian horsemen, to Genghis Khan, to Napoleon, horses have always played an integral part of history. The end of the twentieth century saw a revision of popular attitudes about the West, as scholars in many disciplines began to question previously accepted assumptions about America's historical and cultural heritage.
All the Pretty Horses: Cormac McCarthy and All the Pretty Horses Background
The choices of words shows that he uses the choice of words Shakespeare would dictate. The crossing is a religious and symbolic step that cannot be reversed. What is constant in history is greed and foolishness and a love of blood and this is a thing that even God—who knows all that can be known—seems powerless to change. Teens like Holden use it often. Unsurprisingly for a radio preacher, Jimmy Blevins is a true believer. Even today sarcasm is used widely throughout the world by 12-19 year olds.
But a woman cannot. If McCarthy's is a de-romanticized world peopled by the cynical and the savage, men and women driven by the need above all else to survive, John Grady Cole remains a hero, albeit shrunken and sensitive--perhaps the ghost of a hero, a hero victim to anachronism. He was exposed to the beliefs and passion that these horsemen had for horses and the value they placed on the majestic animals. This means that horses were wild and that they had souls. Through out the novel there is a constant tension between John Grady …show more content… Grady believes Rawlins was destined to be born to his parents. This was--again, in Tompkins' words--"the West of the desert, of mountains and prairies. Other characters… In several ways, John Grady seems older than his sixteen years.
The Role of Dreams in Cormac McCarthy’s All the Pretty...
McCarthy writes about the dark and unseen side of the Western idea: you will read in McCarthy's novels what you will never see in most Western movies, stories about tragedy, cruelty, and blood without a heroic or redemptive ending. The relationships that John Grady knew and shared with horses would later prove not one to be trusted to be used with men. John Grady fails to appreciate a naked truth that, society plays a big role in his life than he could have possibly imagined. In a sense they? He physically attacks her, and from that point on does not want to have anything to do with her. John Grady is a cowboy who denies destiny, however manifest: All the Pretty Horses details its hero's struggle against forces of history and changing economy, against social barriers and overwhelming odds. The American conception of the West is a romantic ideal born of a profoundly unromantic reality.
All the Pretty Horses Analytical Overview Summary & Analysis
Throughout the story he considers or discusses whether horses have souls, where they go after they die, what they have in common with men, and other topics demonstrating his complete and perhaps unhealthy regard for them. Later in the story, when John Grady has the captain hostage, he isn't so sure about God, or at least that he's a merciful being. He may write in the tradition of Zane Grey and Louis L'Amour, but he is certainly also an heir to America's towering literary geniuses, such as William Faulkner--from whom McCarthy learned his long, flowing sentences--and Ernest Hemingway, whose attitudes of heroic stoicism and quiet romanticism pervade McCarthy's prose. The plan soon goes awry, as a pack of barking dogs wakes the entire town up, and Blevins risks all their lives in making sure he gets his saddle in addition to his horse. Virginity is prized above all else for women but not for men.
New York: Vintage, 1993. It is telling that the best American western of the 1990s was Clint Eastwood's "Unforgiven" 1993 , an anti-Western, a story about the human casualties and psychological scarring of gunfights. It is easy to see how with all these striking images that this novel was made into a motion picture. All in all, the new country seems to live up to all the expectations the boys have for it. It is no longer a place that needs large cattle ranches nor the horsemen who work on them. He loves Lenina very much, but gets very upset at her when she wants to have sex with him. In the story, John Grady is able to communicate with horses beyond a level normal people could.
Instead, he places his trust and respect in horses, who guide him individually through life while all the while reminding him of the larger, more impersonal forces that impact each person. Cormac McCarthy's Western Novels. However, the other members of the family also help Johnny in his evil deeds. It has been seen as a place of possibility but also of peril: a proving ground. John Grady buys a ticket to San Antonio, where he watches his mother perform on a stage, and then waits for her at a hotel lobby, where he sees her with another man.
Accessed December 31, 2022. At one point, John Grady cauterizes his wound with a red-hot pistol barrel to prevent infection. In order to be free, you have to free yourself from the people who are controlling you. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009. His traumatic and deeply shaking experiences in Mexico have compelled him to search for a life he finds meaningful, a search that is not yet complete.
