Something that stood out to me about the beginning of All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy was the depiction of living on a ranch in Texas. In American mythology, I imagine that life style as sort of the “wild west”. However, in the story, it is depicted as much more calm and quiet. Our main character, John Grady Cole, doesn’t want to leave the ranch, but it seems he is getting drawn out. His mom does want to leave, as she wants to live a more exciting life. This was interesting to me because I imagine farms on the west with horses and cowboys as exciting and full of adventure, but the mom doesn’t think it is this way, as well as many of the other characters. The first part of the novel, with the move, Cole’s parent’s divorce, and death, has a strong bleak tone to it that in turn makes the setting feel bleak as well, and nothing like the ranches I imagined in my youth.
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2 replies on “All the Pretty Horses”
My notions about the American west were similar in that I also viewed the west as a place of consistent action and filled with wild and unique characters. The novel appeared to depict the ranch as a boring place that was taking away the mothers ability to live life to the fullest extent she wants to. The notion of the wild west is not present at the ranch and as Grady and Rawlins leave to find work after the ranch is sold the idea of living as a travelling cowboy becomes more prominent. I agree that the ranch does not convey the typical wild west type of emotions but I think Grady and Rawlins leaving their homes alone to pursue work definitely holds sentiments relevant to the typical wild west. Grady clearly is distant from his mother and her selling of the ranch cuts the last strong tie they had between one-another. As he leaves the ranch to pursue work further south the idea of individuality is strong and present. These values that Grady is exhibiting are relevant to some of the ideas present during our discussion about American identity. Grady’s choice to go south and his desire to stay in the west on the ranch help provide a context for the values he holds and his choices so far throughout the novel.
It is interesting you came t o a similar conclusion that I did. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that this takes place after the peak of the “wild west”? I do not think this is ht main cause though, considering the idea of cowboy life is still very prominent. I think one of the reasons for this must be that the ranch represents the idea of staying in one place, which is not very wild west like. Even though John Grady Cole is leaving the country for it, wandering in a lawless land embodies the true spirit of the American west.