Author: Ella Hogan

Short Essay #3

In the novel All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy, the main protagonist John Grady Cole is a unique individual who craves action and adventure on his journey from Texas to Mexico. John Grady decided to leave his home and family after finding out the ranch he grew up on was being sold. His trip took him down an unexpected path involving stolen horses, prison and murders that showed John Grady’s grit and determination; additionally, along the way we see his strong work ethic that aligns with the Protestant work ethic that Samuel Huntington discusses in Who Are We?. John Grady Cole shows both similarities and differences with the values of the Anglo-Protestant cultural worldview according to Samuel Huntington, but he is more consistent with this worldview than not.

John Grady Cole’s distinctive individualism is shown throughout McCarthy’s novel in may ways. It begins with his willingness to leave everyone that he knew behind in the beginning of the novel, aside from his friend Rawlins. John Grady did not have a strong relationship with either of his parents, which is most likely the cause for his willingness to leave everything behind. However, there are a few ways that John Grady does not show true individualism in the novel, such as when he decides not to travel alone by bringing his friend Rawlins along for the journey. Additionally, he did not fight back much when Jimmy Blevins joined them for the ride. John Grady Cole is an interesting character in that he seems to do well on his own, similar to the Anglo-Protestant culture, but he also has a soft spot for his friends that seems to be his driving force.

The Protestant work ethic is another idea brought up by Huntington that shows similarity to John Grady Cole’s persona. His and Rawlin’s plan for their journey to Mexico was to find work as cowboys. John Grady’s willingness and ability to work at the ranch is a good example of the Protestant work ethic. This ethic is of central importance and is unique to the culture as stated by Huntington on page 71, “In other societies, heredity, class, social status, ethnicity, and family are the principal sources of status and legitimacy. In America, work is.” John Grady Cole knows a lot about horses which impresses the hacendado on the ranch allowing for his promotion while working on the ranch, as opposed to Rawlins who was stuck with their initial, lower position job. John Grady did not seem to be looking to be promoted, and even was unsure about accepting the position for fear of upsetting Rawlins, but he took it and worked hard.

Alfonsa, the great-aunt of the hacendado’s daughter, spoke with John Grady in extensive detail about the comparison of French and Spanish culture. She explains the difference in how Spanish (which also applies to Mexican) culture is very conservative and traditional, whereas French culture is radical and liberal. Anglo-Protestant culture stands somewhere in between the two, which is also where John Grady Cole falls. There are ways in which John Grady is traditional, such as his affinity for horses consistent with the American West, but he is also free-spirited considering he runs away from home and goes with the flow as he runs from law enforcement.

John Grady Cole, although distinctly individualistic, has multiple traits that align with the Anglo-Protestant culture. Examples including his individualism, his work ethic, and his mixture of tradition and progressive ideals all prove that he has similarities to the culture mentioned extensively by Samuel Huntington in addition to differences.

Reading and Film Presentations and Discussion

All the Pretty Horses ERA (257-Conclusion)

Post author By Ella Hogan
Post date September 30, 2019
No Comments on All the Pretty Horses ERA (257-Conclusion)

The final few scenes in Cormac McCarthy’s All the Pretty Horses begin with a continuation of the energy from the rest of the novel, but eventually the pace slows down and readers are left with a cliffhanger ending. This section of the novel begins with John Grady Cole taking hostage the captain who conspired to get Cole’s friend, Blevins, killed. This scene was quite dramatic and felt like a representation of a Western film in a way by showing John Grady Cole’s determination to get back Blevin’s horse while committing many crimes in the process. The hostage situation went slightly awry when John Grady Cole was shot in his right thigh, leaving him off his A-game.

After many long, descriptive scenes of John Grady’s ride along with his hostage, as well as a gruesome description of how John Grady cauterized his gunshot wound, his hostage situation comes to an end. “When he woke there were three men standing over him.” (280) The men insisted that John Grady Cole free the captain, and did not leave until after providing Cole with a serape.

John Grady Cole was then left alone on his journey back to the U.S. In his process of traveling he managed to shoot and kill a doe for food. The scene in which he shoots the deer showed his reflection on Alejandra as he lay in the blood of the dying doe. In stark contrast to the previous, depressing scene, John Grady Cole’s travels next brought him to a town called Los Picos where he ate a good meal and witnessed a wedding.

Eventually, John Grady makes it to a town where he is put on trial for ownership of Blevins’ horse. The judge rules that John Grady Cole become the lawful owner after Cole explained the long story of how he ended up there, essentially retelling the plot of the book. Following the trial was a scene that really stuck out to me, and showed some growth in John Grady Cole’s character, was when he went to the Judge’s house after court and confessed to killing a man. The judge explained to him that he had killed a man too (however, in a very different way) and gave John Grady advice on how he will be able to keep going.

Next, John Grady travels to the house of a reverend named Jimmy Blevins in hopes of finding Blevins’ family so that he can return his horse. He ends up having supper with the preacher’s family, although they aren’t actually related to the Blevins he knew. It seems as though many of these final scenes are centered around the food that John Grady is eating. Just before the novel ends, John Grady Cole visits his old pal Rawlins but neglects to see his mother. He makes it clear that he will be leaving again, although he does not know where he will be going next. This is the cliffhanger ending in which John Grady rides a horse into the sunset with the dramatic uncertainty of where he will be headed next.

Catch-All/Student Discussion Questions

Saving Private Ryan

The movie Saving Private Ryan shows firsthand the experience of the American soldiers fighting in World War 2 and how strong of a bond can be created through this shared traumatic confrontation. A strong theme throughout the film is the unity of family whether it be between mother and son, husband and wife, or brother to brother not related by blood. This theme is central to the film with the plot line consisting of a team searching for Private Ryan solely for the sake of preventing his mother from being left with no sons. It is important to show that the military did truly care about saving the life of one man while risking many others in order to ensure no family was left completely broken. There were, however, a few men that were not so pleased to risk their lives in order to ensure the safety of only one man, which I understand. I can’t say I completely agree with the need to sacrifice many lives for the life of one man, but the end of the film does help the viewer sympathize more with Private Ryan’s life being protected. One scene that sticks out a lot when thinking about brotherhood is when they finally find Private Ryan and tell him that his actual brothers are dead, which prompts him to demand to stay in battle to be with the only brothers he feels he has left.

Reading and Film Presentations and Discussion

ERA: United 93

In the film, United 93, we see firsthand the behind-the-scenes of the only hijacked plane on 9/11 that did not reach its target. The movie shows multiple sides of the story, from beginning with showing the hijackers the night before the flight, to the passengers on the plane and the U.S. Air Force and Air Traffic Control. The film conveys a strong sense of communication among all said parties, and shows how much can be done when people work together. This can be said for everyone who was involved; sadly, the way the hijackers worked together and communicated in a language that no one else understood allowed them to accomplish most everyone’s worst nightmare, but the remaining passengers on the flight were also able to come together despite the fear they were facing to fight back and prevent the plane from going where it was headed.

Most media about 9/11 shows the strong sense of community that was formed on that horrible day, and United 93 is no different. One important way that people are often brought together is through religion, so the scene when the plane has been hijacked and the passengers are saying the Lord’s Prayer line by line while the terrorists are saying a prayer in their language depicts this. By having different people say each line makes the viewer feel as though the passengers are truly connected through their shared faith, although it is fairly probable that many of those people were not actually religious but being put in a life-threatening situation pushed them to turn towards religion. The scene also creates a clear divide between a sort of “us” and “them” with the language barrier.

Overall, nothing would have been able to be accomplished on 9/11 if it hadn’t been for everyone who worked together. This is true for the people who hijacked the planes and accomplished what they were trying to do, as well as the Air Traffic Control who took note of the fact that planes were going off-route, and the passengers who prevented the final plane from heading towards a place where more people would be killed.

Catch-All/Student Discussion Questions

The Witch

The film, “The Witch”, shows the intense importance of religion in New England Puritan society in the 17th century. The settlers already clearly had enough passion for their religious beliefs considering they risked everything to move to the new world in order to practice their religion freely, but “The Witch” shows how they only were willing to practice specific beliefs in their new society and were not looking for religious freedom for all. The opening scene of the film clearly shows the distain the civilization feels towards the family who they are banishing. The family proves their loyalty to their beliefs in many instances, such as the scene of them praying towards the woods and the conversation between the father and son about the youngest brother going to hell.