The summer of the beautiful white horse.

William Saroyan

1.How did the narrator react on seeing the horse and Mourad?
Ans.The horse was magnificent to look at, gave out a lovely smell and its breathing was quite exciting.
Yet he couldn’t believe that the horse had anything to do with Mourad.He knew that his cousin Mourad
couldn’t have bought the horse. Since he couldn’t have bought it, he must have stolen it.
2.What conflicting thoughts passed through the narrator’s mind on seeing Mourad on a beautiful white
horse early one morning?
Ans.The narrator was surprised. He knew that his cousin Mourad couldn’t have bought the horse. Since
he couldn’t have bought it, he must have stolen it. However, family pride came in the way. He refused to
believe that he had stolen it.
3. How did Aram justify the act of stealing the horse?
Ans. Aram in his childhood was not introduced to the dogmas of the world, so for him stealing had only
one definition, for money. But in his conscience, he knew very well, that what Mourad had done was
stealing in fact. But the simple and innocent nature of his childhood snd he passion for horses compelled
him to justify this act as an act of pleasure, for stealing the horse to ride it was not same as stealing the
horse for selling it for money.
4. Mourad showed a special concern for animals. Justify.
Ans. In the story there are several instances which show Mourad’s compassion towards animals. The
horse reigns better under his command, the injured robin is nursed to health and is able to fly again. The
fact that the only name he could think of for the horse when asked was “ My Heart” in Armenian
language speaks tonnes of his sympathy towards animals.Moreover, the dogs that follow him to the
barn when he goes to return the horse to its owner, they don’t bark at him. At the end, when Mourad
parts with the horse, its poised and emotional scene where Mourad is clearly grief stricken due to the
separation. Through all these instances we can justify Mourad’s compassion and concern towards
animals.
5.Give an example to illustrate how uncle Khosrove’s impatience sometimes worked to his own
disadvantage?
Ans.Once uncle Khosrove was getting his moustache trimmed in a barber’s shop. Suddenly their house
was on fire. His own son Arak ran eight blocks to the barber’s shop to inform him. Khosrove got
impatient and roared at his son. When the barber reminded him that his house was on fire, Khosrove
roared at him and stopped him from talking.
6. What impression do you form of cousin Mourad?
Or
Character sketch of Mourad
Ans.Mourad a young boy of thirteen belonged to the Garoghlanian family of Armenia. In spite of abject
poverty, their family was famous for honesty. Mourad was quite adventurous and had a crazy streak in
him. He enjoyed being alive more than anybody else. Mourad loved horse riding. He had a way with a
horse. He had tamed the horse by his affectionate behaviour and now the horse was no longer wild.It
obeyed Mourad faithfully. His love for the horse is evident in the last scene. While parting, he put his
arms around the horse, pressed his nose into the horse’s nose and patted it. He also had a way with
dogs. The dogs of John Byro followed him around without barking. He was also a kind person. He
treated a young robin which had hurt its wing. He was worldly-wise and knew how to talk to farmers.
Though he loved horse-riding he was reluctant to keep the horse for a long time. He is proud of his
family which is well known for their honesty and trust. In short, he is a lovable and fun loving person.

7.Compare and contrast uncle Khosrove and cousin Mourad.

Ans.Uncle Khosrove and cousin Mourad have one very important point in common— their craziness.
Mourad was considered the natural descendant of uncle Khosrove in this respect. The second similarity
is their dominating nature. Both use pet words and phrases and roar aloud to make others quiet the
hear them. While uncle Khosrove says, “It is no harm; pay no attention to it,” .Mourad boasts, “I have a
way with horses/dogs/farmers.”
Khosrove shouts at his son Arak, the barber and farmer John Byro. The difference lies in their age groups
and physical build up. Uncle Khosrove, a middle aged person is an enormous man with a powerful head
of black hair and very large moustache. Mourad is an athletic young chap of thirteen. Khosrove is
irritable, impatient and furious in temper. Mourad is reasonable in conversation.
8.What did the farmer John Byro tell the two boys when they accidentally met him one day with the
horse?
Ans.One morning when the boys were taking the horse to the barn after the ride, they met John Byro.He
asked their permission and examined the horse and swore that it was just like his horse. He also counted
the teeth of the horse to make sure. But Mourad told him with confidence that his horse was named My
Heart and it was his animal.Byro said that he believed Mourad because he knew that his family was
known for honesty. He told them that perhaps the horse was the twin of his own stolen horse because
boys of such an honourable family could never steal.
9. What did John Byro perceive about the horse after it was returned? Why?
Ans. After Mourad returned Byro’s horse, he noticed that the horse had grown stronger than before and
is well-tempered. Although Byro does not understand why this sudden positive change in the horse has
taken place, the reader can concur that it was due to the love and care which the horse had received
from the children, who treated the horse like their “ heart” and unlike Byro, they did not treat the horse
like an animal of burden.
10.. Write a brief note on the Garoghlanian family as perceived by the narrator.
Ans. The Garoghlanian family is an Armenian-American immigrant clan who have a poverty stricken
condition. The conditions were so worse that it was actually a marvel how the family managed to have
enough money for food and other daily life necessities. But despite their financially precarious
condition, they were a proud clan who upheld their proud heritage. Their honesty and pride were the
inheritance they had received from their earlier wealthier times and now intend to continue with that
trait now that they have fallen on worse times. So it was essential that no member of the clan ever
indulged in robbery or any other form of dishonesty, like taking advantage of others. There was another
thing which the Garoghlanian clan had inherited and that was their steak of “madness”. The narrator
claims that few family members have this. The example in their tribe would be Aram’s Uncle Khosrove
and his cousin Mourad. Mourad was considered the natural descendant of Khosrove even though his
father Zorab was a much more practical one. But in the Garoghlanian clan it was believed that the traits
were not necessarily inherited from parents. The tribe from the beginning was shown to be very
impulsive.
11. Describe the ride of Aram and Mourad when they went out together for the first time.
Ans. One early morning when Aram was sleeping in his room, Mourad had come to his window with a
beautiful white horse. It was the most beautiful horse Aram had ever seen but he knew instantly that
the horse was stolen because no one in his family had the means to buy a horse. But all this didn’t
matter to little Aram because it was his deep desire to ride a horse. So setting aside all prohibitions,
Aram went out with Mourad to ride the horse. They rode on the Olive Avenue, letting the horse run as
far as it could . Then Mourad wanted ride it alone. He gracefully handled the horse and shouted “ Vazire,
Run”. The horse stood on its hind legs, snorted and made a funny noise and sprinted across in a fury of
speed. Mourad raced the horse across a field of dry grass, across the irrigation ditch and five minutes
later returned dripping. It was then Aram’s turn to ride the horse, but unlike Mourad, Aram didn’t have
much luck with it. When Aram first leaped onto the horse, the horse didn’t move at all. On Mourd’s
advice, Aram tried kicking the horse’s muscles, which made the horse snort and run, only this time,
instead of running across the field to the irrigation ditch it crossed the road and went into vineyard and
began to leap over vines. After the horse had leaped over seven vines, Aram couldn’t be steady anymore
and fell off the horse.
12.Did the boys return the horse because they were conscience-stricken or because they were afraid?
Ans. Throughout the story we see many instances which point out the honesty and sense of
righteousness within. Mourad has the conscience to return the horse to its actual owner even though
Aram wishes to keep it longer. Their community was well-known for their honesty and no one would
have suspected them for the theft. Moreover, if they were afraid, they could have returned the horse
when Byro had come to their house and told about his missing horse. Byro’s horse was missing for more
than a month and untraceable. On top of it, when Byro confronted the children with his horse, even
after scrutinising the horse, Byro does not suspect them because it will be dishonorable to do so and he
is a man of heart. So it can be concluded that it was more out of guilt and sense of righteousness that
made the conscience-stricken boys to return the horse and was not out of fear of getting caught.