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ALL THE PRETTY HORSES BY CORMAC MCCARTHY

Cormac Mccarthys "All the Pretty Horses" is hailed as representing what America as

a nation is all about. The values that the nation espouses, freedom, individualism and the

pursuit of happiness. The novel looks at the America as a land of hope, where man can find

his fortune. Mexico to the south is regarded as the antithesis of America. The novel paints it

as unruly, uncivilised and characterised by marauding bands of lawless men. The irony is that

Mccarthy’s protagonists actively seeks out this desolate land and choose to leave behind the

relative comfort of home. As the novel begins, we see John Grady choosing to live a home

that is no longer home. In search of fortune and an idealised notion of what it means to live as

a cowboy. The paper in its evaluation of “All the Pretty Horses” dissects Maia Rodriguez’

paper on “Relocating the Cowboy: American Privilege in "All the Pretty Horses (Rodriguez :

pepperdine.edu).”

One common theme in Maia’s conceptualisation of the novel is the two part

dichotomy that characterises American thinking. The notion that there are two mirror

opposing parts or forms in every facet of life. Central to this theme is the border crossing

trilogy. Posing two nations as distinct seemingly sharing little in common and as different as

states can possibly be. America is put out to be a land of freedom. Where there is equal

opportunity to all and especially the young people of the nation. Mexico is however put out to

be a nation where only a lawless man can survive. The author notes that John Grady in the
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novel goes contrary to the expected behaviour, rather than seeking to remain in America

where civilization abounds, he chooses to head south. He is in part led by his idealised notion

of life as a cowboy. The seemingly ruthlessness of Mexico in climate and lack of an effective

legislative and institutional framework to support the law allow for the cowboy lifestyle to

thrive. John Grady notes that his desires would be impugned in a civilised city (Arnold and

Luce : muse.jhu.edu).

It is essential to note that the story is set in the years following the American conquest

of the Wild West. As such, Grady would have grown up hearing stories of cowboys and their

lives of courage. However, the conquest means that cowboys are no longer necessary in the

national dispensation and social fabric. America is conquered while Mexico is not, thus

heading South was the only option for the would be cowboy. On a psychological level, the

desire to be a cowboy could be to honour his father who owns a ranch at the time of his death

by not letting go of the family legacy. He wishes also to punish his mother in a primal sense

as she sells the ranch his only connection to his father and childhood and chooses the relative

comfort of city life (Bell : nytimes.com).

The dichotomy can also be noted in Grady’s choice for a partner. Grady is honourable

to a fault, responsible, just, skilful as evidenced in the manner he handles horses and values

the solitude the life of a cowboy allows. Lacey Rawlins is the opposite of Grady, he has

limited skill, impatient, overly extroverted, does not subscribe to Grady’s morality or code

that allows him to leave Grady in Mexico when it gets tough (Spurgeon : ejas.revues.org).

Alejandra is the daughter of the owner of the Hacienda and a member of the Mexican

aristocracy. As John Grady’s love interest she is critical to the development of the story. She

is a beautiful lady and that beauty is what initially attracts Grady’s attention to her. She has

an attitude of a tragedy waiting to happen. A cloud of sorrow hangs around her, similar to
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that of grief. Grady is attracted to this, his saviour complex yearning to save her from

himself. They quickly develop a love affair. These two falls into two sides and form a perfect

dichotomy. Grady is not particularly impressive with little about his stature being described

apart from the scars on his face and chest that potentially disfigure him. Alejandra is however

exceptionally pretty with dark hair and exquisite blue eyes. Grady is poor owning little apart

from his horse while Alejandra will ultimately inherit Don Hector’s hacienda. Grady is

passionate about what he wants and determined to follow it to the end. Alejandra will only

follow her desires as far as they are convenient for her and when she is forced to choose

between her family and the relative comfort versus Grady and the inherent dangers that come

with the choice.

We can also note a contrast in the manner of Alfonsa (Alejandra’s grandaunt) and

Grady’s mother. Grady’s mother is involved in her son’s life for a limited timeline in his

infancy. However, she is unable to content with the solitude and the loneliness at the ranch.

Grady is therefore raised by Louisa for most of his life. Alfonsa on the other hand is an ever

constant presence in her grand niece’s life. She allows her experience of love to colour the

manner in which she advices Alejandra in her relationship with Grady. As a youth she

considers herself a freethinker and falls in love with a revolutionary. Her family refuses to

accede to a marriage and the experience destroys the good in her. She is a cynic and

manipulates Alejandra into breaking off the relationship with Grady. She constantly looks out

for Alejandra.

Maia Rodriquez in her article enables us to better understand the “dichotomy”

presented in the novel. It is essential to note that while the novel continually presents the

characters and contexts in opposing forms, this is not the reality. There are instances of

overlap where the dichotomy is not as clear as the author might have hoped for. East and

West America ought to represent the dichotomy of the old and new. The reality is that the
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two are not as clearly cut out as presented, geographically there is no life that demarcates

East or Left. Thus, the dichotomy presented in the novel fails to account for a grey area in all

of the characters behaviour, where they behave in a manner different from the expectation

according to their characterisation.

Maia also notes that the border trilogy is based on an extrinsic value that is applied to

land. The land is not intrinsically American or Mexican, however capitalistic values due to

competition result in the delimitation of national borders. Thus, the border trilogy is built on a

false romanticism of a capitalistic ideal. The article while clear on its opposition to the

romanticism of the Mexico-American border, it fails to build on the theme of romanticism as

established in the novel. The also does not provide a viable alternative to American

exceptionalism as presented in the novel. Would the article prefer global hegemony or

similarity? The article attacks the novel but does not provide viable alternatives. The article

notes that the novel is steeped in dichotomy between romanticism (false idealisation) and

reality.

The article critically dissects how America is given undue privilege in the novel. The

article notes that with Grady rejecting the status quo and choosing the South i.e. Mexico. He

effectively relocates the cowboy as a distinctly American phenomenon. The article is critical

to understanding the novel and allows us to conduct a pristine examination of the novel.

The novel however fails in its attempt to contrast the various elements in the novel

against each other. It negates the human presumption that nothing falls into neat guideline

and that overlaps are expected. Dichotomy while a reality of humanity does not exclusively

describe the human condition. All the Pretty Horses is ultimately a tale of the reality of life

in that era. It does not seek to define itself as a story of heroes and damsels in distress that

often end in triumph rather, it reflects the truth. Often there is no winner, thus as Grady rides
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of into the sunset he symbolises the reality of life. Its messiness and not a clear cut solution to

every problem that permeates tales of heroes and heroines. The novel is a uniquely American

narrative, incorporating a Mexican touch and it notes that not all pretty horses should or can

be tamed (McCarthy).
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Works Cited
Arnold, Edwin T. and Dianne C. Luce. Perspectives on Cormac McCarthy. Project Muse. Jackson:
University Press of Mississippi, n.d. muse.jhu.edu.

Bell, Madison Smartt. The Man Who Understood Horses. 1992.

https://www.nytimes.com/books/98/05/17/specials/mccarthy-horses.html. 14 December
2015.

McCarthy, Cormac. All the Pretty Horses. Chicago: Vintage , 1992.

Rodriguez, Maia Y. "Relocating the Cowboy: American Privilege in "All the Pretty Horses"." Global
Tides (2014). http://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/globaltides/vol8/iss1/10.

Spurgeon, Sara L. "Cormac McCarthy: All the Pretty Horses, No Country for Old Men, The Road."
European journal of American studies [Online] (2013). http://ejas.revues.org/9989.