He portrays these animals as noble beings with wild spirits using venerating diction to describe them. Throughout the novel, McCarthy uses romantic, emotional language to describe horses and their connections to humans. Furthermore, the fact that John dreams about horses in this way and that he wants to “reside forever” in their souls shows that he thinks of them very highly, almost as mystical mentors. The diction referring to horses here “wild,” “souls” is idealistic and almost poetic. John even dreams about horses, as “his thoughts were of horses…still wild on the mesa who’d never seen a man afoot and who knew nothing of him or his life yet in whose souls he would come to reside forever” (118). The boys use horses in many ways throughout the novel: as companions, as means of transportation or escape, and as a judge of a stranger’s character, to name a few. Like the vaqueros, the boys revere horses, and these animals play large roles in their lives. It also reinforces John’s romantic notion that horses are highly spiritual beings. This quote demonstrates the sentiments of the vaqueros they value horses so highly that they think of them as nearly divine. “The old man only said that it was pointless to speak of there being no horses in the world for God would not permit such a thing” (111). The veneration that the vaqueros have for horses is apparent in the tales Luis tells the boys. These creatures represent strength, untamed fervor, and most importantly, freedom of spirit. John’s life, like all of Western American society during the timeframe of the story, revolved around horses, and until he runs away, he knows more about horses than he does about men. McCarthy uses the title to represent John’s initial perspective on the world, which is refuted through John’s later experiences. Therefore, the title McCarthy has chosen is ironic and epitomizes the change that John experiences.

John discovers that his preconceived notions about men and human society are false he finds that they do not live in a romantic world as he had supposed. On his journey, he learns that the world of men is very different from that of horses and is forced to rethink the relationship between humans and horses. John Grady has an intimate relationship with all horses and understands the world of horses extraordinarily well. However, McCarthy also describes horses’ abstract qualities using idyllic and impassioned diction, depicting them as animals of a highly advanced spiritual nature, similar to humans in some ways. The horse, which was the social foundation of Western American culture until the mid-20th century, is described as an economical and practical asset to the boys. The title of Cormac McCarthy’s novel, All the Pretty Horses, reflects the significance and variance of roles that horses play in this coming-of-age story, as they relate to John Grady.

All the pretty horses full book