All the Pretty Horses

John Grady Cole is a young man that idealized Western Cowboy life as depicted in many American Western films. He desired relentlessly to hold on to the life that he observed his grandfather living prior to his passing. John is disheartened when he realized that his mother planned to sell the land and move away. In combination with the natural urges of a young man wanting to prove that he is mature and can make his own way, John and his buddy Rawlins set out on a new adventure to discover Mexico. This essay will show how John Grady Cole is successful in learning life lessons as well as making a new space and purpose for himself.

John has an affinity for horses and takes his grandfather’s passing as an opportunity to travel from Texas to Mexico on an adventure where he really couldn’t have predicted what was going to happen. This decision to break out on an unknown trip was John’s first successful effort in trying to create a new space. Others might disagree and argue that nothing good really happened in Mexico. Conversely anytime that a person is able to transition into something new and stay alive, there are valuable lessons to be learned and good can always be found beneath the seemingly ugly. Although young, John possesses an exceptional degree of courage, bravery and compassion. When John and Rawlins encounter a lightning storm, their unexpected partner Blevins becomes very afraid. It is apparent here that John has some degree of compassion, because he can’t bring himself to leave Blevins even though it is obvious that he might not make the trip easy. He tries to advise Blevins that he should make another choice versus sitting there half naked, “You’ll get drowned settin’ there” (McCarthy 70). The relationship that John develops with Blevins is very interesting. One might conclude that there is a part of Blevins that John sees in himself. There are some parallels that can be drawn between the two characters. It seems that Blevins has also fled from home disheartened with a situation that occurred with his stepfather. He is also seeking to make his own way and find work. Later in the novel, one can tell that John feels very bad about not speaking up when he knew the captain was going to kill Blevins.

As the journey continues, John and Rawlins actually succeed in creating a new space for themselves as they become workers on a ranch in Mexico. It was here at the ranch that John began to make an impression on Don Hector, the ranch owner. He was even given the job of breeding horses, as Don really began to trust his opinion. It wasn’t soon after Rawlins and John arrived that an affair began between John and Don Hector’s daughter Alejandra. John was in love with her at first sight. "She rode with her hat pulled down in the front and fastened under her chin with a drawtie and as she rode her black hair twisted and blew about her shoulders and the lightning fell silently through the black clouds behind her and she rode all seeming unaware” (McCarthy 131). Despite warnings from Alfonsa, Alejandra’s impossible aunt, their love continued to flourish. It was through his love with Alejandra and his then increasing favor with Don Hector that John began to feel as though he had made a new space and purpose for both he and Rawlins. Until this point, John didn’t believe that he could love anything more than the western life and horses. His adoration for Alejandra made him feel complete and that there was purpose to living this life.

Things soon began to take a turn for the worse as Alejandra and John began to spend more time together. Alejandra knew that Don Hector wouldn’t approve of her relationship with John and didn’t want her aunt to continue holding it over her head. In the meantime Blevins created his own trouble by trying to get his runaway horseback and ended up murdering at least one member of the village. Don Hector wasn’t pleased with John’s relationship with his daughter and became equally disgusted when he found out via his own investigation that Rawlins and John were in some way connected with Blevins. John and Rawlins were handed over to the corrupt town captain and thrown in jail. This situation brought an end to their work on Don Hector’s ranch as they were taken to another town and thrown in the penitentiary. Blevins was killed as a result of him murdering and townsperson and both Rawlins and John were very affected by his death. The situation is prison was deplorable as they had to fight for their American lives daily when they refused to become allies of the prisoner Perez. Both men endured a heavy beating but survived. In exchange for their freedom, Alejandra was able to convince her aunt that she wouldn’t see John anymore if her aunt would bail them out of jail. Alfonsa agreed and the men were released. Upon his release John’s purpose was to maintain his dignity and to spend the rest of his life with the woman that he loved. He sought to find her and when he was informed of the deal that she made for his life, he was completely distraught. "He closed his eyes and held the phone very tightly and he told her that he loved her and that she'd had no right to make the promise that she'd made even if they killed him and that he would not leave without seeing her even if it was the last time he would see her ever and she was quiet a long time and then she said that she would leave a day early” (McCarthy 246). The two lovers were able to spend a little bit of time with each other, but Alejandra decided that she just couldn’t abandon her family for love. Disheartened by this news, the couple said their goodbyes, and John set out to get the horses that belonged to Rawlins and Blevins before returning home.

One might argue that John and Rawlins’ trip was in vain. John returned home with no love and also found that he didn’t have a home. The ranch had been sold and his father had previously passed away. Soon after, his abuela passed away as well. The friendship with Rawlins wasn’t the same. It seems that John is left still searching for something. When Rawlins asks John about country and where he’s going next, John replies, “I don’t know, I don’t know where it is. I don’t know what happens to country” (McCarthy 299). Again with nothing holding John at home, he sets out to find a new adventure.

It can be concluded that even though on the surface it seems that John and Rawlins trip was in vain because they ended up right where they started, a large amount of growth occurred in the life of John. He grew up and became a man during the journey. He learned things about himself that he might not have learned if he stayed at home in Texas. Love happened to John and that is a feeling that he will never forget. The altogether consuming power of love and then the whole left when it is ripped away is life changing. The opportunity to establish himself, even for a few months as an expert horse breeder increased John’s sense of pride. Rawlins looked up to his friend John, but began to question his judgment when he got too involved with Alejandra. John had leadership skills and a tenacity that carried him far and allowed him to shower down compassion on those that he cared about most. John was loyal, devoted, and fair. John succeeded in creating a new space and purpose for his life. Following his time in Mexico, he was not assured that there was a greater purpose beyond his life in Texas. His perspective changed from an unrealistic view of the world to a more realistic tangible and purposeful existence. He had now been exposed to the harsh realities of the human race, and the injustice in the world although deeply disappointing propelled him to want to seek better. As a result of all of his experiences in Texas, John was able to look at life through a more realistic lens. He understood now that everything and everyone isn’t fair. There was a lesson learned that even when you give your all, things don’t necessarily end up the way you would want them to be. John set out to establish “country” elsewhere and that was okay with him.

Works Cited

McCarthy, Cormac. All the Pretty Horses. New York: Knopf, 1992.