Cormac McCarthys All the Pretty Horses Essay -- All Pretty Horses Cor

Cormac McCarthys All the Pretty HorsesIn All the Pretty Horses, Cormac McCarthy reveals the limitations of a sentimentalist ideology in the real world. Through his protagonist, John Grady Cole, the author offers three main examples of a mans attempt to live a romantic life in the face of hostile reality a failed relationship with an unattainable woman a romantic and outdated relationship with nature and an idealistic decision to live as an old-fashioned cowboy in an increasingly modern world. In his compassionate description of John Grady, McCarthy seems to endorse these romantic ideals. At the same time, the author makes clear the harsh reality and disappointments of John Gradys chosen way of life. When John Grady leaves Texas at the age of 16, he seems to bring a plan. He wants to become a cowboy and have a close relationship with nature. John Gradys character is hopelessly romantic he takes action without caring virtually repercussions. In All the Pretty Horses, John Grady f alls in have it away with people or things that are unable to love him back at the same level. Whether its his relationship with Alejandra, or his love for horses, it seems as though he is obsessed with these unattainable relationships. When John Grady meets Alejandra, he sets himself up for a situation that provokes conflict. This doesnt seem to bother him, since John Grady is not content to live a life without risk. If anything, it may be that John Grady falls in love with Alejandra because of the potential conflict with her father, the powerful Don Hector. He finds conflict more appealing than harmony because it conforms to his ideal of the dangerous West. When John Grady tells his friend, Rawlins, about his first meeting with Alejandra, the author use... ....McCarthys novel is not about a boy trying to find his place in hunting lodge, but about a boy trying to find himself and who he really is apart from society. John Grady begins the story with no answers, and at the end he still doesnt have a clue. There is no resolution for him there are only more questions, conflicts, and misunderstandings. I think that McCarthys point is that to live romantically is to live without cause, without real hope, and ultimately without love. Despite the authors obvious compassion for John Grady and his idealism, he shows us through romantically descriptive constitution that a romantic lifestyle cannot work in this world. The book ends with John Grady riding out into the sunset, having learned nothing, with no place to go. Until the character learns how to compromise with society and give up his romanticism, his life will have no purpose.