The horses are about the only thing that's pretty in our novel's world. Our heroes wander through desolate landscape and bleached bones, and the book closes on John Grady riding into a blood-red cloudy sunset. The natural world cares nothing at all for mankind, much like how you feel about Aunt Zelda's tuna salad. Wild animals like horses exist outside civilization, as a whole unit instead of as individuals, and people are strange to them—and in All the Pretty Horses it is implied that they will remain long after our civilization crumbles.
Questions About Man and the Natural World
- What is the relationship between "the country" (the roads and plains) and the towns of Mexico?
- What sort of people live out in the country? How does it shape them?
- Is the country an inviting place? Why or why not?
- Do any of the characters in the novel change after being exposed to "the country"? If so, how?
Chew on This
The country is a place for exploration and communion with nature: John is able to mature, overcome hardship, and better understand the wildness of the land through the horses.
The country is a place where John loses himself: he becomes tougher, but ultimately cannot reenter society because he has become estranged from it.