Friday, June 15, 2012

All the Pretty Horses: What the heck is going on in the first 7 pages?

What repeats?  Who's "he," and why is there no antecedent to that pronoun?  Doesn't that break a grammatical rule right off the bat?  And where's the punctuation in that big paragraph on p. 5?  Where and when does this take place and how do you know?
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20 comments:

  1. Dymond ScarboroughJune 17, 2012 at 10:50 AM

    Horses and Concho repeats. There's no antecedent because they want to tell the history of the land and his ancestors before they introduce him. Yes, it does break a grammatical rule, but it's on purpose so it's ok. The punctuation is at the end of each small or long sentence. It takes place on ranch I guess and I know that because they say it.

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  2. Julie SteinerJune 18, 2012 at 4:25 AM

    What effect do the long, rarely punctuated sentences create (I know it's ok to break a rule [if you know the rule and normally use it correctly], but it has to be for some stylistic purpose...)?

    I agree that McCarthy is putting "him" in a context of land and people.

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  3. UnknownJune 18, 2012 at 4:27 PM

    (spoiler alert if you want to call it that).



    A sense of confusion and rambling, similar to the setting it's in, which is the Old west heading down into Mexico territory. The setting in which the characters are in is basic rugged plains, that seem to go on endlessly along with the desert.
    The "Him" part is to differentiate him from his culture that is changing and dividing, one represent by his dad in his old, ranching ways, and the other by his mom in "Town/city ways."

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    1. AnonymousJuly 5, 2012 at 10:43 AM

      Very nice spoiler alert very informational. I would describe John to be a rebel he goes where he pleases, he also smokes and drinks. He also believes he is the right person to run the ranch.

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  4. UnknownJune 19, 2012 at 11:50 AM

    I'm alittle confused with the beginning of the book. I'm having a hard time figuring out who is saying what. All I know is that there are conversations bewteen which appears to be a father and a son. However, I still don't know who is saying what.

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    1. AnonymousJuly 5, 2012 at 10:45 AM

      Don't worry its a little confusing at first to understand who's saying what but you start to get whats going on later.

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  5. Julie SteinerJune 19, 2012 at 7:38 PM

    Anthony--stick with it, it gets clearer (at least somewhat clearer). Yes to the father and son, but the dad hasn't been around much, and neither has the mom--what important person just died? Who inherits the ranch? What's going to happen to it? What does the son want to happen to the ranch? What conflict emerges even in the first pages of the book?

    And Duong--it's not exactly "the old west"--figure out what year it is by doing the math (what dates and number are you given in the first few pages?). Then think about what was going on in the US at that time and look at west Texan history. Look at West Texas (even today) on Google Earth and get a sense of the wide open space in which the novel is set. (Juniors, you can probably just think about the awesome slide show of South Dakota and move it 1000 miles south.)

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  6. giannamarieJune 26, 2012 at 12:36 PM

    yes I have learned that actually from reading the pages over I understand who is saying what. As you continue on with the story it unravels everything much clearer.

    Even try looking up background to the book , I did and it helped .

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  7. fatemah butlerJuly 3, 2012 at 9:59 AM

    Are John Grady and Rawlins friends or cousins, because in the book they sometimes call eachother "cuz" or "bud"

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    1. AnonymousJuly 5, 2012 at 10:49 AM

      I believe both are friends. I'm implying from the phrase bub that I believe means friend or buddy.

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  8. AnonymousJuly 5, 2012 at 10:31 AM

    Some things in the story become clear once you under stand what is going on. I dont like it when the character goes back and forth to different topics, I feel it would be better if the character says when he's going to talk about something else.

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  9. IvelissebJuly 11, 2012 at 1:09 PM

    I have just began to read the book this morning. Sorry, i was reading 3 other novels.

    The book was confusing at first but I realized that the grandfather has died, I believe, and John Grady wants to take over the ranch. I think his mom doesn't want to let him take over and his father doesn't want to argue with the mother.

    I am reading as if "He" that the book is referring to is John Grady, am I correct?

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  10. AnonymousJuly 14, 2012 at 11:55 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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    1. AnonymousJuly 14, 2012 at 12:02 PM

      This comment has been removed by the author.

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    2. AnonymousJuly 17, 2012 at 1:29 PM

      I finished the book but at the end it got boring. I believe this because the adventure was over and now a new one would begin.

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  11. Dymond ScarboroughAugust 7, 2012 at 6:04 PM

    This book had many metaphors referring to the end of something, like the end of an age, or even love.

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  12. AsunikiSeptember 2, 2012 at 3:01 PM

    The one word that seems to repeat itself is, Horses. Since the book is titled All the Pretty Horses, it's bound to come up more often than most words. The repetitive 'he' hasn't have a antecedent because the starting of the book seems to be giving a background story before the actual book starts, on page 6 at the bottom.
    Most grammatical rules are broken by authors from time to time, it distinguishes the type of writing they have. This also falls under the punctuation for the long paragraph on page 5. While the book takes place in 1949 on a ranch near Mexico. - Ciara B

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