The Multiplicity of the Themes in Cormac McCarthy’s novel All the Pretty Horses

As a matter of fact, the novel is focused on the horses. We can see how the characters of the novel catch and ride them, how they breed and rescue them. They not only talk about horses, they admire them and philosophize about them. Moreover, the horses are the main source which connects young people to nature. The horses represent a part of the beautiful landscape scenes which are described by the author in the best way. Also the horses help the main characters to escape from danger.
The Theme of Inevitable Evil. The theme of inevitable evil is also shown by the author in his novel. Cormac McCarthy said that “there is no such a thing as life without bloodshed” and he proves this fact in his literary work. There are many examples of rage display, one of them is the following situation. John Grady and his friend Rawlings came to the La Purisima ranch. The young men were treated ill. Alejandra decided to use John as a so-called pawn in her rebellion. Rocha let the police to arrest the young men. Alfonsa fought against John Grady in order to get rid of the rage which was connected with her past. The young men could not believe that the members of two communities took concerted actions. They were thrown into the prison and blamed in committing a crime. These angry people were unjust to young men who were so innocent and could not do anything against their aggression. Rawlings decided to return home because he could not cope with injustice of human nature. John Grady tried to appropriate the violence which was inflicted on him and he wanted to take vengeance. He decided to return to San Angelo with two the most vital things he had – “his horses and his pride”. (McCarthy 67)
The Theme of Coming of Age. The other theme which is shown by the author in his novel All the Pretty Horses is the theme of coming of age. Cormac McCarthy represents the life of young people who rebelled against their family and found their love. For John Grady love is the main thing in his “rite of passage”. In San Angelo he was a stranger: his mother was indifferent to him, his father was a miserable ill man whose life was completely ruined. However, at the end of the story, we can see that this young man John Grady has got all the qualities to be a true hero who can easily be a good father to Jimmy Blevins, a rather dangerous boy, a passionate lover to the young girl Alejandra, a real friend to Rawlins. The most significant thing is that John Grady did not lose his faith. We can see a clever and an experienced man when he leaves San Angelo at the end of the novel. He returns to Texas a changed man but there is no home, nobody is waiting for him: his father is dead, his childhood nurse is dead too.
The Theme of Competing Moral Codes. The theme of competing morals is also touched by the author in the literary work. Cormac McCarthy shows us the character of John Grady in such situations when he meets those people who are immoral. He fells his love for Alejandra in the context of “right and wrong”, Duena Alfonsa, Alejandra’s god mother, thinks quite the contrary. She wants John to leave Alejandra alone because Don Hestor will never permit her to marry a poor American young man. The captain and Emilio Perez repudiate the idea of “tainted money”. Moreover, they jeer the young man’s opposition to pay for his way out of prison. It is clear that John Grady becomes a real hero not only due to his idealistic beliefs and his relation to life but also because he can give up his ideas in situations of restoring justice and saving life. For example, when Don Hestor asked John about his past, he did not tell him about Jimmy Blevins and the fact that he and his friend Lacey Rawlins may be on the wanted list for the horse theft. The other situation takes place in the prison where John and Rawlins were taken. The young men are terribly beaten and John sees that Rawlins is seriously injured. John Grady kills a prisoner who attacked him and understands that the evil lives inside him too. Another situation which shows the moral codes of our characters is the last John’s meeting with Alejandra. He loved her, he wanted to be with her. However, she changed her decision and chose her family approval and life in the rich house.