And though this inclination makes him a particularly 'moral' hero, it is also one that leaves him disillusioned at the end of the novel and regrettably hardened. His conscience is guided by the righteous and romantic. He might listen to Alfonsa's tragic history or the captain's rationalization for blackmail, but it will not change his own views or his own behavior. During the course of these exchanges, he reveals himself to be great believer in the divide between good and evil, between right and wrong.

Our best insight into John Grady's character often comes in his conversations with foreigners - Rocha, Alfonsa, el capitan. His greatest strength is his intensity - indeed, his determination is perhaps the only reason he survives the peril of the Castelar prison, the impromptu rescue of the horses from Encantada.Īt the same time, he struggles with his tendency to idealize and moralize. He becomes a father to Blevins, a lover to Alejandra, a loyal companion to Rawlins. In the course of his journey, he must grow up quickly. Indeed, his rite of passage is not to run his mother's ranch, but to leave it. With no recourse, John Grady becomes a character in search of a story, a hero in search of a novel. But when his grandfather dies, his mother inherits the ranch - and promptly decides to sell it. At sixteen, his dream is to run the ranch on which he's lived his whole life. The main character of All the Pretty Horses, John Grady Cole certainly does not begin McCarthy's novel as a prototypical Western hero.

All the pretty horses book