The title of Cormac McCarthy's novel All the Pretty Horses reflects the importance and diversity of roles that horses play in this coming-of-age story, regarding John Grady. The horse, which formed the social foundation of Western American culture until the mid-20th century, is described as an economic and practical asset for boys. However, McCarthy also describes the abstract qualities of horses using idyllic and passionate diction, describing them as animals of a highly advanced spiritual nature, similar to humans in some ways. John Grady has an intimate relationship with all horses and understands the horse world extraordinarily well. During his journey, he learns that the world of men is very different from that of horses and is forced to rethink the relationship between humans and horses. John discovers that his preconceived ideas about men and human society are false; he discovers that they do not live in a romantic world as he had assumed. Therefore, the title chosen by McCarthy is ironic and embodies the change that John is experiencing. McCarthy uses the title to represent John's initial perspective on the world, which is refuted by John's later experiences. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay John's life, like that of all of Western American society during the historical period, revolved around horses, and until he runs away, he knows more about horses than men. These creatures represent strength, untamed fervor and, above all, freedom of spirit. The reverence the vaqueros have for horses is evident in the tales Luis tells the boys. “The old man only said that it was useless to say that there were no horses in the world because God would not allow such a thing” (111). This quote demonstrates the feelings of the vaqueros: they place such value on horses that they consider them almost divine. It also reinforces John's romantic notion that horses are highly spiritual beings. Like vaqueros, boys revere horses and these animals play an important role in their lives. The boys use horses in many ways throughout the novel: as companions, as a means of transportation or escape, and as a judge of a stranger's character, to name a few. John even dreams of horses, because "his thoughts were of the horses... still wild on the mesa who had never seen a man on foot and who knew nothing of him or his life and yet in whose soul he would come to reside forever” (118). The term here referring to “wild”, “soul” horses is idealistic and almost poetic. Additionally, the fact that John dreams of horses in this way and wants to "reside forever" in their souls shows that he thinks very highly of them, almost like mystical mentors. Throughout the novel, McCarthy uses romantic and emotional language to describe horses and their connections to humans. He depicts these animals as noble beings with wild spirits, using revered diction to describe them. With vivid images, McCarthy paints a poignant picture of horses. "The painted ponies and horsemen of this lost nation came down from the north with their chalk-painted faces and their long braided hair and each armed for the war that was their life... When the wind blew from the north, they could be hearing, horses and the breathing of horses and the hooves of horses shod with rawhide” (5).The mood created by words such as “painted ponies” and “breath of horses” is passionate and emotionally charged. The author also describes the raw energy and life that flows through horses: "John Grady...held the horse...with the long bony head pressed against his chest and its warm, sweet breath gushing from the dark wells . from his nostrils on his face and neck like news from another world” (103). Such metaphors as "the dark wells of his nostrils" and "news from another world" create a powerful resemblance to mysterious animals with a nature alien to man. The horse's "warm, soft...flooding breath" shows the life and energy that fills horses. This mysterious energy is also apparent. later, when McCarthy writes: "He rode the last five horses...the horses danced, turned in the light, their red eyes gleamed...they moved with an air of great elegance and propriety" (107) . “Blinking red eyes” and dancing horses are very mysterious but still striking. The descriptive details are very cinematic, and any of these scenes could easily be made into a film. These extremely detailed depictions are so extravagant that they are almost unrealistic, but they create. the desired effect by making the horses mystical and fanciful. These are the romantic creatures that John sees, the “pretty horses” of the title. John Grady's connection to horses is as mystical as the horses themselves, as he is somehow able to communicate with them. all horses on a deeper level than any other character in the story. This is evident at the hacienda in the scene in which John and Rawlins are training the new horses. John "put his hand over the horse's eyes and stroked them and he didn't stop talking to the horse at all, speaking in a low, steady voice and telling him everything he intended to do, taking the animal's eyes and caressing the terror" (103). John's ability to "take the terror out of" horses is reminiscent of a parent calming a frightened child; obviously he must have an innate connection with these animals if he is capable of doing this. Indeed, McCarthy explicitly states that such a connection exists between John Grady and horses. He writes: "The boy who rode a little before him sat on horseback not only as if he had been born with what he was, but as if he had been begotten by malice or chance in a strange country where he If there were never any horses, he would have found it. them anyway” (23). This passage shows that John's relationship with horses extends into the metaphysical realm, a view that strengthens throughout the novel as more is revealed about John Grady and the horses. As Luis says, “the horse shares a common soul…if a person understood the soul of the horse, then they would understand every horse that ever existed” (111). It seems that McCarthy is implying that John Grady has this ability to understand the soul of the horse, and that is why his relationship with horses is so unique. John's reliance on his knowledge of horses as a guide into the world of men ultimately reveals to him that the two species are very different. When John begins his journey, he knows relatively little about the inner workings of human society, but he has superficially discovered that men and horses are similar. As McCarthy writes: “What he loved in horses, he loved in men, blood and the heat of the blood that covered them. All his reverence, all his attachment, and all the tendencies of his life were for the ardent hearts and they always would be. thus and never to be otherwise” (5). John knows that.