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All The Pretty Horses Symbolism

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The color black in literature, has a strong connotation that involves intricate depths and brings the realization of significant details to the surface. In All the Pretty Horses by, Cormac McCarthy the color black symbolizes the mysteriousness, cruelty, and power of characters such as, Alejandra, the Captain, and Alfonsa. Within the context of the characters and the actions of each character the color black has different and layer meaning. McCarthy pulled this color and stretched all of its meaning, for not only a use of symbolization but also a use of characterization and tone. Alejandra is introduced in a fury of black details, “She wore a flatcrowned hat of black felt with a wide brim and her black hair was loose under it and fell halfway to …show more content…

Alejandra emerges right after the trials of this journey to Mexico and is a sight of exciting uncertainty. Her dominance is asserted when she asks to ride a not completely domesticated horse, “ I want to ride him. She regarded him levelly under the black hatbrim.” This reveals that she is not a meek girl, but a character that is fearless, dominant and authoritative. In this time period, these characteristics in a woman were rare. In spite of these positive characteristics within Alejandra that black symbolizes, it also signifies the cruelty not in who she is but in what she does. The guilt Alejandra has over action is immense, “She was crying. People were looking toward their table. She lowered her

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Through her use of a changing narrative perspective, Margaret Laurence creates a contrast in character development. Laurence shows the reader the male protagonist of the story, Chris, through the eyes of a child first, then of an adolescent, and finally through an adult’s eyes. At the beginning of “Horses of the Night,” the narrator, Vanessa notices that Chris looks completely oblivious towards Vanessa’s Grandfather’s belligerence, as he is displaying “no sign of feeling anything.” This is the first sign Laurence provides about Chris escaping in order to cope with reality. Next, when Vanessa visits Shallow Creek she comes to a realization that most of the stories Chris has shared with her about the farm, only exists “in some other dimension.”

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The black cat seems to me to symbolize many different things. I feel that the everytime she sees that cat it’s a warning that something bad is soon to happen. I feel that the black cat also represents reincarnation and when Sophia is not there as a ghost or in spirit she is secretly a lonely, dark cat that tries to scare everyone around her. Another piece of symbolism that I noticed while reading the book is Sophia's doll and dress. When Florence where’s the dress and carries the doll around her room she seems to symbolize Sophia when she was alive.

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There are many literary devices used across stories. Color imagery is one of these literary devices that is used when colors give objects a symbolic meaning. In the short story “St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves” by Karen Russell, girls who have been raised as wolves are thrust into the unknown as they are forced to adapt to human society. Their childhood was spent living with wolves, however they are taken in by nuns of St. Lucy’s who attempt to assimilate them into the human world through different phases. Throughout the story, color imagery is used to emphasize the key theme of unity, establish the conflicted tone, and metaphorically develop Claudette’s character.

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Another significant factor in the novel is when Stevie and her friends play a game about who’s lighter. One of the girls, Joyce tries to put down another girl by saying, “Look at her arm next to mine. It looks black (pg.66)!” This event shows that people seems to think having lighter skin is better.

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The Black Stallion, known as the Black or Shêtân, is the title character from author Walter Farley's bestselling series about the Arab stallion and his young owner, Alec Ramsay. The series chronicles the story of a sheikh's prized stallion after he comes into Alec's possession, although later books furnish the Black's backstory. Shaytan (under various transliterations) is the Arabic word for "devil". The first book in the series, published in 1941, is titled The Black Stallion.

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Another crucial aspect of a quality bildungsroman piece is the search for a meaningful existence carried out by the main character or protagonist. In a bildungsroman, the main character must have an epiphany somewhere throughout the story which causes them to realize their place in society. This epiphany is influenced by their journey away from home, and gives them insight to the meaning of their existence (Casano). John Grady Cole’s search for existence in All the Pretty Horses is long and painful when looking at his journey to Mexico as a whole. Cole decides to stay in Mexico after meeting the love of his life, Alejandra, which is when he discovers the meaning of his life (Delafuente).

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A good quote that shows how black can be used to show deep emotions is, "Somehow, between the sadness and loss, Max Vandenburg, who was now a teenager with hard hands, blackened eyes, and a sore tooth, was also a little disappointed. ”(Zusak 188) The use of black in this quote shows how Max’s eyes were deep and filled with sadness. Using the color really helps the reader visualize how max was feeling. In the book, Death who is the narrator denies he wears a black robe.

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