John's life, like all of Western American society during the timeframe of the story, revolved around horses. In fact, I think that he is able to understand the horses more than he does about men. The horses in the novel represent strength, untamed passion, and most importantly, freedom of spirit. The veneration that the vaqueros have for horses is apparent in the tales Luis tells the boys. "... the old man only said that it was pointless to speak of there being no horses in the world for God would not permit such a thing" (111). I feel that this quote demonstrates to the readers very well on the strong feelings of passion of the vaqueros, cattle-ranchers, that they value horses so highly that they are able to regard
John's life, like all of Western American society during the timeframe of the story, revolved around horses. In fact, I think that he is able to understand the horses more than he does about men. The horses in the novel represent strength, untamed passion, and most importantly, freedom of spirit. The veneration that the vaqueros have for horses is apparent in the tales Luis tells the boys. "... the old man only said that it was pointless to speak of there being no horses in the world for God would not permit such a thing" (111). I feel that this quote demonstrates to the readers very well on the strong feelings of passion of the vaqueros, cattle-ranchers, that they value horses so highly that they are able to regard