All The Pretty Horses Literary Analysis

Name: David Darby
Period: 7
Date: 4th October 2010

All the Pretty Horses – Approach Paper

Cormac McCarthy, All the Pretty Horses
Country: United States, 1992 Period: 20th Century
Perspective: Marxist

In the novel All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy society is based on its economic constitution, common ideologies and social class structure. During the colonial era, the west was viewed as a place of opportunity filled with riches and prolific western civilization dating back to the late 1800’s.But as the years progressed, a shift in economic stability was underway as once wealthy westerners lost their profits and struggled to maintain their ranches. The ranch at which John Grady Cole resided waned in profits and became a financial burden, so Cole’s mother sold the ranch to lift that burden and because of this, Cole leaves Texas to embark on his new adventure to get away from the economical dilemma. Economics plays a main
part in influencing Cole’s decision as he had no other choice, since there was no other reason for him to stay. The ranch was his entire life after all. Relations of social power and class structure have always been prominent throughout the ages of society, whether making individuals feel inferior to their class status or giving more power to the upperclassmen.
When Cole begins working for Don Hector on the Hacienda, it is made clear that Don Hector is Cole’s superior while Cole is seen as a lower class man. Don Hector’s daughter, also considered an upper class individual, grabs the attention of Cole and causes him to feel infatuated with her but as the aunt later becomes aware of the affair between the two, she immediately rejects the idea by telling Cole not to see her again. Her intentions were to prevent her grand niece from associating with the likes of Cole since he is not considered to be of affluent origins. It was believed by the upper class men of that time period that if they associated themselves with the lower people of society, they themselves would soon be considered as lower class men and in order to maintain that power and influence, that had to be
avoided.
Also, there was a common ideology amongst the Mexicans that women were only there to perform common domestic duties and not involve themselves with any politics of the sort. It was forbidden as some politicians put it. Women had little to none, of political influence on society to the point where they were not allowed to vote during elections since no male politician took them seriously. It was because if this belief why the aunt wanted Cole to leave her grand niece alone because she held firm belief that their love would not be enough to conquer the harsh social, political environment of Mexico. It was impossible as described by her, to break the ideological foundations that Mexico dwelled in for the past centuries, especially in a time period like the 20th century where corruption shrouded the Mexican government.