White Horse Influence

In William Saroyan’s short story, “The Summer of the Beautiful White Horse,” Mourad is a positive influence on his younger cousin, Aram. One way Mourad is a positive influence is his care for animals. Aram takes his turn riding the horse; but he falls off, leading to the horse running off. As they search for the horse, Mourad says, “If you come upon him, be kindly,” (Saroyan 3). The horse is the one who ran off, but rather than be disciplinary, Mourad is gentle and careful. His compassion for animals is a good trait to have, one that could easily rub off on a certain cousin who is constantly hanging out with him. Mourad and Aram secretly return the horse to John Byro, but Mourad couldn’t leave without saying goodbye: “Mourad put his arms around the horse, pressed his nose into the horse’s nose, patted it, and then he went away,”(4). Mourad’s tenderness to the horse is result of a closeness from spending time with the horse. He cares for the horse now; he had even called it “My Heart”. Spending
time with Mourad will teach Aram the same. When Aram runs to Mourad’s house, he finds him sitting under a tree, caring for an injured bird: “He was…trying to repair the hurt wing of a young robin…he was talking to the bird,”(4). If Mourad were not a kind, gentle person, why would he waste his time caring for a bird? He’s a good influence on Aram in the aspect that he exposes him to his compassion for animals, something Aram is sure to pick up over time. Another way he’s a good influence is he shows Aram how to have fun because all Aram has ever known is strict family values and high expectations. Mourad has Aram ride the horse on his own when Aram has never experienced riding a horse: “And for a moment I knew the awfulest fear imaginable,”(2).Mourad is a good influence in the fact that he’s acquainting Aram with new things. He’s giving him experiences he might not have had; like fear, fear is a good experience to have. Wanting to learn how to ride a horse, Aram requests they keep the horse for a year. But, Mourad yells, “The horse must go back to it’s true owner,”(4). Mourad’s been teaching Aram about the wild side of life, but at the same time he isn’t letting him forget his values. Mourad is a bit of a free spirit, he wouldn’t let anyone hold him back: “Mourad enjoyed being alive more than anybody else,”(1). Aram is only ever about keeping the family name, and Mourad is pushing him. He’s encouraging Aram to really live. Mourad may seem like a positive influence, but others claim he’s the opposite.
Mourad is offering Aram a ride in a beautiful horse, a horse that he obviously did not buy because their family is extremely poor: “He had stolen the horse,”(1). If Mourad is going around stealing and exposing Aram to it, what’s to say Aram won’t start doing the same. Mourad is different from the rest of the family, more wild: “my cousin Mourad was considered the natural descendant of the crazy streak,”(2). Mourad is a wild card, his behavior is crazy, immoral, and unpredictable. He is a bad influence on Aram. The Garoghlaninan family has very high morals, they would never go against their values: “We were proud first, honest next, and after that we believed in right and wrong,”(1). Mourad may have been the wild streak of the family, but he’s still a Garoghlanian. He keeps his own values that he holds very high. He is teaching Aram about the other side of life, a side important to living
life.