The Red Pony
New Characters:
Grandfather- (Mrs. Tiflin's father)
Summary: The Leader of the People
The story starts out on a Saturday with Jody wondering around around the barn talking to Billy Buck about the amount of hay in the barn, and that there will be lots of mice. For months, they have seen that the amount of mice has increased and that they should have the dogs hunt them. Jody wants to set traps for the mice, but he must ask his father who must be in charge of the entire family's decisions. Later Jody notices a man carrying an envelope who we all know as mailmen. (there weren't any women in this profession back then). Carl Tiflin picks up the letter and brings it inside. The letter is addressed to Mrs. Tiflin and is from her father saying that he will be coming for a visit. Mr. Tiflin is upset at this unexpected surprise because he doesn't like her father. The next day Jody finds his his grandfather and welcomes him. The entire family gathers for dinner and grandpa tells one of his stories about traveling across the plains that everyone has heard. The main character and his grandfather decide to trap mice the next morning, but Jody was the only one who caught any. Grandfather just sat down and talked about how he should be telling folks about other things that he remembered from his past, and not just the same stories.
Journal Friday December 23, 2011
This is the last chapter of The Red Pony. First of all I would like to point out that it stopped at a very interesting place. Now there is a new chapter at the end about Junius Maltby, but it isn't mentioned in the table of contents. It is very weird, but I will discover the mystery behind this person in my next blog. The major themes I would like to point in this novel are Carl Tiflin being a complete piece of crap, and Jody's luck changing . Throughout this story Carl Tiflin has been viewed as a terrible father figure to Jody and a terrible husband to Mrs. Tiflin. I just don't like the father in this story. I know Carl is trying to be a good father, but he is not doing anything to try and have a good relationship with his wife or his son. In one of the chapters, it talks about Carl being jealous of the bonding between Billy Buck and Jody. Instead of feeling bad about it, maybe he could talk to his son and find ways that they could have a good father-son relationship. I have a great relationship with my dad. I know some girls my age may despise their dads because they may be a little overprotective. There are some days where I can be mad at my dad, but then I forget about it because it's over with. Another thing about the father that I don't like is that he is completely rude and has no consideration of other people's feelings. I can go back to the chapter where they met Gitano, an old man who said he lived there some time ago. Mr. Tiflin was so terrible to this man. The night they took this poor man in, he asked Gitano if he had family somewhere else and why he wasn't living with them. In this chapter, I would also like to point out the terrible form of sarcasm in Carl's voice when he talks about the good times with his horse when he was young and how his horse should be put out of it's misery. (WHAT A PIECE OF CRAP!). Another chapter that I would like to point out is when the grandfather came to visit. Carl is so mean toward the grandfather because he tells the same stories about his golden days. The worst part is that he talks behind this old man's back and makes fun of him for trying to relive his glory days by telling the stories. Now I'm sure everyone understands what it is like when an elderly person tells you a story. I know some stories that you have heard before will be repeated, but sometimes if you listen closely the events change or it gets more interesting. I'm sure all of you have at least one person in your family that does this. In my opinion, you should just listen to them. Don't be disrespectful like Carl Tiflin. The stories may be extremely boring and you have probably heard them a million times, but all they want to do is have someone to talk to and pass these stories on from one person to the next. The second and last theme I would like to point out in this story is Jody's luck changing from the beginning to the end. in the beginning, we all know the poor little boy's horse died. I thought the boy would be scarred for life after finding his horse dead on the ground thinking that it was his fault. He came along way since the first chapter. His father decided to let him have a colt and then Jody was happy again. I didn't really comprehend too much information about the colt in the last chapters. It just talked about Jody's extreme worry for the care and health of the baby horse. Anyway, the story showed how a sad little boy's luck could change and he finally gets a new horse and his life is complete. This boy talked a lot about the Gabilan Mountains, but I always wondered if he was ever going to visit them and meet up with their old acquaintance Gitano. Jody always talked about the mountains. but he didn't get to visit them.
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