IRA#3 The Red Pony

The Red Pony by John Steinbeck


Themes:


Carl Tiflin's decision to let his son have another horse-  when you read this book you find out that it is very sad because the boy's horse dies. Carl Tiflin finally decides that Jody should be responsible for taking care of a colt (baby stallion). This leads to a motif that Jody is doing everything he can to make sure that he earns that horse.


Motif: 


Jody's willingness to get his horse- Jody is doing his chores and some extra chores including cutting  hay and milking cows to prove that he can do this.

Jody's apprehension about the horse-  After thinking of Gabilan, he is so worried about the colt. He is asking Billy Buck if the birth of the horse will go well and that he hopes it does.


Summary: The Promise


It is a new season and Jody is walking home from school. When he gets home, he looks through a catalog, but is interrupted by his mother saying that his father wishes to speak to him. Jody's first instinct is that he may have done something wrong, but then he hears his father talk about how well he took care of his last horse Gabilan. Billy Buck talks to Carl Tiflin about having the main character raise a baby colt. The next day, Jody takes one of his horses Nellie over to the neighbors for breeding. Then he and the horse hear a scream and the sound of chopped wood. A stallion runs out of the barn and Nellie joins her. Jody cries hoping that their neighbor Jess would separate them. The protagonist stays waiting for the Nellie hoping to take him back home because he is the person who is supposed to take care of her.

The next day Jody really concentrates on his chores showing his father that he is responsible enough to take care of the colt. Billy Buck explains to Jody that it will take a long time until the colt gets here, but Jody grow more impatient. Three months after the breeding of the mare and the stallion, Jody wonders about the colt. Billy Buck hopes that the mare will give birth to a stallion and  explains to Jody that colts are hard to control and that his father might not want to deal with it. After hearing about what happens when a horse gives birth, Jody thinks about Gabilan and start asking Billy Buck if the colt will be all right.


Friday December 16, 2011


 The theme is that Carl Tiflin is letting his son take care of a newborn horse. It seems like so far in this book that Jody is always given a second chance. I think this is a good. I mean everyone deserves a second chance. I believe that this will be the perfect responsibility along with his chores and school to learn how to manage time and work hard. Now just something to add here. I think that maybe this will somehow fix the father-son relationship between Carl and Jody because I don't really see a paternal figure, but more of a authority person. I don't know if this was common back then, but I just hope that maybe their relationship will get better.  Lets go to our motif which is Jody's willingness to get his horse.   I know that Jody was very traumatized, but now I think he will be way more responsible. Of course, he is also going to be completely paranoid with this little colt. I'm sure its perfectly natural. This will be kind of like taking care of a regular baby and when you think of new parents they are usually paranoid about certain things.As a horse lover and a girl who has been to Girl Scout Horse Camp for eight years or so,  I'm really hoping that everything goes okay with this colt because this poor little boy has suffered enough already. I just hope he finally gets what he wants a horse that he can enjoy. I remember my first time I rode a horse. I always needed help getting on the horse, but then I got the hang of it and I learned how to control the horse, gallop, and ride the horse on trails (which is really fun).  Another motif is Jody's apprehension about the horse.  Jody continually asks about how the birth of the colt will go. Billy Buck explains that the baby must come out a certain way or it miscarriages. This really scares Jody and he wants Billy Buck to tell him if the horse will be all right. He is counting on Billy Buck. Like I said in the first motif, could you blame Jody? His horse died and now he just wants to make sure everything is all right. I am always like that with my pets. Now both of my cats are dying, but right now I'm just trying to enjoy them and make sure they are comfortable.
 My Reflection on the Author.