Character Analysis

John Grady Cole (often referred to as just Grady or Cole)
“He saw very clearly how all his life led only to this moment and all after led nowhere at all. He felt something cold and soulless enter him like another being and he imagined that it smiled malignly and he had no reason to believe that it would ever leave" (254).

John Grady Cole is a sixteen year old boy running away from home, hoping to find something, anything, to define his life elsewhere. With his grandfather dead and his mother selling the only home he has ever known, Grady leaves without looking back. Especially after the death of his father in the end, Cole feels no attachment to Texas or his family, and he says, “I have no country” (299). He has nothing left to define him, and this book depicts the struggle he has to find not only the meaning of life, but his place in it.

Almost nothing is said about Cole’s physical appearance, except that he is attractive and a “ladies man” as Rawlins said. We know that Cole believes there is a wrong and right in every situation and that he values the truth at whatever cost. He is very skilled with horses as people around him can notice almost immediately. “I hear you understand horses,” (120) Cole’s boss observes. He is in love with horses, and he contrasts the human soul to horses throughout the book. (See post on importance of horses)

Throughout the book, Cole is desperately looking for something. This something is not really defined, and it seems he doesn’t even know what it is. This is a coming-to- age story, with an almost depressing end. Cole grows up and learns that life is harsh and unexpected. It leaves you with nothing, and there is no greater meaning. Life is just life. He views the world as a constant let down by saying “Between the wish and the thing the world lies waiting” (238).


Lacey Rawlins

Lacey Rawlins, Cole’s best friend, leaves home with Cole to venture into the west. Rawlins is very reasonable, trying to see the consequences of their actions ahead of time. He is usually right about his predictions of what will happen, but he never does anything to stop it. As someone on the ranch notices, Cole is the “leader of the two” (117). “I tried to reason with you, that’s all. Tried any number of times” (155), Rawlins says to Cole once they have been captured.

Rawlins is also very cautious and scared of the new surroundings. After Rawlins and Cole spend time in the prison, Rawlins is deeply affected. He cannot believe such horrible things exist in the world. Although he acts cold and cruel at times, he is deeply saddened by not only Blevin’s death, whom he has acted like he hated, but also random people at the prison. He says, “He died. When they carried him out there I thought how peculiar it would of seemed to him if he could of seen it. It did to me and it wasnt even me. Dying aint in peoples plans, is it?” (210) Rawlins often ponders about life and death and the meaning of it all. However, he is not ready to except the reality of life as Cole eventually does. Because of this, Rawlins returns home after they are freed from the prison.

Blevins

Jimmy Blevins is a thirteen year old boy who follows Cole and Rawlins on their journey. He is an interesting character, being that he is only thirteen, and he is on the run. One of the first things we see about Blevins is that he is an amazing shooter. He is able to shoot Rawlins’ wallet after it was thrown in midair. Another thing we learn about Blevins is that he doesn’t like to be made fun of. He bickers with Rawlins whenever Rawlins says something mean. When he falls out of his seat at dinner one night, he leaves the room saying, “I don’t like to be laughed at” (70). He is stubborn, and he spends the whole night and next morning hiding from those who saw his embarrassing moment.

Blevins is terrified of lightning. When a storm comes, Blevins takes all of his clothes off to avoid attracting the lightning, and he loses his horse. Because lightning killed his grandfather and uncle, he is scared it will “run in the family.” He defends his crazy reactions by saying, “You don’t know what it’s like” (89). His fears and actions demonstrate how young Blevins is.

After losing his horse, he is determined to find it or whoever found it. His stubborn, prideful, and courageous personality causes him to steal his horse back from a mexican man, claiming, “It ain’t his horse.” Blevins gets away, but he returns again to steal back his other things. This leads to his imprisonment and death. Blevin's innocent and scared age are again revealed when he is scared, repeatedly crying “What are they goin to do?” right before he is killed.

Alejandra

“Her black hair done up in a blue ribbon and the nape of her neck pale as porcelain" (123).

Being one of the only characters characterized with physical descriptions, Alejandra is seen as a beautiful, young, and fragile woman. Cole is absolutely in love with her. She too, likes horses, and Cole often envisions her riding them. Alejandra is rebellious, doing things merely because she shouldn’t or has been told not to. She sees Cole despite everybody telling her not too. She tells her dad, Cole’s boss, about their love affair, just to go against her aunt’s wishes. It is obvious she doesn’t really know who she is or whom she should listen to. Her true loyalty shows, however, when she leaves Cole in the end to go back to her father. Alejandra is not characterized much in the book, and we don’t see or hear from her as much as the other characters. Her sole purpose in the book is to be something that Cole so desperately wants- but can’t have.