Symbols/Motifs

Blood

Blood is an important symbol and reoccurring element in “All the Pretty Horses”. Blood symbolizes the cost John Grady Cole pays for everything he loves. It also represents the world and helps to define the beauty it has, despite the contrast in violence and beauty. The tragedy of the world is what makes it beautiful. There are three things John Grady loves that he pays for in blood: Alejandra, horses, and his life.

“Drawing blood with her teeth where he held the heel of his hand against her mouth that she not cry out.”

Here, we see the image of blood. During their forbidden affair, John Grady is using his hand to make sure Alejandra keeps quiet while they are making love. They cannot get caught, and he knows that they must be quiet to be sure of this. In turn, Alejandra bites down on his hand to silence his passion. This causes him to bleed. This is a one example of how he paid for their love in blood.

“He looked down at his leg. His trousers were dark with blood and there was blood on the ground. He felt numb and strange but he felt no pain.”

This is right after John Grady has been shot when he is getting back Blevin’s horse at the end of the book. He has been shot and is bleeding excessively. He once again is paying for his love- this time of horses- with blood. He has become accustomed to this idea of getting hurt, and in turn, he no longer feels the pain.

“From the red buotonniere blossoming on the left pocket of his blue workshirt there spurted a thin fan of bright arterial blood.”

While Grady is in prison, he gets into a fight where he ends up killing another man. He is badly hurt and later regrets killing, but he did it to survive. In order to survive, Grady has to endure pain and blood. His pays for his survival in blood, once again.

Sunset

The sunset seems to show up when things are coming to an end. In the beginning of the book, after Grady’s grandfather dies and he is planning on leaving, we see the sunset. “The wind was much abated and it was very cold and the sun sat blood red and elliptic under the reefs of bloodred cloud before him.” This symbolizes the end of his childhood in his familiar home.

We once again see the sunset in the end: “There were few cattle in that country because it was a barren country indeed yet he came at evening upon a solitary bull rolling in the dust against the bloodred sunset like an animal in sacrificial torment.” This sunset symbolizes the end of his journey and all that he had fought for. He is done fighting for his love, and now he is going to start a new journey.

Religion

Religion is a reoccurring element throughout the book. God and his implications on the world are often discussed. These instances were very interesting, because they contrasted the usual simple meaningless dialogue the characters tended to have. Religion is important because it symbolizes not only the journey Grady is undertaking, but also his attempt to define life and the world around him.

Horses

Horses are very important in this book. They are what keep Grady going in life, and they also define him as a person. Grady connects horses with humans, often making horses superior to the human. "Finally he said that among men there was no such communion as among horses and the notion that men can be understood at all was probably an illusion." Grady wishes humans could be like horses.

Horses also tell us a lot out Grady as a character. “The horse had a good natural gait and as he rode he talked to it and told it things about the world that were true in his experience to see how they would sound if they were said. He told the horse why he liked it and why he’d chosen it to be his horse and he said that he would allow no harm to come to it.” Not only does this quote show us Grady’s love and passion for horses, but it shows us how he is lonely and alone in the world. He tells the horse his life story, because there is no person he trusts to tell it to. The horse is sacred to Grady, and we see this through his conversation, thoughts and dreams throughout the book.