John Gradys Journey in All the Pretty Horses :: essays research papers

John Grady's journey is one that leads him from innocence to experience and lets him find the 'paradise' for which he is looking. Grady is an outcast. At beginning of the novel he feels out of place in the world in which he is living. On top of that he neither understands why it is changing nor is he willing to accept it. As he is sitting in the theatre watching his mother's play, the narrator tells us his thoughts: 'He'd the notion that there would be something in the story itself to tell him about the way the world was or was becoming but there was not.' The times are changing and he's unwilling to give up the past. The world is becoming modernized and people like him, cowboys and ranchers, are slowly disappearing. He runs away from home because he desires to find peace within himself as well as a place where he can feel he belongs. Here begins the adventure of John Grady and his best friend Lacey Rawlins. It is important to note here the means of travel. The story is taking place after World War II, a time when cars are fairly common, yet these boys decide to go on horseback, like in the fading old days. This is just another concept of how they are unwilling to give up a fading past. When they first begin their journey, the boys are having a good time. In a sense they?re two buddies on a road trip with no real motive. Rawlins even mentions, ?You know what?I could get used to this life.? Then they meet Blevins, the foil in the plot that veers the two boys of their course and also has plays a role in the lasting change of their person ality. Their meeting with him gives an insight into Grady?s character. Rawlins is against letting Blevins come along with them, but because of John?s kind nature he ends up allowing Blevins to come. It?s because of this kindness and sense of morality, he gets into trouble later on. The crossing of the Rio Grande into Mexico is an important structural device and symbol in the novel. This is when they enter the ?frame? of the novel in which all the conflicts take place. The crossing of the river naked is symbolic for the cleansing of their souls as well as a new beginning. In only a short time after arriving in Mexico, conflicts start.