All the Pretty Horses Essay Prompt

I liked Over and Out's character prompt idea best which asks "what is McCarthy trying to say by having Blevins die and Rawlins return home?" I'd probably write about Blevins's death and compare it to the death of the western myth and the death of innocence in the story. I'd also write about Rawlins's leaving Mexico to go back home. I tell how this symbolizes the loss of the grounded, reasonable part of John Grady's life by talking about the reasons why Rawlins is reasonable and down-to-earth. Finally, I'd write about the effects that Rawlins's departure for Texas and Blevins's death on John Grady.

All the Pretty Horses Sixth Reading

This time I read from page 181 to the end of part III.  The last reading was serious, and this one was just as serious if not more so.  When John Grady and Rawlins go to prison, they almost immediately start getting into fights and getting pummeled.  The prison is terrible, and guards don’t try to stop any of the violence.  First Rawlins gets knifed then John Grady gets attacked in the dining area.  That part was intense; the fight is quite close, and John Grady ends up killing the assassin.  John Grady believes that the assassin was hired but I really don’t know who would have hired someone to kill him.  On the note of John Grady killing the assassin, I think that it was okay because he would have been killed himself if he hadn’t, but understandably John Grady takes the incident pretty hard.  I was glad when Rawlins and John Grady got bailed out.  It was sad to see Rawlins leaving John Grady because he is my favorite character in the book, but at least he gets to go home where it is safe.