Reason, compassion, and bitterness are some of the most important human attributes Anna Sewell gives her horse characters in Black Beauty.
One example of a horse's ability to reason can be seen in Black Beauty's thoughts after experiencing the fire. In Chapter 16, Beauty observed that the fire was started when a young man carelessly left his pipe lying in the stable. After James successfully leads Beauty and Ginger away to safety, Beauty reflects how thankful he is for the rule of the coachman at Birtwick Park, John Manly, that pipes were forbidden in the stable:
I remember our John Manly's rule, never allow a pipe in the stable, and thought it ought to be the rule everywhere. (Ch. 16)
The horses also demonstrate their ability to feel compassion for those who suffer. For example, though Black Beauty and Ginger make it safely out of the fire in Chapter 16 because James is smart enough to know how to lead them out of the stable, two other horses do not make it out; Beauty reflects that he and Ginger felt very badly when hearing the "shrieks of those poor horses."
Like human beings, the horses can't help but feel bitter about the unjust treatment animals receive from men. Beauty first begins to feel bitterness when hearing from his horse friends about all of the inhumane treatment dogs and horses receive even though, early in the story, he is far removed from the inhumane treatment himself, being under the good care of Squire Gordon at Birtwick Park:
I found a bitter feeling toward men rise up in my mind that I never had before. Of course Ginger was very much excited; she flung up her head with flashing eyes and distended nostrils, declaring that men were both brutes and blockheads. (Ch. 10)
Beauty's bitterness and resentment continues to grow as the story progresses and as he finds himself in the care of crueler and crueler masters until he is finally once again in a safe home.
No comments:
Post a Comment