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In The Red Pony by John Steinbeck, the natural world and how man affects or tries to affect it is a big theme. In this novel, the fight between man and nature is clearly shown, yet a winner isnt. In this book, the deaths and births of animals plays a large role in this struggle, nature affects man, and man affects nature. The deaths and births of animals play a large role in the struggle for power between man and nature. This is shown in the book when Steinbeck says, When he arrived, it was all over. The first buzzard sat on the pony's head and its beak had just risen dripping with dark eye fluid.
This is when the red pony dies. After the red pony got sick, Billy attempted to save it. His efforts were fruitless. Man was unsuccessful in effecting nature by saving the pony. I agree with this because it tells how man fails in trying to change nature. Man is successful in changing nature with the births and deaths of animals later in the story, though.
Steinbeck writes, Billy jumped to the swollen stomach; his big pocketknife was in his hand. He lifted the skin and drove the knife in. He sawed and ripped at the tough belly. The air filled with the sick odor of warm living entrails.
On the same page he also writes, Billy dropped the knife. Both of his arms plunged into the terrible ragged hole and dragged out a big, white, dripping bundle. His teeth tore a hole in the covering. A little black head appeared through the tear, and little, slick, wet ears.
These quotes are describing Billy as he saves the colt, but kills Nellie in the process. This shows that man can have an effect on nature. Billy chose to save the colt, but kill the mare. In the sense of the births and deaths of animals, man sometimes can and sometimes cant affect nature.
Nature affects man many ways in this story and in real life. In this story, the Tiflins rely a lot nature for there farm. They use horses for various farm jobs, and they get food by farming it. Nature seems to have more of an impact than man does.
After Billy Buck said that it wouldnt rain that day Steinbeck writes, Billy Buck wasnt wrong about many things. He couldnt be. But he was wrong about the weather that day, for a little after noon the clouds pushed over the hills and the rain began to pour down. This shows that no matter what man says, it wont change what happens in nature.
Nature can also affect man mentally. In the story Steinbeck writes, Billy's face and arms and chest were dripping red. His body shivered and his teeth chattered. His voice was gone he spoke in a throaty whisper. Theres your colt. I promised.
And there it is. I had to do iliad to. Nature makes Billy Buck feel guilty. He feels guilty that he couldnt save the red pony from nature killing it. He also feels guilty because it was his fault the pony got sick when he predicted that it wouldnt rain. Nature also has a mental effect on Jody.
Steinbeck writes, He sat up the better to look at the great mountains where they went piling back, growing darker and more savage until they finished with one jagged ridge, high up against the west. Curious secret mountains; he thought of the little he knew about them. Nature makes Jody curious about the mountains. This causes him to wonder about them and ask both his father and Gitano. This shows that man is curious about nature. Man also affects nature in many ways in this story and in real life.
Man wants power and the power to change. In this story, Billy's prediction caused the pony to get sick. Also, Steinbeck writes, Billy lifted the weak head and made a quick slash with the knife. Jody saw the yellow pus run out. He held up the head while Billy swabbed out the wound with weak carbolic acid salve. Billy attempts to save the pony and prolongs the pony's death.
This is man affecting nature. Man also affects nature because of animal training. In this book the Tiflins train horses to do work around the farm. They ride the horses and use the horses for work. They choose what the horses do, what they eat, and when they sleep. In the story Steinbeck writes, Too old to work, Gitano repeated.
Just eats and pretty soon dies. This is when Gitano was talking about Easter, the old horse. It shows that man uses the natural world and changes it to benefit himself. The power struggle between man and nature is very clearly shown in The Red Pony by John Steinbeck. As stated before, man affects nature and nature affects man. Also, man and nature both affect the deaths and births of animals, and the deaths and births of animals affect both man and nature.
Nature and man will always both have power to change the other, and they always will.
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Research essay sample on The Natural World In Red Pony
