Major Themes:

 The loneliness and poverty faced by expatriate communities living miles away from their
homeland.

 The concepts of honour and theft by Aram, Mourad, the tribe and John Byro

 The lure of a desire in the face of poverty and binds of tradition.

 Traditions and free spirit: the conflict and the triumph of one.

 Rising above personal desire to take a mature decision.

 The impact the story has due to a child narrator.

 The relationship between the two brothers.

 Sensitivity to the environment.

  The concept of insanity.

 Guilty pleasures.

Major Characters:

Aram –

The ten year old cousin of Mourad who had always been conscientious of his tribe’s reputation for
integrity.  Fascinated with horses since he wsas a child, he knew in his heart that Mourad had stolen
the horse but justified the action by claiming that it wasn’t stealing unless Mourad sold the horse for
monetary gain. Was jealous of the bond Mourad shared with the horse and hoped to have the same
connect with the horse someday. Found a way to keep the horse even when he found out that John
Byro was the owner. Since we see the story unfold from a child’s perspective, an innocence, an
honesty and unbiased quality is added to the narration.

Mourad –

Considered crazy and a direct descendent of Uncle Khosrove, Mourad seemed to have a special
“way” with animals and even with people. He could make them feel calm and safe. He looked after
the horse in such a manner that John Byro found it better tempered and healthy on its return.
Mourad too seems fascinated with horses and isn’t beyond bending the rules to get what he wants.
Perhaps he chooses not to tell Aram that he stole the horse to save Aram from trouble too. Mourad
is a free spirited child of nature who enjoys “being alive”. He does have a conscience and hence,
chooses to return the horse when reminded of his family’s honourable reputation.

Uncle Khosrove –

According to Aram, Uncle Khosrove, the huge man with a large mustache and a volatile temper,
seems similar to Mourad in spirit. Having left Armenia perforce, Khosrove feels as if his true home
and a part of his identity have been stripped away. This leads to a lack of belonging to the new land
of Central Valley, California, where the Armenians have settled and a sense of frustrated anger.
Thus, he is commonly observed to roar, “It is no matter. Pay no attention to it.” Nothing is quite as
important to him anymore and nothing quite as tragic or urgent.

The horse –

In the American culture, the white horse is quite significant. It is a symbol of purity and courage. The
mythical unicorns, the courageous ‘Silver’ of the Lone Ranger and even the majestic king of horses,
Shadowfax, from the Lord of the Rings were represented as white horses. Here, in our story, the
horse becomes a symbol of the innocence of the boys as well as their uncaptivated spirits. On one
hand, it establishes Mourad as the gifted child who can connect with animals and on the other,
proves that Mourad had had the horse for quite some time before he brought it to Aram.

What message is conveyed through the story ‘The Summer of the Beautiful Horse’?

The primary message of the story, The Summer of the Beautiful Horse, is that despite social or
economic challenges, there are some truths which are absolute and should be practised under and
all conditioned. It is undeniable that the story is set within a family that is poor. Their poverty is not
used as a crutch or something that limits the emotional quotient of the boys or the people in the
community. The boys’ love for the horse is genuine and sincere, not motivated out of some ulterior
motive of greed or economic want. Their love for the animal is quite authentic. When they return
the horse, they have a genuine understanding that they need to return what is not theirs. They are
not motivated by anything else other than the highly human reaction of wanting to make right what
is wrong.

The reaction of the horse’s owner, John Byro, is also very real and valid. He knows very well the boys
have taken the horse, but gives multiple opportunities for the boys to recognize the consequences of
their action. Ironically enough, the owner shows a sense of charity and good will and this benefits
him, as the horse is much more manageable and well-conditioned as a result of the boys’ work with
the horse. In the final analysis, when we examine the encounter of the boys, the horse, and the
owner, there is a trend that while economic hardships area strong factor in how we behave; they are
not a determinant one. There is a realm of human action that can lie outside the strictly causal world
of economics. The setting of the story seems to be Depression time in California, which makes
reading even more interesting.