All The Pretty Horses pgs. 31-59

As I started reading this second section of All the Pretty Horses, I really began to have an interest in the book. In the first section there was no storyline whatsoever, but as the second section started, it blossomed. Following the Western Myth, the main character has left home to begin his "quest in the West." What makes the novel interesting is the quirky characterization of John Grady. He is a city boy at heart, and that is displayed through all of his comments on the Western Frontier. Like a typical cowboy, they are riding horseback through the desert. "How the hell do they expect a man to ride a horse in this country? They don't. " The boys have no sense of how real cowboys deal with life, and are awaiting a car to pull up and offer them a free ride. Also, stereotypical cowboys are always grungy and scraggly, however "he got his shaving things out of the saddlebag and went into the washroom and shaved and washed and brushed his teeth and combed his hair." These boys are not at all adjusted to country life, and McCarthy portrays their negligence through their dialogue.