The Descriprion of the Horses tale by Mark Twain - Book Report/Review Example

Introduction A Horse’s tale is the self-dictation of a horse about his life. The story is written by the famous author Mark Twain. The story reflects a perfect combination of friendship and bonding between animals and humans. The story includes several chapters with different types of moral and thoughts. Moreover, it is one of the most humorous stories except the ending part, which is tragic. These aspects encouraged to right book review about this particular book. The story begins with the prestigious life of a military horse and introduction of different characters. This essay will summarize all the chapters of the story along with a positive relationship between a human and a horse. Discussion Chapter 1 In the beginning of the first chapter, the horse of a military scout chief describes about his life and his companion to himself. According to the horse, he belongs from a good family and is respected in the human society because of his bravery and strength. The horse also explains his experience with the military and his learning from Buffalo Bill, his master. The first chapter portrays the companionship of a horse and his master. It also shows the respect, a horse has for his master along with the will to serve him entirely. Chapter 2 In the second chapter, Aunt Mercedes wrote a letter to General Alison regarding Cathy. Cathy is a small child and loves animals and adventures. In the letter a small incident was also described about Cathy, stating that she once killed two ants by mistake in order to save the smaller ant from the big one. She felt sorry after the incident which shows her innocence. The love of Cathy towards the small ant describes about the love she carries in her heart towards animals. Chapter 3 In the third letter, General Alison wrote a letter to his mother praising Cathy. He felt very happy and proud to have Cathy with her. General Alison also described the entrance of Buffalo bill and his horse Soldier Boy. Cathy was amazed when she looked at the horse and started loving him eternally. This chapter shows Cathy’s excitement when she saw Soldier Boy. This shows the love and respect she has towards every animal. Chapter 4 Chapter four of the book describes about a letter, Cathy wrote to Aunt Mercedes describing about the place she was staying. Cathy is tremendously excited staying at the place along with different type of people and animals. She describes about different type of animals, especially Soldier Boy because of his beauty. This chapter shows that Cathy’s relation with different type of animals is distinct. She was angry on a boy who hit an innocent dog; this shows she had love for all animals not for selective ones. Chapter 5 In this chapter, General Alison describes the activities of Cathy by elaborating them. Alison wrote almost every incident Cathy had during her stay. According to Alison’s writing it can be predicted that Cathy was a brave young girl. Undoubtedly she had lot of love for animals but she had love for other people as well. She could easily melt heart of other people with her attractive eyes and innocent words. Alison also describes that Cathy’s stay spread love and joy for everyone in the fort. She loved everyone and was loved by everyone which made her special. Chapter 6 This chapter is the dictation of Soldier Boy about his experiences with Cathy to a horse named Mexican Plug. First of all Soldier Boy tells about his highly reputed family background and later he tells about his owner Cathy, who was loved and praised by the entire cavalry. Soldier Boy also mentions that Cathy was different from any other person due to which his master Buffalo Bill handed him to Cathy. This Chapter signifies the love and respect a horse has for his master. It is a two way love between Cathy and the horse, which shows a true companionship. Chapter 7 In this chapter, Soldier Boy and Shekels discuss about Mexican Plug. “Shekels” is a reptile friend of the horse, Soldier Boy. Shekels also informed that some people were behind Buffalo Boy in order to kill him. Soldier Boy assures Shekels that Buffalo Bill was a strong person and he could not be killed easily. In this chapter the friendship between a reptile and a horse is shown along with the concern these animals had for good human-beings. This resembles a true friendship of animals with humans. Chapter 8 This chapter is small compared to the other chapters and it tells about the leaving of Buffalo Bill to Fort Clayton. This chapter does not provide much evidence of animal-human relationships. Chapter 9 This chapter is very important because it includes lot of adventure. Buffalo Bill was shot by the enemies, as informed by Shekels. Cathy and Soldier Boy immediately went to rescue him. They travelled for a very long time and Cathy was tired. Finally they were attacked by wolves in the wood. Soldier Boy rescued Cathy and Buffalo Boy also arrived with wounds in his leg. This chapter provides a clear love and companionship of human and animals. Soldier Boy was tired but he stayed awake to rescue Cathy until Buffalo Bill and other people arrived. Chapter 10 This chapter includes the discussion between General Alison and Dorcas. Dorcas tells the General about the animals. He tells Alison that animals speak with each other in their absence. He also mentions that Shekels collects information from various places and relay them to other animals. It has also been observed in this chapter that Alison and Dorcas both are worried with the activities of Cathy. They think that Cathy might be able to take control of the posts relieving General Alison from his duty. From this chapter it is clear that there is a good level of understanding between humans and animals. Both, humans and animals are able to understand each other’s actions. Chapter 11 In this chapter Antonio and Thorndike have conversation about a bull fight. They praise the bull fight ceremony and state that it is one of the most interesting programs that everyone must watch once in their lifetime. They also mention in their conversation that bulls are killed during a bull fight and it makes the program entertaining. Bull fight is one of the most important sports during the period. People from different places come and bet in order to make the program live. Though it is unethical to kill an animal without reason but it is an important trend that amused people. Chapter 12 In this chapter, Mongrel and another horse discuss about the brutal nature of human beings. They are worried about the bull fight incidents because it involves killing of innocent bulls for no reasons. They conclude by saying that this is human nature and people can-not understand animals. In this part horses feel uncomfortable staying with humans because of their inhuman behaviors. Chapter 13 In this chapter, General Alison writes a letter to his mother about their delightful journey of America. He also informs that the soldiers did-not want Cathy to leave the place after the completion of their work. Cathy was equally unhappy with the proceedings. General Alison also describes that the soldiers arranged a ceremony in their style before Cathy left the place. He mentioned that everyone was safe and their task was completed successfully (Twain 50). This chapter does-not talk much about animals however it shows the love Cathy had given to people and animals in the place. Everyone was unhappy because Cathy was leaving for her hometown. Chapter 14 In this chapter, Soldier Boy talks to himself about his life and misery. Soldier Boy was stolen from Cathy and he was made to suffer for some time. In this chapter, Soldier Boy tells to himself that he wanted to see Cathy once before he dies. His life has turned to misery after he has been separated from Cathy. In this chapter a true friendship and a real companionship is reflected from the character of Soldier Boy. It is a perfect essence of love and bonding between a human and an animal. Chapter 15 This is the last chapter of the story and the worst part, where Cathy was hit in a bulls ring while saving Soldier Boy. Cathy managed to find his horse and took his death. Everyone was stunned by her brave action. This shows a true love towards an animal. In this part Cathy’s love towards her horse is clearly visible. She kept on searching him after he was stolen from her. She took his part of pain and misery which shows a positive relationship of an animal and a human. She was completely different from other humans. Conclusion From the story described above, it is clear that Cathy, Soldier Boy and Buffalo Bill were the three most important and brave characters who showed a positive relationship between animals and humans. The story was entertaining as it included conversation of some animals and humans however the ending of the story was completely unexpected. The relationship between Soldier Boy and Cathy was very important and it portrays a positive attitude of humans towards animals. Hence, it can be concluded that A Horse’s Tale is one of the most important fictional stories which depicts a true love and companionship of human-animal relations. Work Cited Twain, Mark. A Horse’s Tale. New York: Nuvision Publications, 2004. Print. Read More