Black Beauty, Essay Example

The book Black Beauty, by Anna Sewell, tells the life story of a horse from the time when he was very young until he was much older and ended up being bought by a farmer who let Black beauty live out the rest of his life in happiness. What makes the book Black beauty so interesting is that the horse is the one who tells the story. Black Beauty does not have some sort of magical powers that make it possible for him to talk to people, it is told like the reader gets to hear Black Beauty’s thoughts about all the things that happen to him and all the people and other animals he meets.

There are a large number of characters in Black Beauty. Some of them are other horses, and some of them are the people that Black Beauty is owned by during his life. The main horse characters that Black Beauty meets when he is still young are Ginger, Merrylegs, and Sir Oliver. Ginger is sometimes a problem for her owners, and she gets worked up on some occasions like when she is forced to have a bit in her mouth. Merrylegs is actually a pony, and is a pet that belongs to the children of one of Black Beauty’s owners. Later, Black Beauty meets other horses, such as Captain, who used to be a military horse before he ended up as a cab horse.

Most of the human characters in the story are the people that own Black Beauty throughout his life, and also the people that take care of him and other horses, like the grooms and the stable men. When Black Beauty is young he is sold to Squire Gordon by Farmer Grey, who was his first owner, and he lives on the Squire’s estate. Squire Gordon has several young men who work for him, such as John Manly, James Howard, and Little Joe Green. John Manly takes good care of Black Beauty and believes that horses should be treated well.

Black Beauty is eventually sold to the Earl, who also treats his horses well. His wife is not as kind as he is, and she makes the horses wear bearing reins, which the horses do not like. Ginger is especially bothered by the bearing reins, and she kicks up a big fus when she is forced to wear one. Rueben Smith is the Earl’s driver, and he has a drinking problem. One night when he is drunk he takes Black Beauty on a ride and Black Beauty is injured badly. Black Beauty is no longer able to ride like he used to. He is eventually sold to Jerry Barker, who uses horses to pull cabs around the city. This is a difficult job and the horses do not like it very much. While he is working as a cab horse Black Beauty sees Ginger, who is also a cab horse, and is very unhappy. Ginger wishes she was dead, and she does die soon after Black Beauty sees her.

After Jerry Barker gets sick and cannot be a cad driver any more, Black Beauty is sold again to the Corn Dealer. Black Beauty is a work horse for the corn dealer, and even though he is treated fairly well, he begins to lose his eyesight because it is so dark in the barn. There are a number of other characters in the story, some horses and some people, but these are most of the main characters. Most of the dramatic structure in the story has to do with the various people that own Black Beauty over the course of his life, and the experiences he has doing his different jobs.

The life story of Black Beauty has high points and low points. His life starts of good, but then he is injured by Reuben Smith. He is sold again and again, and each time it seems like things start off in a good way for Black Beauty faces more conflicts. In some of the conflicts he is treated badly, and other times he gets sick or injured. As the story gets near the end, when Black Beauty is working as a cab horse, the rising action happens when Black Beauty sees Ginger and then realizes that she has died. It seems as of Black Beauty is never going to have a happy life again like he did when he was younger.

Thye climax of the story comes when Black beauty is sold to be a cab horse again. He is worked too hard, and he finally cannot work anymore. It seems as if this might be the end for Black Beauty, and he is sold at auction because he cannot work as a cab horse anymore. Black Beauty’s luck finally starts to change when he is bought at the auction by a farmer who helps the horse become healthy again. The resolution of the story comes when Black Beauty is sold one last time to the Blomefieds, and Little Joe Green sees Black Beauty and realizes that he knows the horse. After all the troubles Black Beauty faced in life, he finally ends up in a good place where he can live out the rest of his life happily while being cared for by Little Joe Green.