The Summer of the Beautiful White Horse
William Saroyan
This is a story of two tribal Armenian boys who belonged to the Garoghlanian
tribe. For their family, even in times of extreme poverty nothing could match
the importance of honesty. They never did anything wrong and never lied or
never even stole anything. The story talks about an incident that revolves
around two cousins Aram who is nine years old and Mourad who is thirteen.
The world, for Aram, at that time, seemed to be a delightful and extremely
joyous yet mysterious dream. People believed in every imaginable kind of
magnificence. Mourad was considered to be crazy by everybody he knew.
The story opens with Mourad coming to Aram’s house at four in the morning
one fine day. He tapped on the window to Aram’s room. When Aram looked
out of the window, he was taken aback and startled to see Mourad riding a
beautiful white horse. In fact, he was so dazed that Mourad had to say “Yes,
it’s a horse. You are not dreaming.” All this was too unbelievable because
Aram knew that they were too poor to be able to afford to buy a horse. The
only way Mourad could possess it could be by stealing. They were too honest
to lie and yet too crazy to ride a horse.
Thus, they kept the horse for two weeks, enjoying its ride in cool air and
singing to their heart’s content on the country roads. They hid it from the rest
of the world by keeping it in a barn of the deserted vineyard. Meanwhile, Aram
came to know that the horse was stolen from John Byro. They planned not to
return it to him so soon although it pricked their conscience to steal, which
was completely their ethics and tribal norms.
One fine day they came across John, the farmer. Such was the boys’ family
famous for their honesty that the thought of his horse being stolen by the boys
never crossed John’s mind. He was just amazed at the resemblance and said:
“I would swear it is my horse if I did not know your parents.” This moving
experience led the boys towards John’s vineyard the very next morning. They
left the horse in the barn after patting it affectionately. Later that Based on
day, John seemed to be very pleased and shared the news of the return of his
horse with Aram’s mother. The story teaches us the importance and necessity
of honesty even in the face of greed and passion.
CHARACTERS:
Aram is the moral compass of "The Summer of the Beautiful White
Horse." He is mindful of the distinction between right and wrong in his
narration, and within this moral code, he finds no harm in the boys'
enjoyment of the horse.
Mourad is more unruly, guided by his passions. This sense of wildness
(which runs in the family, according to Aram) is what causes him to take
the horse.
Uncle Khosrove is most indicative of the crazy streak in the family. He
is loud and forceful in the way he speaks, repeating his characteristic
order to pay no mind because it is nothing to worry about throughout the
story. Part of the tumultuousness of his character stems from his longing
for his homeland
John Byro is a person with a good and a pure heart. He was very loyal. He
had utmost trust in his tribe because of which he could never have guessed
that the children from his tribe were responsible for the stealing. He
possesses an innocent eye and never even thought of his tribe as the thief,
as they were famous for their honesty.
THEME:
One of the major themes of “The Summer of the Beautiful White Horse”
by William Saroyan is honor. The young boy, Aram, explains the underlying
philosophies of his large extended family. Although they were poor, they had
pride and morals. When his cousin, Mourad, appears at his window in the
early morning light, Aram has to justify the horse his cousin has in tow.
Another important theme is the eccentric behavior of the members of the tribe
such as Mourad and Uncle Khosrove.
Apart from this, the theme of loss and change for the entire Garoghlanian tribe
in also of paramount significance.
