KidLit Forum

Since our attention is drawn towards the fact that we are going to read the autobiography of a horse even from the title it is no wonder that everything is said from the point of view of the horse. But there are passages where the author tries to compare horses with children. Even from the first chapter we are told that Beauty's mother talks to him like any other mother to her child. Another connection with the human world is the fact that his father and grandfather had a name there, so he had a reputation to keep. John speaks about fidgets comparing horses with children. (Ch. 6) Also in chapter 9 we find out that "boys must be broken in as we were broken in when we were colts." Another comparison with children appears in chapter 15 "if you raise them well, they will turn up o.k."
The discussions about fashion and religion go obviously beyond the world of horses. "Fashion is one of the wickedest things in the world", they (men) always think they can improve upon nature and mend what God has made" , "there is no religion without love" are clearly expressed views about the world.
Especially in the second half of the novel the issue of animal rights is more and more clearly presented especially in the cases of maltreatment of Beauty or other horses. It was comforting to see that people who were punished if evidence could be given.
Another important element that appears in the whole novel is the way we are told that horses can feel, sometimes even more than we can (e.g. dangerous situations), can understand what we speak, they feel proud or they feel pity or sadness. In chapter 47 it is clearly said that whereas for people seeing is believing for horses feeling is believing.
One of the most impressive scenes for me was the last encounter he had with Ginger acknowledging her defeat in front of men.

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Monika Bandi

Oana Gorgan

Black Beauty tells the story of a horse, actually it tells the story of thousand of horses all around the world: how they are treated by gentle masters or by horrible grooms. The story of Black Beauty is full of ups and downs.
The book was written in the Victorian Age, which is characterized by two movements: the Evangelical movement (salvation) and the Utilitarian movement (efficiency). They both promote the self-control and self-denial, which are very obvious in this book.
The author, Anna Sewell created a book that was intended to educate or to understand how to treat horses, she wanted to replace or to stop the bad treatment of horses.