Horses Of The Night Analysis

The Great Depression was a time of collective societal awakening and disillusionment from the Roaring Twenties. The years leading up to the Depression was filled with hedonism with no oversight, so its arrival led to national disenchantment, causing everyone to escape the whirlwind of the past decade and plunged themselves into a new era of hardship. Margaret Laurence’s “Horses of the Night” shows the mental deterioration of a boy who wrapped himself in self-made lies to make his despondent past better than it seemed. An individual will create an impossible dream in the midst of societal turmoil to survive the mental fatigue of an environment that reminds them of the past. In an attempt to be free from their upbringing, a person will follow …show more content…
Even when faced with his past in Shallow Creek, Chris still does not believe he is failing his goals. To Chris, Shallow Creek represents his depressing past and his consequent future should he stay in it. He sees himself in the horses in the mud, the fear in their eyes as they realize they won’t make it. While in Shallow Creek, he realizes that he has been subconsciously letting his dreams whittle away as he is surrounded by the truth. He sees the downfall of his dreams should he stay in Shallow Creek. Refusing to admit to himself the reality of his past, and how he will one day become what he did not want to be, just another member of Shallow Creek with no bright aspirations. Instead of coming to terms with his past, he runs away “from the alien lake of home,” a place that encompasses his harsh reality, with his relatives all disillusioned and solemn, instead of encouraging Chris they oppress his dreams instead. While in Shallow Creek once more, he could not tolerate looking his past head on and accepting his consequent future. Desperate to escape, he goes to war, thinking he has no other option if he wants to keep his dreams alive. The dreams he created in his youth became more important than life or reality, finally choosing to risk his life so he has a chance to achieve his dreams one day. Chris has deceived himself by creating a better future in his head, but this only makes him even more detached from actuality. During the war, he reaches the breaking point and loses his mind, showing his desperation and misguided beliefs in his attempt to run away from the past. The result of his dreams was his downfall, proving how fallible humans become when they hide from the truth so they can delude themselves on reality. Chris’ need to find optimism where there was none demonstrates the idea that avoiding the past