Most people would believe that the justice system is fair, and unbiased. Others would argue that sometimes, it just isn’t fair, or is biased. In Cormac McCarthy’s All The Pretty Horses, he has different views on justice in their world, depending on how the reader will take it. I believe that he makes justice out to be power, one who has one of these elements must have the other. Someone who can control justice has power, and someone with power can control justice, they go hand and hand with each other. I believe that during the various events that take part in the novel, he portrays how justice and power can almost be the same thing, someone with one usually has the other. He also shows how justice sometimes can just not be just. Sometimes the justice system just doesn’t work out fairly for some individuals, they get blamed or sentenced for something that they may not have done. Throughout the novel he shows how sometimes the justice system is unfair to John and Rawlins, how they get blamed or sentenced for stuff they didn’t even do. People with power control justice, and people with justice have power, he shows this throughout his novel.
In the novel, Don is almost a figure of power for John, being a young cowboy. Don sees Johns amazing cowboy skills, and quickly makes him in charge of breeding the horses. Don also has a stunning daughter, Alejandra who catches Johns eye. He knows that an affair with Alejandra would certainly get him fired, but he cant resist. He starts to have an affair with Alejandra, and Don soon finds out. Don later turns John into the police captain of Ecantada. The captain is no ordinary cop, he is a corrupt, lying cop. This shows how sometimes justice is not just at all. For Johns actions, he gets sent to prison, were he is treated like scum, because he is American. It shows how the captain has justice over John, and because of this he also has power, which lets him do whatever he pleases. In prison John is not treated fair at all, he is forced to fight, and battle just to survive because he is American, the justice system here is not just. He is not treated fairly, and McCarthy depicts how he thinks justice and power can be the same, when one has the power to convict someone, they also have justice and can send them to prison were they get treated unfairly and unjust.
This is the start of my essay..i couldn't finish it...i just didn't enjoy the book, it wasn't very good... Better than taking a 0 though...
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
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