As a piece of literature, for an older reader, 30 years later I can admit it has merit.

The problem is that because it's a "classic", it tends to be on school reading lists. And because the title is "The Red Pony," naturally teachers (or parents, or students themselves) recommend it to readers interested in horses. This happens especially because there are few if any animal books on the standard "great books" lists.

For a student of 16 or 17, this might be fine.

I read it at the age of 9.

For a 9 year old, this story is too graphic, too traumatic, too nasty for its nuance or lessons to be appreciated. It left me angry and in tears, especially horrible as some cruel joke that the only way an animal-oriented book could be on the reading list was to have the die a terrible death and then for the boy to have to watch the pony's eyes plucked out and eaten by vultures. As my revenge I absolutely refused to touch another Steinbeck book for 20 years.

Don't let this happen to your kids. Introduce them to Steinbeck via one of his other works, and wait on this one until they are older.

THE RED PONY is a beautiful and simple classic by John Steinbeck, the great American novelist whose heart always goes out to the oppressed, the misfits, and the distressed.

This story is about a young boy, but it provides reading pleasure for adults as well. It is composed of four distinct parts. Part I, "The Gift," is the story of Jody and his horse Gabilan. Jody's father is a harsh man, who has difficulty communicating with the boy. In characteristic Steinbeck fashion, the story is filled with tragedy and suffering.

Part II, "The Great Mountains," relates another episode in the maturation process of Jody. He has an encounter with a old Mexican man passing through his father's farm. Jody is brooding and coming of age. There is an event in this part that takes on special significance for him. The story is rich with symbolism involving nature and animals.

Part III, "The Promise," is a story of the way a farm boy learned a lesson about reproductive biology. Again there is poignant tragedy.

Part IV,"The Leader of the People," is a separate story only loosely connected in plot to the other parts, but well-connected in the character development of Jody.

When I read THE RED PONY, I found myself despising and pitying Jody's father at the same time. The reader sees the father the way Jody sees him. What really happens in the novella is the emotional and moral maturation of a ten-year-od boy.


One of the greatest traits of Steibeck's writing is the way he makes every word carry its way and every turn of the plot count.

While there are other, greater works by Steinbeck, this one combines his disarmingly simple prose style with a number of concepts from his work in the 30s and early 40s. Mainly, the strange and ultimately destructive drive of humans in industrial society (as shown in the 4th story). The rest is a fascinating portrait of a boy's coming-of-age and alienation from his father. maybe people are tired of coming-of-age stories. but that doesn't mean Steinbeck's version isn't well-done.

These four stories are well written but their is absolutely no flow between the four stories. If this was submitted as four short stories I think that it would be easier to swallow. The first three stories interconnect but then you are left hanging as to whatever happens to the newborn colt. The fourth story doesn't really fit as a final chapter either. In the end I would have to say that this is a sorry waste of time to read for entertainment.

This is considered one of Steinbeck's finest works.
The story of young Jody and his life on the family ranch is one in which he meets many tough, harsh realities and learns how to deal with them. The reader might expect something simple and easy here but that is not what is given. Steinbeck's descriptions of character and landscape of life- situation are complex, original and interesting. He gives a picture of a tough, pioneering American world. And in fact the ethic behind the book seems light - years away from much of what we see in our world today.
For among the values Jody has to learn are patience, and persistence, and humility before those older and wiser than himself. He understands that there are people who know much more than him and whom he learns from. He shows respect to them. He too in the way he cares for the Red Pony, shows a devotion and enthusiasm which are admirable.
He is forced to meet challenges from nature and the world which most young people today do not know anything of.
This is an admirable work in which much can be learned from.