Effective Use of Dialogue in All the Pretty Horses Essay -- Pretty Ho

 Effective Use of Dialogue in All the Pretty Horses   All the Pretty Horses, by Cormac McCarthy, is, among early(a) things, an exploration of its main display case, prat Grady Cole. The author chooses language carefully and sparingly when creating dialogue for Cole. In doing so, McCarthy creates poetic effects and rich meaning from limited verbiage. This novelist lets his readers get to know his main character largely through dialogue instead of through direct description. In this way, readers find the techniques used by McCarthy similar to those used by Ernest Hemingway in some of his books and short stories. Like the dialogue of Hemingways protagonists, Coles speech is sparse, but it is indicative of a great deal of meaning.  In Coles brief discourse, wise readers can find umteen individuality indicators that help us to understand this stoic character. The first verbal exchange of this novel only requires 17 words of Cole. The first twelve words tell us a g reat deal considering the limited number of words used    I appreciate you lighting the candle, he said.  Como? La candela. La vela. (4) On the first line of Coles dialogue, he shows his appreciation of a kindness done for him. This act suggests some goodness in his character. This sentence is in English. The individual speaking with Cole in this scene replies in Spanish, and we find that our protagonist is at least bilingual in the next line when he replies to the other speaker in Spanish. The fact that Cole knows two different Spanish words for candle suggests a more extensive understanding of his second language. Readers exit find that this is not the only example of individuality indicators expressed in Coles speech. McCarth... ...r He decides (60). John Grady Cole clearly does not state that the end of the world, or anything about the end of the world, will be effected by anything he does. Coles God is in charge. Some readers may judge by word-count that Cole doesnt recount very much in this novel, but such is not the case. Cormac McCarthys protagonist, John Grady Cole, tells us a great deal about himself through his dialogue. The author of this book, akin many contemporary writers, expects a lot of his readers, and rewards close examinations of his work with deep insights about his characters. The near-poetic density of the language of John Grady Cole helps the author to speak volumes without having to fly the coop the reader over the head with obvious conclusions.    Evocal to the intelligent alone--for the rest they need interpreters.  --Motto Pindar, Olympian Odes, 285-6