Also, another difference in this novel compared to his others is that he "adopts a kinder tone than in any of his previous novels- (Cormac 12). All The Pretty Horses includes elegant and simplicity qualities that were missing from earlier books of Cormac McCarthy. Although the reader can find in the book John Grady's brutal experiences in Mexico, John survives them "without becoming violent of depraved as had many of McCarthy's earlier characters. With all that being said, responses to All The Pretty Horses among the faithful readers of Cormac McCarthy were not as optimistic as with his other books. However, some people think that he neglected his dark vision for the "idyllic and more traditional western romance, but it seems apparent that Mr. McCarthy knew differently- (Cormac 12). .
According to John Blair, "John Grady's vision does not need deepening; what he needs is the opportunity to employ a vision that, even at sixteen, is already quite clear-(2). John Grady at the age of 16 is already quite mature for his age and because of his maturity he does not try and change the world he is living in, he simply moves to another place of it where he is able to "live his life in a way that gives it meaning by his own terms, terms that amount to a heroic and nave ideal, but nevertheless sustain him even as they leave him homeless and adrift- (Blair 2). John Grady has an uncommon likeness for horses: "That night he dreamt of horses in the dream he himself could run with the horses and they coursed the young mares and fillies over the plain where their rich bay and their rich chestnut colors shone in the sun and the young colts ran with their dams -(McCarthy 58). John's love for horses is so great that one of the reasons he actually left the world in which he was living was so that he could be with horses and be a cowboy since his mother was going to sell the ranch he loved. To John Grady horses were "far safer objects of vision than women (Donoghue 8).
