Chapter 1 - The Summer of the Beautiful White Horse

This article will help you to learn about the summary, characters and themes in the short story “The Summer of the Beautiful White Horse”, written by William Saroyan. It will help you with The Summer of the Beautiful White Horse Solutions.

Synopsis

The story is about a childhood incident that the author writes about with nostalgia. He remembers how one early summer morning, his cousin, Mourad brought a beautiful white horse to enjoy riding. The riding was full of childish thrill.

The narrator describes in detail his cousin, Mourad. He was considered one of the craziest members of the Garoghlanian tribe. He was full of life and loved following his passions without caring for people around him. He could do anything to do the things he loved. Only a crazy boy like him could take the horse for riding at early dawn every day. He sacrificed his night’s sleep every night for his passion for riding. He even risked his tribe’s reputation for his passion for riding. Mourad had the knack of handling almost any critical situation. His heart was full of love for animals. Mourad was considered to have taken after his uncle, Khosrove who was also very eccentric.

His most peculiar characteristic was his typical response to any question or request put to him. He would react, “It is no harm; pay no attention to it.” Once he was sitting at a barber’s shop, having his moustache trimmed. His son came running to tell him their house was on fire. He responded calmly saying, “It is no harm; pay no attention to it.” The barber grew panicky and asked him to run home; however, Khosrove got annoyed and shouted at the barber, “It is no harm; pay no attention to it.”

The stolen horse belonged to John Byro. One day he bumped into Mourad and Aram while they were taking the horse to hide in a barn; still, he refused to believe his eyes. Finally, the horse was returned to the rightful owner. John Byro was excited to get his horseback. He was happy as his horse had become healthier and more decent.

Character List

Given below are some main characters in the story and their small sketch:

Aram– He can be categorized as being easily led. When Mourad arrives with a stolen horse, for instance, Aram is happy to go along with it and ride the horse instead of convincing Mourad to return it. Moreover, he is a very determined person. It is Aram, for example, who convinces Mourad to keep the horse so that he can learn to properly ride it.

Mourad– From the story, it can be made out that he is carefree and rebellious. This is shown by the fact that he has no doubts about stealing a horse. In addition, he has a strong love for animals. Based on Aram’s comments about Mourad’s love of life, we also learn that Mourad is a vibrant and happy character. He is also an honest person, which is revealed by the fact that he returns the horse to its rightful owner.

Uncle Khosrove– He is so laid-back that even when his house was set on fire, he does not leave the barber’s shop to see to it. He is the sort of person who takes life as it comes and does not believe in getting irritated with life’s events. For him, life is about drinking coffee with his friends, which suggests that he is both carefree and casual.

Themes

One of the major themes of “The Summer of the Beautiful White Horse” by William Saroyan is an honour. The young boy, Aram, explains the underlying philosophies of his large extended family. Although they were poor, they had pride and morals. When his cousin, Mourad, appears at his window in the early morning light, Aram has to justify the horse his cousin has in tow.

The Summer of Beautiful White Horse NCERT Solutions provided to you by UrbanPro, will surely help you understand this chapter in a better way. If you are looking for The Summer of the Beautiful White Horse Question and Answers, refer to the NCERT Solutions for Class 11 English Snapshots Chapter 1. Don’t forget to download The Summer of the Beautiful White Horse PDF.