Objectives

• Analyse how McCarthy uses the opening pages of Chapter I — the grandfather's wake and the ranch at night — to establish loss and landscape as inseparable.
• Explain how John Grady's behaviour with the horses at La Purísima (Chapter II) constructs his identity as a figure out of time.
• Analyse how McCarthy's prose style — biblical syntax, absence of speech marks, parataxis — shapes the reader's experience of violence in the Blevins execution scene (Chapter III).
• Evaluate how Dueña Alfonsa's chess-game conversation (Chapter IV) functions as a philosophical counterweight to John Grady's romantic idealism.
• Write a sustained, evidenced analytical paragraph that connects language choices to theme across at least two chapters of the novel.

The sequence

1. Lesson 1: The ranch at night: loss, landscape, and the opening of Chapter I

   60 min · ch. 1

   Do now

   Look at the opening sentence of the novel: 'The candleflame and the image of the candleflame caught in the pierglass twisted and righted when he entered the hall.' Write two observations about what McCarthy doesn’t reveal in this moment. What details are left out, and how does that shape our understanding? You have four minutes.

   Teacher input

   Model a close reading of the passage in Chapter I where John Grady rides out at night across the ranch after the wake — 'He rode out on the highway then…the last of the old-time drovers.' This moment reveals how McCarthy intertwines the external landscape—the dark plain, the stars, the cattle—with John Grady's profound grief, all without explicitly naming the emotion. Examine how the use of paratactic 'and…and…and' syntax generates an incantatory, elegiac rhythm that embodies the very loss it represents.

   Independent task

   Students should choose an additional paragraph from the Chapter I night-ride passage and craft a 150–200 word analytical paragraph that explores how McCarthy portrays landscape to express John Grady's grief. They need to include at least two quotes, identify one language technique, and link their analysis to the theme of loss. These paragraphs will be submitted at the end of the lesson for written feedback.

   Exit ticket

   McCarthy primarily employs vivid imagery in the night-ride passage, which deepens the reader's appreciation of John Grady's profound connection to the ranch.

2. Lesson 2: A figure out of time: John Grady's identity and the horses of La Purísima

   60 min · ch. 2

   Do now

   1. John Grady expresses a deep connection to his horse, showing affection and care in the way he interacts with it.
   2. He demonstrates his knowledge of horse riding techniques, indicating a level of expertise and passion for equestrian skills.
   3. John Grady shows concern for the well-being of the horses around him, prioritizing their needs and comfort over other matters.

   This reveals that as he crosses into Mexico, he is searching for a place where he can live authentically with horses, reflecting his longing for freedom and purpose in a world that values them as he does.

   Teacher input

   Model a reading of the Chapter II passage where John Grady breaks the sixteen horses for Don Héctor — 'He talked to the horse in a low voice…the horse stood trembling' — illustrating how McCarthy depicts John Grady's horsemanship as a language that transcends the cultural and linguistic divides between him and Mexico. Highlight how the verbs of touch and sound ('talked', 'trembling', 'stood') portray John Grady as a character whose identity feels pre-modern, almost mythic, making him seem out of place in 1949.

   Independent task

   Students will write a 150–200 word analytical paragraph that responds to the question: "How does McCarthy use the horse-breaking sequence in Chapter II to depict John Grady as a figure out of time?" In their paragraphs, they need to include at least two quotations, explore the connotations of at least one verb, and reference the novel's historical context, specifically the postwar mechanisation of ranching. These paragraphs will be collected at the end for assessment.

   Exit ticket

   Don Héctor's admiration for John Grady highlights that John Grady's values and ideals are out of sync with the realities of today's world.

3. Lesson 3: Swift and bureaucratic: violence, fate, and Blevins's execution in Chapter III

   60 min · ch. 3

   Do now

   Revisit the paragraph in Chapter III where the Captain's men lead Blevins away from John Grady and Rawlins. List every verb found in that passage. What do you observe about their tone — do they come across as dramatic or flat? What do you think McCarthy might be aiming for with this choice?

   Teacher input

   Model a close reading of the execution paragraph in Chapter III — 'They shot Blevins…he fell down in the road' — emphasizing McCarthy's intentional avoidance of melodrama: no quotation marks, no inner thoughts from John Grady, just straightforward declarative sentences. Illustrate how this stylistic restraint compels the reader to imagine the horror and how it ties into the novel's theme of fate as indifferent and mechanical. Analyze the sentence length before and after the shot to demonstrate how rhythm amplifies the shock.

   Independent task

   Students are required to write a 150–200 word analytical paragraph that addresses the question: 'How does McCarthy's narrative style in the execution scene of Chapter III depict fate as indifferent?' In their responses, they must include a quote from the execution sentence, examine the structure of the sentence, and link McCarthy's style to the theme of good and evil—particularly regarding the Captain's role as an instrument of institutional violence instead of individual malice. These paragraphs will be collected for grading.

   Exit ticket

   McCarthy's choice to deny Blevins a final speech suggests that the novel views fate as indifferent and unyielding, emphasizing the harsh realities of existence. This decision reflects the idea that characters are often powerless against their predetermined destinies.

4. Lesson 4: The philosopher and the romantic: Alfonsa's bargain in Chapter IV

   60 min · ch. 4

   Do now

   In Chapter IV, Alfonsa recounts her youthful naivety in Mexico City, reflecting on her relationship with Gustavo Madero. When she states, "I was foolish enough to believe that whatever my opinions they would always be my own," she reveals her realization that external influences can shape one's beliefs. This change in perspective highlights her learned understanding that personal views are often affected by the people and circumstances around us.

   Teacher input

   Model a reading of the passage in Chapter IV where Alfonsa outlines the ransom terms — John Grady must relinquish Alejandra — emphasizing how McCarthy frames the dialogue like a chess match (Alfonsa is explicitly described playing chess earlier in the chapter). Highlight how Alfonsa's lengthy, periodic sentences reflect her authority and weariness with the world, while John Grady's brief replies expose his struggle to engage with her philosophical perspective. Illustrate how this scene contrasts romantic idealism with historical pragmatism.

   Independent task

   Students are tasked with writing a 150–200 word analytical paragraph that addresses the question: "How does McCarthy use Dueña Alfonsa in Chapter IV to challenge John Grady's romantic idealism?" In their responses, they need to include quotes from both Alfonsa's speech and John Grady's replies, explore the differences in sentence structure between the two characters, and link their analysis to the overarching theme of freedom versus fate. Submissions will be gathered for assessment.

   Exit ticket

   Write one sentence: Whose perspective does the novel ultimately favor — Alfonsa's or John Grady's — and what specific moment from Chapter IV backs up your response?

5. Lesson 5: Riding west into nothing: the ending as elegy for the American West

   60 min · ch. 4

   Do now

   The novel ends with John Grady riding west into "the darkening lands, the world to come." At this point, John Grady has lost his youth and innocence, but he has gained a deeper understanding of the harsh realities of life. One question the ending leaves unanswered for me is whether he will find peace in this new world he’s entering.

   Teacher input

   Model a reading of the final two pages of Chapter IV — from 'He rode with the sun coppering his face' to the novel's last line — illustrating how McCarthy weaves together the central themes of the novel: the landscape representing both hope and indifference, the horse symbolizing the last remnant of the old West, and John Grady's solitude reflecting the price of his integrity. Highlight how the final sentence's absence of a specific destination reinforces the novel's assertion that the world John Grady once belonged to has vanished.

   Independent task

   Students are required to write a 200–250 word analytical response to the question: 'How does McCarthy use the final pages of All the Pretty Horses to present John Grady's journey as an elegy for a vanishing America?' They need to include quotes from the final passage and link it to at least one moment from earlier in the novel (from any chapter). Additionally, they should discuss at least two of the following themes: loss, freedom, identity, and the past. This assignment will be collected and graded as the formative assessment in preparation for the summative task.

   Exit ticket

   Name one image from the novel's final page and write one sentence explaining what it represents about the American West that McCarthy is grieving.

Activities

Assessment

• Exit ticket after Lesson 1: student can name a specific technique (parataxis, landscape-as-emotion) from the Chapter I night-ride passage and state its effect — looking for precision of terminology and connection to the theme of loss.
• Lesson 2 analytical paragraph: marker checks whether the student has moved beyond plot summary to comment on verb connotations in the horse-breaking scene — looking for the link between John Grady's physicality with horses and his anachronistic identity.
• Lesson 3 analytical paragraph: marker checks whether the student has analysed sentence structure in the execution paragraph rather than simply describing what happens — looking for the connection between flat syntax and the theme of indifferent fate.
• Lesson 4 exit ticket: student can identify whose worldview the novel's ending supports and cite a specific moment from Chapter IV — looking for a defensible interpretive claim, not a plot summary.
• Lesson 5 extended response: marker checks whether the student can connect the final passage to an earlier moment in the novel — looking for cross-textual synthesis and thematic coherence across at least two chapters.
• Annotation Race activity (Lesson 1 or standalone): marker checks whether pairs can identify parataxis and withheld interiority by name and explain their effect — looking for accurate use of stylistic terminology applied to this specific passage.

Standards covered

Common Core 11 12

• RL.11-12.1 — Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
• RL.11-12.4 — Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyse the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone.
• RL.11-12.5 — Analyse how an author's choices concerning how to structure specific parts of a text contribute to its overall structure and meaning as well as its aesthetic impact.
• RL.11-12.6 — Analyse a case in which grasping a point of view requires distinguishing what is directly stated from what is really meant.
• W.11-12.1 — Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.

AP Literature

• Literary Argumentation (LAN-1) — Explain the function of a narrator or speaker and how point of view shapes meaning in All the Pretty Horses.
• Figurative Language (FIG-1) — Identify and explain the function of imagery, including McCarthy's landscape imagery in Chapter I and Chapter IV, as it contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole.
• Narration (NAR-1) — Analyse how McCarthy's narrative choices — withheld interiority, free indirect discourse, parataxis — affect the reader's interpretation of John Grady's grief and identity.
• Character (CHR-1) — Explain how contrasting characters (John Grady and Alfonsa) function to develop the central tensions of the novel.
• Literary Argumentation (LAN-1.E) — Develop a thesis that makes a defensible claim about the novel and supports it with evidence and commentary.

AQA

• AO1 — Articulate informed, personal and creative responses to literary texts, using associated concepts and terminology, and coherent, accurate written expression.
• AO2 — Analyse the language, form and structure used by a writer to create meanings and effects, using relevant subject terminology.
• AO3 — Demonstrate understanding of the significance and influence of the contexts in which literary texts are written and received — specifically the postwar mechanisation of the American West and the closing of the open range.
• AO5 — Explore literary texts informed by different interpretations — specifically critical readings of McCarthy as elegist of the American West versus McCarthy as interrogator of romantic myth.

Edexcel

• AO1 — Articulate informed, personal and creative responses to literary texts, using associated concepts and terminology and coherent, accurate written expression.
• AO2 — Analyse the language, form and structure used by a writer to create meanings and effects, using relevant subject terminology — with specific attention to McCarthy's paratactic syntax and biblical register.
• AO3 — Demonstrate understanding of the significance and influence of the contexts in which All the Pretty Horses was written and received, including the 1992 National Book Award and the tradition of Western literature McCarthy both inhabits and subverts.
• AO4 — Explore connections across literary texts — students may connect McCarthy's treatment of a vanishing West to other texts on the paper.