I am, unapologetically, the person who judges a book by its cover. As a child, I was never fond of the horses and ponies, butterflies, or mermaids so you can guess that I have never picked up a copy of Black Beauty. My initial stance on the book was that it would be another fairytale story with some lesson of challenging the "ideals" of beauty or something along those lines. I was reluctant to open the novel, fearing that my dislike for those adolescent fairy tales and love stories would be upon me. I was wrong.
Before opening the book I read a short synopsis online. Much to my surprise, this is exactly the type of book I would have read as a child. Although I am only less than halfway through the novel, I can see how this novel, in addition to depicting animal welfare, parallels to slavery.
The book is written in first person in the form of a memoir of a horse named Black Beauty. As a young colt, similar to a young slave, Beauty recalls his blithe and pleasant days with his mother and master. The turning point occurs just as he is old enough to fend for himself and no longer depends solely on his mother's nourishment and nurturing. He is then drawn into a the labor force, which would parallel slave children becoming of age to work.
I am, not one bit, surprised that this book was not intended for children. It's actually one of those books my mother so desperately tried to shield me from as child. Although the
novel explores a plethora of morals, lessons, and themes like kindness ,loyalty, fair treatment, and quest for freedom, it also explores a series of abuse and misfortune. It can easily provoke a series emotions like empathy, happiness, and even anger. Looking at the story from either perspective of animal cruelty or slavery, the vivid and harsh treatment of these horses, like "bearing rein" and abuse becomes almost unbearable to read.
I constantly find myself in a constant change of emotions. I've connected to the characters, Beauty and Ginger especially, so much that I can't break myself away from their emotional triumphs and traumas. Ginger, for instance, is the horse who experiences much adversity and mishap. Throughout the story I find myself constantly defending her by justifying any unpleasant or rebellious behavior as a direct result of repressed trauma.
Basically, I'm an emotional wreck because I care too much for these horses I thought I would care nothing for.
I am very much looking foward to finishing to this book. I actually regret not reading it as a child.
I totally agree with you about not wanting to read this as a child. I never liked horses so it was not one I would have ever picked up. Books like this that were never actually written for children but are considered children's books now are very intriguing. They remind me of children's movies a bit, where adults pick up on the subtler hints (like the parallel to slavery) that kids totally gloss over in the excitement of the story.
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