All the Pretty Horses contains outright violence, which might be alarming to some students. In this case, it could be helpful to preface the teaching of the novel with a discussion on McCarthy's view of violence within human nature as he stated in a 1993 interview: "There is no such thing as life without bloodshed. The notion that the species can be improved in some way, that everyone could live in harmony, is really a dangerous idea. Those who are afflicted with this notion are the first ones to give up their souls, their freedom. Your desire that it be that way will enslave you and make your life vacuous." Discussing this idea will provide a philosophical context for the violence in...
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