Genre
Teen fiction.
Setting and Context
California during the 20th century
Narrator and Point of View
Third-person narrator
Tone and Mood
Educational and exploratory
Protagonist and Antagonist
Jody - protagonist. Carl Tifflin - antagonist.
Major Conflict
Jody’s insight about the actualities of life, such as injury, doubts, providence, and transience
Climax
Jody’s encounter with Gabilan’s carcass
Foreshadowing
The rains in “The gift” are a foreshadow of the horse’s passing.
Understatement
Carl Tiflin minimizes the helpfulness of Gitano in “The Great Mountains.”
Allusions
Allusions to psychology (Jody’s dreams)
Imagery
The mortality of horses is a major hitch in the ranching trade. Jody is adversely affected after the forfeiture of his cherished ponies.
Paradox
N/A
Parallelism
N/A
Metonymy and Synecdoche
"Pony" denotes a horse.
Personification
The horses are personified: they are named, and they hold dialogues like human beings.
