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Chapter 33
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Black Beauty, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Horse Care, Abuse, and Neglect
Class, Transportation, and Victorian England
Good, Evil, and Power
Dignity and Religion
Summary
Analysis
Captain was broken in and trained to be an army horse. He tells Black Beauty that he loved the training, and he loved his rider, an officer in the cavalry. Being shipped to Crimea in a ship was terrible, and life there was very difficult. The soldiers did all they could to keep their horses comfortable. When Black Beauty asks if the fighting was terrible, Captain says he always wanted to hear the trumpet—that meant they could happily rush forward. Captain and his rider rode into battle many times, and he saw many horses die gruesome deaths. But his master was encouraging, so Captain was never afraid.
The way that Captain frames his account suggests that he sees his younger self as naïve and innocent to the horrors of the world, just as Black Beauty, in his younger years, was innocent to how terrible the bearing rein can be. Captain also reinforces that the way a person treats their horse can make a huge difference: he thought war was just fine because he had his master to care for and comfort him.
Themes
Captain pauses before telling Black Beauty about the one day he was terrified. It was autumn, and the men got the word to ride out. He and his master were in the front, waiting for the signal to charge, and Captain’s master stroked his neck. Lots of things happened that Captain says he can’t explain, but then came the final charge. The gunfire was heavier than usual, and a cannonball blew Captain’s master right off Captain’s back. Captain wanted to stop and protect his master from being trampled, but he couldn’t.
Given that Captain was in Crimea, it’s most likely that Captain and his master rode in the Charge of the Light Brigade—an 1854 military failure during the Crimean War between Russia and allied French and British forces. Captain’s bravado disappears as soon as his master dies—then, he’s just another scared, wild horse on the battlefield.
Themes
Literary Devices
Many horses died that day or were wounded. Captain says that army farriers shot all the seriously injured horses; only about one in four returned. He was lucky to make it home from the war. When Black Beauty says he’s heard people talk about war like it’s great, Captain says it’s fun when it’s pretend—but it’s awful when so many men and horses die. Black Beauty asks what the fight was about. Captain doesn’t know, but he believes the enemy must have been evil, if it was okay to travel so far to kill them.
Having experienced war firsthand, Captain can say with certainty that war isn’t great—it kills men and horses, just like foxhunting does, but on a much larger scale. And it’s interesting that Black Beauty and Captain begin to discuss whether the war was worthwhile. The Charge of the Light Brigade is noteworthy for the fact that it was devastating in terms of casualties and equine deaths—and in the grand scheme of the Crimean War, it accomplished next to nothing.
Themes
Literary Devices
