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Chapter 12
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in War Horse, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Dignity and Humanity
Hope and Loss
Love and Loyalty
The Horrors of War
Summary
Analysis
Topthorn survives the winter and the warmth and ample grass of spring and summer help nurse him and Joey back to strength. Everyone’s morale improves in the spring; the soldiers always spend those warm months talking about how the war will be over soon and anticipating their reunions with their families. Their optimism induces them to treat the horses better. The unit sees less action in the spring and summer, spending weeks in idleness and boredom a comfortable distance from the front line. Topthorn and Joey become fat and healthy enough that they’re chosen to haul the ammunition cart with the man the other soldiers call “Crazy Old Friedrich,” who is always willing to take on the tasks no one else wants. And hauling ammunition is a dusty, strenuous job that quickly starts to sap the horses’ newfound strength.
Even in the midst of war, springtime offers a chance for hope and renewal—a reminder, too, that humankind created war to serve its interests, often at the expense of the natural world and its creatures. Spring brings renewed—if foolish—hope to soldiers who begin to forget what they’re even fighting for. This also indicates the arbitrary nature of war. The springtime also brings a new friend to Joey and Topthorn, a German soldier whom his fellows consider “crazy” even though, as Joey will soon discover, he may be far saner than anyone else around.
Themes
The soldiers at the train station always ignore Friedrich’s protests and overfill the cart. To compensate, Friedrich sets a slow pace, walks up the hills instead of riding in the cart, and makes sure to give the horses breaks and plenty of food and water. Joey and Topthorn soon learn that he’s not crazy, just a kind and gentle man who hates the war and longs to go home. He talks to himself because he’s lonely; he laughs to keep from crying. He thinks everyone else is crazy for fighting a pointless war and that the horses are the only rational creatures besides him in it. He can’t wait to go home to his family. Only the thought of the shame he would bring on his family for running away keeps him in his unit.
Even though Friedrich treats Joey and Topthorn with dignity and respect, others spare little if any thought for the horses’ limits. The soldiers at the rail station work to reduce their own labor by sending as few loads as possible, thus overtaxing the horses’ limited strength. Their selfishness reminds readers that the way a person treats animals reflects the depth—or shallowness—of their own humanity. It also turns out that others consider Friedrich “crazy” for hating the war and wanting to go home, even though the war’s terrible costs make his the most sensible position to hold.
Themes
Although Friedrich treats both horses with care and concern, it soon becomes clear that he has special love for Topthorn. As the autumn campaign approaches, Friedrich volunteers to ride him in the upcoming team-gun exercises. The other soldiers laugh at him, but they need as many riders as they can muster. Joey overhears Friedrich telling Topthorn that he will do his best to keep them both alive, but that if he has to die far from home, he’d rather die alongside the horse.
Thus far the book has focused on the special relationships Joey has developed with Albert, Nicholls, Warren, and Emilie; now it’s Topthorn’s turn to forge a special relationship with a human. It’s a mark of Joey’s generous nature, as well as his love and loyalty towards his friend, that he feels no jealousy. And the fact that Joey’s narration emphasizes Friedrich’s devotion to Topthorn up to the point of death foreshadows the dangers they will soon face.
Themes
