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Chapter 18
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
Joey recovers from his illness. But the war doesn’t end. As he regains strength, Joey begins to do work around the veterinary hospital. At first, Sergeant Thunder keeps Joey on light duty and away from the fighting, but eventually he begins to join Albert and the other orderlies when they drive the veterinary ambulance to pick up wounded horses at or near the front. Although he still dislikes the sound of the artillery overhead, Albert’s steady stream of soothing words keeps Joey from getting nervous. Sometimes, Albert shares David’s predictions that the war will end soon; sometimes he talks about his girlfriend back home, Maisie Brown. Unlike everyone else, she didn’t think Albert crazy for hoping to find Joey in France.
Despite Albert’s hopefulness for peace, the war grinds on and continues to extract its terrible toll in the lives of men and horses. Joey finds himself once again driving an ambulance cart to and from the front lines. He demonstrates courage just like he did before, but it’s easier with his friend Albert. Friendship—love and loyalty—make life tolerable even in the hardest of times and harshest of circumstances. Readers also get to see how Albert has grown up since he and Joey were initially separated at the beginning of the war. His hopes for the future now include not just Joey, but also a girl—whom he loves, in part, for sharing the conviction that Joey is a valuable friend.
Themes
Then one evening, the corps gets word that a stray artillery shell has killed David and the horses hauling the veterinary wagon. Albert comes to the stable to tell Joey, sitting down in Joey’s stall and mourning his friend. David used to sell fruit from a cart in London before the war. He was just 20 years old and should have had his whole life ahead of him. Albert rises, brushing tears from his cheeks. He promises Joey that they’ll make it through the war and back home for Albert to ring the bell and eat Maisie’s pastries, and he and Joey will ride through the countryside together. David always predicted they’d make it home together, and Albert will make sure it happens in honor of his friend’s memory.
Joey has already faced the loss of many friends in battle, but David’s death hits Albert particularly hard because it is his first major—and irreparable—loss. Separated from Joey, he could hold out hope for reuniting. But David is completely gone. In celebrating and remembering his friend’s life, Albert reminds readers of the brutal costs of war. The soldiers who die aren’t just nameless, interchangeable men in uniforms—they’re each unique individuals with their own stories, pasts, and hopes for the future, which will remain forever unrealized because of the horrors of war.
Themes
The end of the war comes unexpectedly and without fanfare; according to what Albert tells Joey, the exhausted Germans and British simply agree to stop shooting one November morning. But even this doesn’t relieve the dark sadness that has consumed Albert since David’s death. And it doesn’t slow the work at the veterinary hospital. It seems to increase instead. Albert becomes impatient, especially when columns of jubilant soldiers march past on their way home while he must stay put. Finally, one otherwise unremarkable gray morning, Major Martin tells the men in the unit that they’ll be leaving soon. But when Sergeant Thunder asks whether the horses will be on the same ship back to England, the Major has bad news. The Army has decided to sell all the animals at auction rather than bring them back to England.
The war’s end further contributes to the book’s feeling that it was, ultimately, senseless and unnecessary. The issues over which nations are fighting seem to be arbitrary enough that neither side can definitively declare victory—instead, they both just agree to end hostilities. Historically, although the Germans’ side capitulated and surrendered, the Allies (Britain, France, Russia, and the U.S.) failed to fully curb their territorial ambitions, setting the stage for WWII, which broke out two decades later. This history informs the book’s argument against the conflict as an unnecessarily brutal and brutally unnecessary war. The British Army’s decision to sell its horses shows little more regard for the animals as individuals than Herr Major had.
Themes
Sergeant Thunder expresses shock and horror that their superiors want them to abandon the animals that they have worked so hard to heal and save. He fears that they will face a bad fate—although he doesn’t specify what—even though they are war veterans themselves. And he’s incredulous when it becomes clear that even Joey, whom they all worked so hard to bring back from the brink of death, will be auctioned off, too. But Major Martin refuses to answer, turning on his heel and walking away.
Sergeant Thunder again confirms his humanity in taking the side of the horses with strong passion, arguing for their value as individuals. Instead of being sold—many for slaughter, thanks to their rundown condition—he thinks that people should celebrate the animals as war heroes, just as they celebrate the returning soldiers. His remarks recall the moment where grateful German soldiers awarded an Iron Cross to Joey and Topthorn, acknowledging the importance of their service at the field hospital. And while it’s clear that Martin agrees with the Sergeant, neither man can do anything to change the decree.
Themes
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