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Chapter 20
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
Major Martin and Sergeant Thunder talk to the grandfather while the other men try to comfort Albert. They point out that it could have been much worse. Butchers bought more than half of the horses. At least Joey will be safe with a farmer; one person even tells Albert he overheard the grandfather telling Sergeant Thunder about the easy life Joey can look forward to on the farm. Still, Albert can’t accept the grandfather’s claim that Emilie owns Joey “by right”—if the Army doesn’t want him any longer, Albert feels that he should have the right to reclaim his own horse.
Although returning to the farm with Emilie’s grandfather is better than going to the slaughter, it still doesn’t measure up to spending a lifetime with Albert, Joey’s first and most-loved master. And Albert’s frustration points toward the fact that the Army considers its horses property rather than living creatures with inherent dignity; Albert’s sense that Joey belongs to him, meanwhile, derives more from their mutually beneficial friendship than a sense of literal ownership.
Themes
Just then, Major Martin, Sergeant Thunder, and the grandfather approach Albert and Joey. Albert scratches Joey behind the ear until the Major has come close enough to salute, and Albert thanks him for his efforts on his—and Joey’s—behalf. Major Martin and Sergeant Thunder feign ignorance of the plot to bid on Joey, confusing Albert with their good humor. Albert interrupts to ask them what the grandfather told them about Emilie. In answer, the grandfather smiles and shakes Albert’s hand. In English, he points out how much he and Albert have in common: they are both farmers, and they both love Joey.
Yet again, a language barrier breaks down in the face of two people’s shared humanity, suggesting that people have more similarities than differences. Albert at first looks at the grandfather as a sort of enemy—another person trying to separate him from his beloved friend. But the grandfather points out their similarities rather than focusing on their differences.
Themes
Then, the grandfather explains to Albert how he came to know Joey after the Germans captured him near the start of the war. He tells Albert about Joey’s stint pulling the ambulance carts near the front line with Topthorn, and how Emilie came to love both of them dearly. Then he explains how the artillery unit commandeered them. After that, Emilie lost the will to live, and she died at the tragically young age of 15. As her dying wish she asked her grandfather to find the horses and take care of them for her. Although he has visited many sales, he hasn’t succeeded in finding Topthorn. But he’s relived to finally have fulfilled his promise to his granddaughter, if only in part.
Joey—and to a lesser extent, Albert—found the strength to survive the war through the friendships they made along the way and through their undying hope of finding each other again. Hope sustains people through their difficult times and makes life worth living. Unfortunately, Emilie proves the converse of this rule: by losing hope she lost her life. She also becomes a casualty of the brutal war by extension, showing how its chaos and destruction cannot be contained to the battlefield alone; instead, the horrors of war permeate all of society.
Themes
The grandfather continues to talk to Albert. Since they’re both farmers, he feels sure that Albert understands he cannot just give up a valuable thing like a horse for free. But Major Martin and Sergeant Thunder have told him how much Albert loves Joey, and how hard he and everyone else in the veterinary hospital worked to save him. And he knows that a strong horse like Joey will be happier with meaningful work to do than just growing old and fat in an old farmer’s field. So, he offers to sell Joey back to Albert for a penny and a solemn promise that he will love and care for Joey to the end of his days and tell everyone he knows about Emilie so that her memory will live on.
Although Emilie’s loss of hope led to her death, remembering Emilie gives her grandfather hope for the future. His promise and intent to find Topthorn and Joey again saw him through his terrible wartime losses and made him into an instrument of hope in Joey’s life by saving Joey from certain death at the hands of the butcher. It’s also a mark of his respect for Joey as a fellow living creature that he feels concern not just for the animal’s safety but for his happiness.
Themes
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Too moved to speak, Albert extends his hand toward the grandfather, who ignores it and pulls the younger man into an embrace instead. He thanks Albert, then he shakes hands with all the other soldiers in the unit before giving Joey a final kiss from Emilie. Sergeant Thunder produces a penny from his tin and hands it to Albert, who runs to give it to the grandfather, who promises to treasure it forever.
The end of the war sees a bittersweet happiness for all involved: Albert gets to keep Joey, but their togetherness will always point back to the grandfather’s generous gift and, behind that, Emilie’s tragic fate. The war has extracted a terrible toll in terms of lives, but those who have refused to let it rob them of their humanity and dignity have won an important victory.
Themes
So, at Christmastime in 1918, after four years of wartime service, Joey returns home with Albert. They ride into the village to the sound of the church bells and the excited cheers of their neighbors. Everyone considers them heroes, but they both know that the real heroes—Captain Nicholls, Topthorn, Friedrich, David, little Emilie, and others—lie buried in the earth under battlefields. Albert marries Maisie Brown, but a mutual jealousy or distrust grows between wife and horse. Although Joey longs for a taste, she never shares her pastries with him. Nevertheless, he lives a long and happy life on the farm with Albert and Zoey.
Joey’s story, which began on a note of loss and sadness, ends on a note of recovery—and sadness. The war has taken lives, and extracted a toll that cannot be repaid. Still, Joey’s choice to live on and honor the memory of his friends—by telling their stories to readers, for example—gives meaning to their sacrifice and steadfastly continues to assert their worth and value as human beings. Life after the war isn’t perfect—Joey doesn’t get along with Maisie—but these little conflicts and squabbles will never take on the same size and weight of the horrors Joey has endured or the sacrifices that others have made.
Themes
