War Horse Themes

Readers see the world of War Horse through the eyes of its equine protagonist, Joey. But the fact that he’s a horse doesn’t keep him from exemplifying virtues like courage, loyalty, and wisdom. Filtering the world through an animal’s consciousness allows the book to explore what it means to have dignity and to lead a good life. And by this metric, Joey and his friends often succeed where the humans around them fail. His…

War Horse catalogues a long series of losses that Joey, its equine protagonist, experiences. The farmer separates Joey from his mother at auction; no fewer than three of his beloved handlers die or are captured in the war; his best friend Topthorn dies of exhaustion; and circumstances divide him from kind and loving caretakers like Albert, Emelie, and her grandfather. Yet, no matter how devastating these losses seem at the moment…

Set against the backdrop of World War I, War Horse carries a clear anti-war message. It details the horrors to which the war subjected soldiers, including the unique psychological torment of trench warfare, the use of chemical weapons, and participating in an entirely new form of mechanized combat. And to make matters worse, the horrors of war aren’t confined to the leaders of the participating nations, or even the soldiers who volunteer to fight: Emelie…