The Summer of the Beautiful White Horse
By: William Saroyan
Reasons Why Mourad is Crazy• He went to his cousin's house with a horse at 4 in the morning
• "One day back there in the good old days when I was nine and the world was full of every imaginable kind of magnificence, and life was still a delightful and mysterious dream, my cousin Mourad, who was considered crazy by everybody who knew him except me, came to my house at four in the morning and woke me up by tapping on the window of my room." (pg. 1) • He has "a way" with everything • "Don't forget that I have a way with a horse." (pg. 4) • He sings randomly • He consistently takes the horse and keeps it for a month • He lies to John Byro and say that the horse is his and its name is "My Heart" |
Reasons Why Mourad is Not Crazy• He brought the horse to his cousin's house at 4 in the morning because he did not want to get caught or mess up his family's legacy
• We had been famous for our honesty for something like eleven centuries, even when we had been the wealthiest family in what we liked to think was the world. We were proud first, honest next, and after that we believed in right an wrong. None of us would take advantage of anybody in the world, let alone steal. (pg. 2) • Mourad takes care of the horse and returns it to the rightful own |
Vocabulary:
Consequently: The term consequently can be defined as, as a result, as used in the sentence, "Consequently, even though I could see the horse, so magnificent; even though I could smell it, so lovely; even though I could hear it breathing, so exciting; I couldn't believe the horse had anything to do with my cousin Mourad or with me or with any of the other members of our family, asleep or awake, because I knew my cousin Mourad couldn't have bought the horse, and if he couldn't have bought it he must have stolen it, and I refused to believe he had stolen it." (pg. 2)
Pious: The term pious can be defined as, something sacred or holy, as used in the sentence, "There was a pious stillness and humor in each of them which on the one hand delighted me and on the other frightened me." (pg. 3)
Irritable: The term irritable can be defined as, feeling annoyed, as used in the sentence, "Before him was our uncle Khosrove, an enormous man with powerful head of black hair and the largest mustache in the San Joaquin Valley, a man so furious in temper, so irritable, so impatient that he stopped anyone from talking by roaring, It is no harm; pay no attention to it." (pg. 3-4)
Capricious: The term capricious can be defined as, something random, as used in the sentence, "The distribution of the various kinds of spirit of our tribe had been from the beginning capricious and vagrant." (pg. 4)
Vagrant: The term vagrant can be defined as, the act of being careless, as used in the sentence, "The distribution of the various kinds of spirit of our tribe had been from the beginning capricious and vagrant." (pg. 4)
Pious: The term pious can be defined as, something sacred or holy, as used in the sentence, "There was a pious stillness and humor in each of them which on the one hand delighted me and on the other frightened me." (pg. 3)
Irritable: The term irritable can be defined as, feeling annoyed, as used in the sentence, "Before him was our uncle Khosrove, an enormous man with powerful head of black hair and the largest mustache in the San Joaquin Valley, a man so furious in temper, so irritable, so impatient that he stopped anyone from talking by roaring, It is no harm; pay no attention to it." (pg. 3-4)
Capricious: The term capricious can be defined as, something random, as used in the sentence, "The distribution of the various kinds of spirit of our tribe had been from the beginning capricious and vagrant." (pg. 4)
Vagrant: The term vagrant can be defined as, the act of being careless, as used in the sentence, "The distribution of the various kinds of spirit of our tribe had been from the beginning capricious and vagrant." (pg. 4)
Reflection:
A moral is a lesson about doing the right thing. A moral passed down to me from my family are always being honest because it is the right things to do and it shows strong character. This relates to Mourad, Aram, and the rest of their family. Mourad and Aram know that their family is always honest and never steals and that has been passed down to them as a moral from their family. However, both Aram and Mourad do not live up to their family's legacy because of the stolen horse. Mourad lied to Aram anout stealing the horse and that it is not stealing if you return it within six months.