War Horse

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During another charge, Topthorn and Joey carry Warren and Stewart into the enemy lines, and are the only two of many, but they are captured by the Germans. When Joey hears this, he “trot[s] easily over toward him and burie[s his] head in [Albert’s] shoulder” (130).

In addition to its length and brutality, WWI is notable for its trench warfare—Joey frequently finds himself bogged down in the muddy hellscape of the no-man’s-land between the opposing sides’ trenches, which were often close enough for soldiers to talk to each other from under cover. Friedrich sees how futile the fighting is and that the soldiers are being manipulated into nonsensical hostilities; all he wants is to go back to everyday life in Germany as Butcher Friedrich.

To his horror, Trooper Warren sees that the horses may find themselves running up against barbed wire as they move forward. Joey's earliest memory is of being taken to the town marketplace with his mother while an auction that he did not fully understand took place around him. Events are told by a sensitive animal, albeit one with limited understanding of human machinations; this seems to highlight the senselessness of the destruction. This book's simple vocabulary makes it accessible to kids from age 10, but there is a good deal of violence and death in War Horse. It explores themes related to the role of fate and chance as well as the damage done to the hundreds of thousands of young men who enlisted on both sides of the war.

The end of the war arrives suddenly; when the men are about to leave for home, Albert asks Major Martin about the fate of the horses. However, Joey has a severe case of tetanus and many people around the hospital believe that he will not survive. Morpurgo met a World War I veteran in his local pub at Iddesleigh and learned that he had been in the Devon Yeomanry working with horses during the war.After meeting a World War I veteran, Wilfred Ellis, who drank in his local pub at Iddesleigh and who had been in the Devon Yeomanry working with horses, Morpurgo began to think of telling the story of the universal suffering of the Great War through a horse's viewpoint, but was unsure that he could do it. Emilie grows to love the horses like Albert loved Joey, caring for their injuries and feeding them every night. It would be unrealistic if a novel whose action happens largely in the thick of battle didn't include injuries and death, but horse lovers should be forewarned.

He is normally a loving husband and father, but when he drinks he abuses his loved ones verbally, and mistreats Joey the horse. The last horse Trooper Warren rode was shot out from under him, but Joey helps him find the strength and courage to ride again. A Welsh version of the novel, adapted by Casia Wiliam and titled Ceffyl Rhyfel, was published by Gwasg Carreg Gwalch in 2010.War Horse also filters human experience through the consciousness of an animal, in part to critique the blind spots and failures of human civilization. They haul ambulances to and from the front lines and save the lives of many soldiers (German and British alike).

When he isn’t at school or working, Albert takes Joey on long walks, and Joey learns “to come at his whistle, not out of obedience, but because [he] always want[s] to be with [Albert]” (8). How can we help to give those around us more confidence if they are feeling nervous about something?

The story recounts the experiences of Joey, a horse bought by the Army for service in World War I in France and the attempts of 15-year-old Albert, his previous owner, to bring him safely home.