Summary of The Summer of the Beautiful White Horse
The Summer of the Beautiful White Horse is a short story written by Armenian-American novelist and playwright William Saroyan. The story entails a simple narrative of two poor Armenian boys who are very fond of horses. And in spite of having strong moral ethics of honesty that make their whole tribe distinct, these boys fulfil their wishes by riding a stolen white horse. The author narrates the story in the first person, and the name of the narrator is Aram. He is tempted to try riding the horse by his crazy cousin Mourad who steals the horse from a farmer named John Byro. They are bound to their ethic of honesty and decide to return the horse as soon as Aram learns to ride the horse, just like his cousin Mourad. The Summer of the Beautiful White Horse Summary is a part of BYJU’S CBSE Summaries. Students can also visit CBSE Notes to access various other learning materials related to the Class 11 CBSE syllabus.
CBSE Class 11 English The Summer of the Beautiful White Horse Summary
One morning, around dawn, when Aram was nine years old, his fun-spirited cousin Mourad tapped on his window. When Aram looked out of the window, he could not believe what he was seeing – his cousin Mourad was sitting on a beautiful white horse. Mourad asked Aram to come down quickly if he wanted to ride the horse. Aram stood there in utter awe and disbelief because there was no way Mourad could possess such a beautiful white horse.
While his family and his whole tribe suffered from poverty, their hallmark was honesty. The whole Garoghlanian tribe was known for their honesty for many centuries. They were proud, honest and justice-oriented. There was no way Mourad could have stolen that horse. But given their financial conditions, it was evident that Mourad had not bought the horse – he had stolen it. Aram felt both frightened and delighted at the situation. He asked his cousin why he had stolen the horse. Mourad simply asked Aram if he wanted to go for a ride or not.
As Aram got up to dress, he engaged himself in thoughts – trying to justify Mourad’s actions. He reasoned that stealing a horse for a ride was not the same as stealing something valuable as money. It was not stealing at all, given how crazy Mourad and Aram were about horses. It would be considered stealing if they offered to sell the horse. It was something they would never do. He leapt down to the yard from the window, and both went riding. The horse went very fast, and Mourad started singing loudly – almost roaring.
Aram tells us about his cousin Mourad. Like in every family, Mourad was considered to be the natural descendant of the crazy streak in their tribe – uncle Khosrove. Although Mourad was considered to be the descendant of Uncle Khosrove, his father, Zorab, was nothing but a practical man by nature. Uncle Khosrove was a man of furious temper and little patience. He would stop people from saying anything by just roaring at them. His classic response to any situation was to tell the person concerned not to bother about it. It so happened that once Uncle Khorove’s son, Arak, went running to his father in the salon to tell him that their house was on fire. Uncle Khosrove simply roared at his son, telling him to pay no attention to it.
After letting the horse run as much as he could, Mourad asked Aram to get down. He wanted to ride the horse alone. Aram asked Mourad if the latter would let him ride the horse alone. Mourad’s reply was that it would be the horse’s decision. As Aram saw his cousin kick into the horse and let it burst into a fury of speed, he felt like it was the loveliest thing he had ever seen. Mourad rode the horse across a field over an irrigation ditch and returned five minutes later completely drenched in sweat. He got off the horse and asked Aram to ride the horse.
Aram got on the horse and realised that the horse was not moving. He felt scared. Mourad instructed him to kick into the horse’s muscles. The horse began to run, and Aram did not know how to guide it. Instead of running across the field, the horse ran into the vineyard of Dikran Halabian and started leaping over the vines. After going over seven vines, Aram fell off the horse, and the horse continued running. Mourad and Aram went different ways looking for it, and the former returned half an hour later with the horse.
Aram discovered that Mourad had been riding the horse for quite some time. But, when asked about it, Mourad only asked Aram to remember that they started riding the horse that morning. Mourad took the horse to the barn of a deserted vineyard. He informed Aram that it was not easy to get the horse to behave nicely in the beginning, but he had an understanding with horses. Mourad explained that Aram would be able to understand horses when he reached thirteen years of age.
Uncle Khosrove came to Aram’s house that afternoon for coffee and cigarettes and sat there remembering the old country. A farmer named John Byro arrived and started talking about his lost white horse. It was stolen a month ago, and he was still not able to find it. As usual, Uncle Khosrove told him not to bother about it. John Byro talked about his plight – he could not operate his surrey without the horse, and his left leg hurt. The horse had cost him sixty dollars. Uncle Khosrove retorted that he spat on money and stormed out of the house.
Aram ran to Mourad after hearing this and told him all about John Byro and the horse. He wanted Mourad to return the horse when he had learned to ride properly. Mourad told him that it would take him at least a year to learn riding the horse. Mourad did not want to keep the horse that long and decided that they would return the horse after six months. They took the horse for a ride every morning for two weeks. There seemed to be no improvement in Aram’s riding. One morning, they ran into John Byro. Mourad wanted to talk to the farmer, saying he had a way with farmers. John Byro felt that this horse resembled his lost horse and wanted to inspect its teeth. Mourad agreed. John Byro informed Mourad that he would have definitely claimed that horse to be his if he did not know about their family’s reputation for honesty.
The next morning, Aram and Mourad took the horse back to John Byro’s. The same afternoon, John Byro came to Aram’s house in his surrey and showed his found horse to Aram’s mother. He informs Aram’s mother that the horse is stronger and more well-tempered than before.
Conclusion of The Summer of the Beautiful White Horse
The Summer of the Beautiful White Horse Summary is a depiction of innocence and curiosity during childhood. The two Armenian boys – Mourad and Aram – are honest and do not want to really hurt anyone. But their curiosity and desire to experience wonderful things lead them to commit wrong things. Aram knows that Mourad has done a horrible thing, but the thrill of riding the beautiful white horse takes him away from all moral obligations. He even tries to justify the action by assuming that it is not an act of stealing if they are passionate about riding horses. However, as soon as Aram learns about the struggles faced by John Byro without his horse, the two boys return the horse.
A detailed understanding of the story can help students critically analyse and appreciate the story. Students can refer to our website for further information and content related to the Class 11 English subject for better understanding and preparation for CBSE board exams. They can also access topics like grammar and writing in English.
