Cowboys ride through the unknown, bonded to their horses. These lonely desperados encounter romance, gun fights, and gorgeous sunsets in the cordilleras of México and Texas. Cormac McCarthy incorporates all the dramatics that make up a great western in his novel, "All the Pretty Horses." Crumbling from a once passionate tale of young love, the story develops into a desolate journey of one man and his caballo. While standing over the body of a slain doe, John Grady has an epiphany. As a cowboy, he is condemned to a life full of pain which will enable him to fully experience the beauty of the land and her beasts. John Grady approaches his illuminating moment by learning that the love he will share with women is fleeting, and that in the end, he will never share a bond with a human that is as strong as with his horses. "He saw very clearly how all his life led only to this moment and all after led nowhere at all" (254). The lonely theme begins to follow John after proposing to Alejandra, the love of his life, and being rejected. John feels hopeless for the first time since his journey into México. His plans for the future come to an abrupt ending, although he often reminisces about what could have been. "He remembered Alejandra and the sadness he'd first seen in the slope of her shoulders which he's presumed to understand and of which he knew nothing and he felt a loneliness he'd not know since he was a child and he felt wholly alien to the world although he loved it still" (282). The imagery of Alejandra allows McCarthy to create a symbol between the slope of her shoulders and the slope of a horse's. Although John does not understand Alejandra, he is able to understand his horses. As he rides on that same slope of a horse's shoulder he can communicate fully to the animal. He will never be able to be the companion of a woman like Alejandra, instead he will be forever have the companionship of a horse.
