The Summer of the Beautiful White Horse

by William Saroyan

Start Free Trial

Why is Mourad wet upon returning in "The Summer of the Beautiful White Horse"?

Quick answer:

Mourad is dripping wet when he returns in because he's sweating profusely after such an intense ride. Although Mourad was only on the horse for five minutes, he gave him such a vigorous run that he ended up being soaked in sweat.

Expert Answers

An illustration of the letter 'A' in a speech bubbles

Mourad is riding a beautiful white horse one morning. To be more precise, he's riding a beautiful stolen white horse. He stole it from a local farmer by the name of John Byro. Far from being contrite about the theft, Mourad has no moral qualms. He thinks it's not really stealing unless you try to sell something, and Mourad has no intention of stealing the horse; he just wants to ride it.

Mourad's cousin Aram also wants to ride the horse; he doesn't simply want to sit on the creature while Mourad is riding it. Mourad promises Aram that he'll let him ride the horse alone. But in the meantime, Mourad gives the horse a good run across a field of dry grass and over an irrigation ditch.

It all takes just five minutes. When Mourad returns, he's dripping wet. Mourad is soaked to the skin with sweat after such a vigorous and intense ride. Clearly, Mourad enjoys fast riding; as with most young boys his age, he finds speed quite intoxicating.

Having seen his cousin in action, Aram immediately demands that he be allowed to ride the white horse, too. Mourad lets him, and before long, Aram is off on a frantic ride full of thrills and spills.

See eNotes Ad-Free

Start your 48-hour free trial to get access to more than 30,000 additional guides and more than 350,000 Homework Help questions answered by our experts.

Get 48 Hours Free Access
Approved by eNotes Editorial