are recently divorced. John's grandfather has just passed away and the fate of his ranch hangs in the balance. John's father wants to keep the ranch, but he doesn't have the financial means to pay for its upkeep. Meanwhile, John's mother insists on selling the ranch.

Deeply saddened by the thought of losing the family ranch, John tries to get his mother to lease him the property. However, she angrily proclaims that the ranch hasn't paid for itself in twenty years. All she wants to do is to sell it and to get out from under it. She maintains that, at sixteen, John is too young to run a ranch.

After John's conversation with his mother, he ponders an oil painting. There are a half dozen horses in the painting, all of them rugged and formidable creatures. The animals have powerful hindquarters, and John imagines that they have "steeldust in their blood." Here, McCarthy uses blood imagery to highlight the resilience of the horses. This scene foreshadows John's eventual decision to leave Texas for Mexico. Like the horses, John must rely upon the "steeldust in his blood" to help him navigate his loss and grief.

In regard to the prevalence of blood imagery in the novel, we have an interesting quote:

What he loved in horses is what he loved in men, the blood and the heat of the blood that ran them.

In this quote, we learn that John Grady Cole is passionate, ebullient, and dynamic in nature. He appreciates the resilience of the horses and the power they exude. To John, "blood" is symbolic of courage, the kind that runs through the most "ardenthearted" of men (and horses). In the age-old struggle with nature, both man and horse must survive by sheer will alone. By extension, John must rely on his will to carve out his place in the world after his parents' divorce and the devastating loss of his grandfather.

In the story, John Grady's father is emotionally detached. Although he claims to regret the divorce, he does little to reassure John about the future. When questioned about the ranch, John Grady's father has few answers. He appears resigned about his former wife's decision to sell it.

The relationship between John and his father is awkward. Essentially, John never formed an emotional connection with his father: the latter was largely absent during his childhood years. During their conversation, John tries to appeal to his father; he wants him to convince his mother not to sell the ranch. However, John's father refuses. He basically tells John that there is nothing he can do to stop his former wife from acting on her plans.

Because of his shame at his personal failures, John's father is reluctant to advocate for him. This contributes to John's solitary state. His mother is equally unhelpful. She appears mostly concerned with her acting career and her new boyfriend. Neither of John's parents can help him process his grief after his grandfather's death. Along with that grief, he has to deal with the loss of the family ranch.

For his part, John must rely on the "steeldust" in his blood to carve his own path in life.