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Character analysis of Black Beauty in Anna Sewell's story

Summary:

Black Beauty in Anna Sewell's story is a noble and gentle horse who narrates his life experiences. Through his perspective, he reveals the harsh realities of animal mistreatment and advocates for kindness and empathy. His character embodies resilience, loyalty, and a strong moral compass, making him a poignant voice for animal welfare.

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What is Black Beauty's character like in Anna Sewell's story?

Black Beauty is the dynamic narrator and protagonist of Anna Sewell's story. A dynamic character is one who changes throughout the story. Though Black Beauty's character traits never change in the story, as the story progresses, he is shaped as he gains new understandings of the nature of the world and of the men who inhabit it.

In the opening chapter of the story, as a young colt, Black Beauty's mother informs him that he is "well-bred and well-born" and further gives him the following advice:

I hope you will grow up gentle and good, and never learn bad ways; do your work with a good will, lift your feet up well when you trot, and never bite or kick even in play. (Ch. 1, Pt. 1)

Black Beauty takes his mother's speech very much to heart, and it forms the basis of his character throughout the story. No...

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matter how cruelly Black Beauty is eventually treated, hemaintains his integrity by maintaining his gentleness, goodness, and devoted work ethic. One example is seen after he is sold to his second household, the household of a Duchess very fond of the fashionable check-rein that pulls horses' heads up, preventing them from being able to move them on their own. At one point, when being fixed into the check-rein, Ginger, his carriage partner, throws a fit. Black Beauty reflects that he had been angered by the people's treatment, and "if I had ever been used to kick or rear I am sure I would have done it then"; but, he restrains himself no matter how angry he becomes (Ch. 23, Pt. 2).

Beyond having strong integrity, he is also a very respectful and understanding horse. His respectful and understanding nature is seen when he meets other horses who do not have the same good natures as he has, but he does not pass judgement on those horses. For example, Ginger has a poor temper, but he soon admires and even loves her, fully understanding that it was the way she was treated by men that gave her her poor temper.

As the story progresses, Black Beauty learns more and more about the dual good and evil nature of the world and of its people. What he learns shapes and changes his character because his knowledge transforms him from a young, carefree, naive horse into a worldly-wise, compassionate, and understanding horse. Author Anna Sewell, a devout, gentle, and humanitarian Quaker, created a horse character with a very Christlike nature, for the more he suffers, though innocent, the more he maintains his loving gentleness.

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Provide a character sketch of a character in Black Beauty by Anna Sewell.

Ginger is one of Beauty's main horse companions for a time at Birtwick Park. When they first meet, Ginger is not at all friendly to Beauty. Ginger has showed her ill temper at Birtwick and Beauty has been given her stall. The reader finds out in the chapter about Ginger that she has been mistreated and trained by harsh means that have left her angry and rebellious. Ginger is distrustful of any humans but works alongside Beauty at Birtwick and learns to have a better temperment. Ginger and Beauty work well alongside each other and make a hardworking team. Through her interactions and conversations with Beauty, the reader discovers that Ginger is very introspective. At one point she explains to Beauty that she knows she could have had a better temperment had she not been trained and raised with such a rough handed attitude by cruel humans. 

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A delightful character, the pony named Merrylegs is, like most ponies, very clever. When the Vicar Blomefield's children visit along with their father, it is Merrylegs who is called upon to entertain them. Round and round they are all ride up and down the fields and all around the orchard.  After a couple of hours, the boys think that they should ride Merrylegs and fashion whips out of large hazel sticks to make him go as fast as possible.  However, little Merrylegs is too smart to allow them to abuse him.  So, when they whip him, he simply rears up and they slide off his back.

When he is returned to the stable, his handler James scolds him, "There, you rogue, mind you behave yourself, or we shall get in trouble."  So, when Beauty asks him what has happened, Merrylegs explains.  The pony is yet another character who illustrates the intelligence of horses and how important it is to treat animals humanely. 

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