Discussion Topic

The reasons behind Billy Buck killing Nellie in The Red Pony

Summary:

Billy Buck kills Nellie in The Red Pony to save the colt she is carrying. Nellie experiences complications during labor, and Billy realizes that the only way to save the unborn colt is to perform a cesarean section, which necessitates killing Nellie. This difficult decision highlights the harsh realities of life and death on a ranch.

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Why did Billy have to kill Nellie to deliver the colt in The Red Pony?

Nellie's muscles were contracting desperately in trying to birth the colt, but the colt was turned the wrong way inside her and could not be delivered in the normal way. In most cases, colts, which weigh 70-90 pounds at birth, are positioned inside the mother's womb so that the front feet emerge first, followed by the nose and head. If the colt is in the wrong position and cannot be repositioned with help, the delivery will have to be by cesarian section, a process by which the baby is removed surgically, or the colt and the mother will die. Billy had no access to medical help, so in order to save the colt and spare the mother from prolonged agony, he killed Nellie by smashing her head, and quickly cut her open to get the colt out.

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Why does Billy Buck kill Nellie in The Red Pony?

In "The Gift," Jody is given his first pony, a red-colored colt called Gabilan. The colt quickly falls ill and Jody seeks advice from Billy Buck—a ranch hand known to be good with horses, and for whom Jody has great respect—about how to treat and cure Gabilan. Jody follows Billy's prescriptions closely, but the colt dies anyway, leaving Jody bitterly disappointed and blaming Billy, whom he had regarded as infallible.

In a later story, "The Promise," Jody has a second chance to raise a colt. The mare, Nellie, is successfully impregnated by the stallion, Sundog, and Jody is promised that their offspring will be his. When Nellie goes into labor, however, Billy Buck discovers that the foal is the wrong way round (a breech birth) and will be born dead unless he kills Nellie and delivers it by Caesarian section. Remembering how he failed to save Gabilan, Billy kills Nellie with a hammer and successfully delivers the foal for Jody.

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