Editor's Choice
What is Aram's role in "The Summer of Beautiful White Horse?"
Quick answer:
Aram's role in "The Summer of the Beautiful White Horse" is as the narrator and moral center. His innocent perspective and sense of wonder shape the story, allowing readers to understand his reasoning and moral dilemmas. He represents traditional community behavior and honesty, contrasting with Mourad's rebellious nature, and symbolizes the balance between social conventions and independent notions of beauty and loyalty.
In the short story "The Summer of the Beautiful White Horse" by William Saroyan, the narrator is a nine-year-old Armenian boy named Aram. He is a member of the Garoghlanian tribe, which, despite its poverty, is renowned for the honesty of its members. Early one morning, Aram's cousin Mourad comes to his bedroom window on a magnificent white horse and invites Aram to join him for a ride. Later, Aram attempts to ride the horse on his own but falls off. Despite learning that the horse must have been stolen, Aram pleads with Mourad to keep it long enough for him to learn to ride properly. Eventually, though, they return the horse to its rightful owner.
In giving the role of narrator to Aram, Saroyan imbues the story with the sense of wonder and the innocent perspective of a nine-year-old. Aram sees the appearance of the horse and...
Unlock This Answer Now
Start your 48-hour free trial and get ahead in class. Boost your grades with access to expert answers and top-tier study guides. Thousands of students are already mastering their assignments—don't miss out. Cancel anytime.
Already a member? Log in here.
his attempts to ride it as marvelous experiences, and he passes on these impressions to the readers.
Because we experience the story through his perspective, we understand his reasoning: keeping the horse for a time does not conflict with his family's reputation for honesty as long as he and his cousin do not try to sell it. We also sympathize and agree with Aram and his cousin's willingness to give the horse back when faced with the kindness and magnanimity of John Byro, the real owner.
Aram is the moral center and the "straight man" in the partnership between he and Mourad. He is the one who immediately suspects and then knows that the horse was stolen, and he is the one who immediately tells Mourad that John Byro was inquiring about the horse's whereabouts. He operates as the "straight man" in literary terms, as well, for it is he who allows us to understand how the story develops. In terms of his representations, he might symbolize the traditional notion of behavior in the community. He does not seek to disupt any of the social orders, as he looks to demonstrate accepted conventions. Perhaps, this is why Mourad is deemed as crazy and "has a way with animals." It might also be the reason for his difficulty in riding the horse, and Mourad's ease with the horse. While Aram understands the need for social convention, he does understand independent notions of beauty and loyalty which might not be openly embraced by standard conformity, as he immediately expresses his own sense of love for the horse, joins Mourad in riding him, and expresses a melancholy when the horse is returned.