Nature Imagery in "Out Stealing Horses" Anonymous 11th Grade

After stabbing Captain Hook in an epic sword battle, Peter Pan cheerfully exclaims, “I’m youth, I’m joy, I’m a little bird that has broken out of the egg!” This proclamation shows the relationship between adolescence, happiness, and nature. In many ways, Per Petterson’s Out Stealing Horses shows the same connections. Trond resembles James Barrie’s Peter Pan; both remain youthful, undertake many adventures, and are able to either literally or symbolically fly. However, while Peter Pan relies on his pixie dust for these powers, Trond uses his connection with nature, reliving his childhood memories to keep this bond with the natural world alive and fresh. Petterson uses natural imagery to establish the complete harmony and subsequent synonymous identity that exists between nature and Trond. Trond’s profound awareness of nature and the heightened perception that this awareness brings urge the reader to be more consciously mindful of the precious, quieter moments linked to the landscape that we may ignore in our daily interactions with our environment.

Trond's connection with nature, which begins in his childhood, is shown through images that reflect his harmonious relationship to the environment. On his last adventure with his...