Walter Farley wrote The Black Stallion for a juvenile audience. From shipwrecks to horse-racing, it's an action-packed adventure which captures the reader's attention. As a young author, Farley lacks the technical expertise to make the book as artistic as he seems to be attempting, however, the plot and characters are engaging and end up being redeeming qualities. Young readers will finish this book with a sense of accomplishment.
The main point of the story is to demonstrate how loyalty and grit can make for a tangible comeback. The Black is a horse which people had all but given up on because of his aggressive and sensitive nature. As his owners no doubt intended, he was destined to be the racehorse but not in the setting which they had planned for him. His Arabian lineage gives him a genetic advantage over the American thoroughbreds because he possesses more endurance than them. When the ship breaks down, nobody bothers about a horse in the hopes of saving their own lives, except for Alec.
Alec's selfless devotion to the horse ends up saving both of their lives. And he doesn't stop when he's rescued on the island but instead insists that they take the horse as well. The Black has a difficult time adjusting when he arrives home with Alec. Lacking the proper paperwork, he is not allowed to race like the others, even though Alec knows how fast he is from their time bonding on the island. Refusing to give up, Alec trains the Black anyway and fortune shines on them when they are accepted in an official race finally.
This tale is a classic comeback story. Based on his personal experiences with horses, Farley depicts an accurate relationship between man and beast. The Black does not recognize Alec as anything more than his provider, but his nature inspires him to run his heart out. On the other hand, Alec is an impressionable boy who rapidly bonds with the horse after their mutual traumatic experience. In his mind, Alec was saved by the horse because of the companionship he provided. The Black became his motivation for survival on the island. Because of this, he dedicates himself to making the horse a champion. Doubtless Farley formed a close bond with a horse or two as a child and hopes to teach kids that the relationship may be one-sided but the accomplishment and dedicated involved in developing said relationship is absolutely genuine.
