War Horse Literary Elements

Children's Fiction / Young Adult Fiction

World War One; set both in a small English village at the start and end of the war, and on the battlegrounds of France for most of the novel

The story is narrated from the first-person point of view of the titular "War Horse," Joey.

At some points, frightening, with a feeling of doom and fatalism; at other points, jingoistic and triumphant.

Joey is the protagonist. Anyone who prevents him from going back to life on the farm with Albert is an antagonist.

The major conflict in the novel is World War One, on which the plot is centered; chiefly, it focuses on the hostilities between the English and the Germans who have invaded France.

Albert and Joey's reunion is the emotional or revelatory climax of the novel. When Albert wipes down the muddy horse to reveal the white socks on his forelegs, the young man slowly realizes that the horse is his long-lost best friend, for whom he has been searching. However, scenes of danger (e.g., Joey on the battlefield towards the novel's end, Joey under the threat of being sold to a butcher) represent more tense and fraught moments.

The arrival of the Germans in the village in France foreshadows the end of Joey's calm and pleasant days on the farm. This is the beginning of a period of heavy work for the German forces.

The author states that the battlefields were frightening, which is an understatement with regard to Joey, who was alone, lost, and disoriented—far past fear.

- Although there are no major examples of literary allusion in the novel, there are allusions to speeches made by political leaders that were relevant to the war and to the political subject matter discussed by the soldiers. A working knowledge of the events of World War I is useful for readers who want to understand the novel's historical allusions.
- Captain Nicholls refers to George Stubbs, a British painter famed for creating images of horses, when he is trying to capture Joey's image.

The imagery in the novel is often very dark, intended to convey the sense of panic and futility felt by all concerned. Particularly vivid is the description of the "No Man's Land" area that Joey is trapped in, and of the way in which Joey becomes disoriented by the extreme blackness of the night. The horse finds himself trapped in the coils of barbed wire that separate the Allies from the Germans.

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- There is a parallel drawn between the experiences of the soldiers in both the British and the German armies, men who do not genuinely hate one another and find that they are able to work together to free Joey from the barbed wire. In talking, they find they have parallel experiences of not understanding why they are supposed to hate and kill each other.
- Another parallel involves the relationship between Joey and Topthorn and the relationship between their initial riders, Captain Nicholls and Captain Stewart (respectively). Both relationships are close, and both sets of companions suffer one definite casualty (Topthorn, Captain Nicholls) in the course of the story.

"The village" welcomes back Albert and Joey. Here and elsewhere, Morpurgo uses the term "village" to encompass the individual people living within the village itself.

Joey notes the fields were not threatening during the day; thus, he attributes the ability to intend menace or to threaten to a field.