The Black Stallion

The most frequently used motif in The Black Stallion is the idea that the Black is wild and cannot be tamed. From Alec’s first sighting of the horse, when the stallion injures one of the deckhands trying to bring aboard the Drake, until the final scene where Alec prevents the Black from fighting with Sun Raider twice, Farley misses no opportunity to stress the feral nature of the Black. Those who observe the horse, even in the mitigating presence of Alec, uniformly express the idea that the Black will never be anything but wild. Jake expresses this while watching Alec ride him at Belmont. Henry tells Mr. Ramsay that no person but Alec can ride the Black. At every stage when Alec and Henry make progress in training the horse to race, Farley has a counter example of the Black’s wildness to reaffirm the horse is not tame.

Farley uses the continual affirmation of the Black’s feral nature to reveal Alec’s character in contrast. Alec is persistent, good natured, devoted, and courageous. On each occasion that Farley reveals the horse’s wildness, he follows with an example of Alec handling the Black successfully, even in the presence of awed professionals. Symbolically, as noted in the section on themes, for Farley the Black represents the emerging manhood of the remarkable boy Alec.