The summer of the beautiful white horse is prescribed to grade 11th NCERT (Snapshots)

1. The Summer of the
beautiful white horse
By - William Saroyan

2. Driving questions
1) Find out the difference between
the characters of Aaram and
Mourad
2) Find evidences of Mourad being
capricious and vagrant
3) If not stealing, how Aaram and
Mourad could have learnt horse
riding without money?

3. Theme of the story
One of the major themes of “The Summer of the Beautiful White Horse” by William Saroyan is
honor. The young boy, Aram, explains the underlying philosophies of his large extended family.
Although they were poor, they had pride and morals. When his cousin, Mourad, appears at his
window in the early morning light, Aram has to justify the horse his cousin has in tow.
The theme of the narrative is the inevitability of change that challenges traditions and long
established beliefs. The Garoghlanian tribe was always known for its honesty and still the older
generations of the impoverished tribe uphold their trademark honesty but the new ones are no
more ready to pretend.

4. About William Saroyan
William Saroyan, (born Aug. 31, 1908, Fresno, Calif.,
U.S.—died May 18, 1981, Fresno), U.S. writer who
made his initial impact during the Depression with a
deluge of brash, original, and irreverent stories
celebrating the joy of living in spite of poverty, hunger,
and insecurity. The son of an Armenian immigrant,
Saroyan left school at 15 and educated himself by
reading and writing. His first collection of stories, The
Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze (1934), was
soon followed by another collection, Inhale and Exhale
(1936). His first play, My Heart’s in the Highlands,
was brilliantly produced by the Group Theatre in 1939.
In 1940 Saroyan refused the Pulitzer Prize for his play
The Time of Your Life (performed 1939) on the
grounds that it was “no more great or good” than
anything else he had written.

5. Continuation:
Saroyan was concerned with the basic goodness of all people,
especially the obscure and naive, and the value of life. His
mastery of the vernacular makes his characters vibrantly alive.
Most of his stories are based on his childhood and family,
notably the collection My Name Is Aram (1940) and the novel
The Human Comedy (1943). His novels, such as Rock Wagram
(1951) and The Laughing Matter (1953), were inspired by his
own experiences of marriage, fatherhood, and divorce.
From 1958 on, Saroyan lived mostly in Paris for “tax purposes,”
though he continued to maintain a home in Fresno, Calif.,
where he had been born and raised. The autobiographical
element was strong in all his work, usually disguised as fiction;
but some of his later memoirs, consisting of vignettes and brief
essays written largely in Paris and Fresno, have their own
enduring value. They include Here Comes, There Goes You
Know Who (1961), Not Dying (1963), Days of Life and Death
and Escape to the Moon (1971), and Places Where I’ve Done
Time (1975).

6. Summary:
Aram and Mourad were two poor boys who belonged to the Armenian
Garoghlanian family who were known for their honesty since the
eleventh century. One early morning when Aram was asleep and was
enjoying pleasant dreams, his cousin Mourad showed up to his
window with a beautiful white horse. Aram could not believe it and
was thinking it was a dream. But since there was a little light outside,
he knew this for sure that the horse was real. As they were poverty-
stricken, he couldn’t believe that the horse was their own. He was
trying to figure out if the horse had been stolen by his cousin. Mourad
had come to invite him for a ride-along. He asked him to make it
quick before everyone in the world wakes up. Aram wore his clothes
and jumped out of the window and sat behind Mourad on the horse.
They rode on the old countryside of the area where they lived –
Walnut Avenue. After some time, Mourad asked him to get off as he
wanted to ride the horse alone. Aram asked him if he could also ride
the horse alone just like him to which Mourad said they will see as it
was for his own safety. He got to know that Mourad had stolen the
horse a month ago and was riding it every morning.

7. Summary:
When Aram got his chance of a ride, the horse took him to the
vineyard and threw him off and ran away. After searching for thirty
minutes, Mourad finally managed to find the horse and they hid him in
a deserted vineyard that had some oats and alfalfa. Mourad had a
way with everything, especially horses. He knew how to handle every
type of animal and also humans. Every morning for two weeks, they
would take the horse for a ride and then hide it again. One day, John
Byro came to Aram’s house to talk to his uncle Khosrove who was an
irritated and loud man who shouted at almost everything. Byro told
him about his missing horse whom he bought at sixty dollars. For one
month, he couldn't find it and he walked for 10 miles to come to their
house. Khosrove roared at him and told him, ‘it’s no harm, pay no
attention to it.’ Byro became irritated by his attitude and he went
away. Aram went to Mourad and told him about the missing horse of
Byro and asked him not to return the horse until he learns to ride it.
Mourad told him that it would take one year for him to learn to ride the
horse. He further angrily added that they could not be thieves as their
tribe is known for honesty and said that they would return the horse
after six months.

8. Summary:
One day on their way back to hide the horse to the hidden
spot, they met John Byro who was going back to the town.
He talked to them and carefully examined the horse. He
admitted that the horse looked exactly like the one he had but
since he knew his parents and the honesty of their family, he
didn’t believe that they had his missing horse. He assumed it
was a twin horse. Mourad managed to let Byro assume that it
was not his horse so they went away. The next morning, both
of them took the horse back to Byro’s vineyard and put it in
the barn. The dogs followed them all along quietly and they
left the place.
The same afternoon, John Byro came back to his house to
tell his mother about his horse who had come back. He was
happy and was astonished to see the horse’s better temper
and it was stronger than ever. Uncle Khosrove again roared,
‘Quiet, man, quiet. Your horse has been returned. Pay no
attention to it.’

9. Mind map

10. Mind maps

11. The Conflict Between Feelings and Reason
Throughout the short story, Aram and Mourad are caught between what they feel and what
they know. When Aram first sees Mourad riding the white horse, he knows that Mourad must
have stolen it, as his family is too poor to afford a horse. Yet he feels that this cannot be the
case, for his family is always honest. As Aram greatly desires to ride the horse, he begins to
make justifications for why they are not stealing, knowing that he cannot go against his
family’s honest reputation. Aram and Mourad continue to make decisions based on feelings
rather than reason, such as when Mourad decides that keeping the horse for six months isn’t
stealing, whereas keeping it a year would be.
When the boys meet Byro near the end of the story, Byro refuses to accuse them of theft and
decides to “believe with his eyes instead of his heart.” He chooses faith over reason and lets
the boys go. The fact that Mourad tells Byro that the horse’s name is “My Heart” is symbolic:
the boys justify their keeping and riding the horse with their hearts and not with reason. In the
end, Byro’s comments to the boys prevent their desires from clouding their reasoning any
longer, and they return the horse the next day.