Conflict in Breaking Smith’s Quarter Horse: The Story Full of Chaos, Unrest, and Deceit Essay

Exclusively available on Available only on IvyPanda® Made by Human No AI

Introduction

The levels of conflict in Pierre’s Breaking Smith’s Quarter Horse can be classified in the forms of environmental conflict, situational conflict, physical conflict, and psychological conflict. The story is centered on the predicament of Smith who seems to lead a ridiculously virtuous life amid a world full of chaos, unrest, and deceit.

Conflict with the environment

In his seemingly righteous indignation against chaos and trouble, Smith endeavors by all means to avoid all forms of associations and relationships that might lead him into conflict with the environment. He is content to be a passive observer of situations around him to an extent to which he appears to be a stranger to his very self. This earnest desire to shun conflict dislocates him psychologically from his physical environment so that throughout the discourse it appears like his wife Norah has to occasionally play the role of a link that reunites him back to reality.

However, it would appear that despite his best efforts, the reality of conflicts almost always seems to find its way to him. For instance, when Gabriele shows up in his backyard, he fails to act appropriately to safeguard his own welfare and that of his kin. He instead chooses to close ranks with Gabriele at least on the score of friendship. His uneasy association with Gabriele eventually draws him into the conflicts and he is finally jailed after he engages in a scuffle while in the courtroom.

The physical representation of conflict

The physical representations of conflict seem to catch up with him very often. On one occasion he is thrown out of a bar after a slight disagreement with some patrons. At this moment he had sought the intervention of the security men to have somebody thrown out but he is the one thrown out instead. It appears that the ever-present structures of conflict in the society will always resist his philosophy on non-conflict.

The psychological form of conflict

This psychological form of conflict seems to affect Smith at the various points where he seems to disagree with the popular opinion as represented in the counsel of his wife Norah. His repeated decisions to keep to himself create a form of conflict between the private world he creates, and the larger external world that is menacing and always poised to vanquish Smith’s private interests. In this psychological state of mind Smith creates a utopia in which he hides his unrealistic concepts of idyllic reality. In the end his determined advocacy raptures before a court of law leading to his eventual incarceration.

The locking up of Smith in symbolic terms represents the final triumph of the larger external world that is in conflict with his little and vulnerable private world. It is paradoxical that while he sought to lead a life of love, peace, and unity, he eventually loses his freedom in the midst of the raging forms of conflict. This point of the story captures the situational conflict. It might also be classified as a form of environmental conflict in the sense that the main character Smith finds himself in a social environment of trouble and strife.

Conclusion

The aspect of conflict in this novella serves to bring out the futility of the human agent in its desire to create an independent system that might withstand the pressures of wider social influence. The ironic loss of freedom for the seemingly righteous Smith is symptomatic of the erosion of values with the message that the conflict between an individual and a system will always go in the direction of the overbearing system.

Reference

Pierre, H. P. (1993). Breaking Smith’s Quarter Horse. Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre.

More related papers Related Essay Examples
Cite This paper
You're welcome to use this sample in your assignment. Be sure to cite it correctly

Reference

IvyPanda. (2022, January 7). Conflict in Breaking Smith’s Quarter Horse: The Story Full of Chaos, Unrest, and Deceit. https://ivypanda.com/essays/conflict-in-breaking-smiths-quarter-horse/

Work Cited

"Conflict in Breaking Smith’s Quarter Horse: The Story Full of Chaos, Unrest, and Deceit." IvyPanda, 7 Jan. 2022, ivypanda.com/essays/conflict-in-breaking-smiths-quarter-horse/.

References

IvyPanda. (2022) 'Conflict in Breaking Smith’s Quarter Horse: The Story Full of Chaos, Unrest, and Deceit'. 7 January.

References

IvyPanda. 2022. "Conflict in Breaking Smith’s Quarter Horse: The Story Full of Chaos, Unrest, and Deceit." January 7, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/conflict-in-breaking-smiths-quarter-horse/.

1. IvyPanda. "Conflict in Breaking Smith’s Quarter Horse: The Story Full of Chaos, Unrest, and Deceit." January 7, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/conflict-in-breaking-smiths-quarter-horse/.


Bibliography


IvyPanda. "Conflict in Breaking Smith’s Quarter Horse: The Story Full of Chaos, Unrest, and Deceit." January 7, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/conflict-in-breaking-smiths-quarter-horse/.

If, for any reason, you believe that this content should not be published on our website, please request its removal.
Updated:
This academic paper example has been carefully picked, checked and refined by our editorial team.
No AI was involved: only quilified experts contributed.
You are free to use it for the following purposes:
  • To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
  • As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
  • As a template for you assignment
Privacy Settings

IvyPanda uses cookies and similar technologies to enhance your experience, enabling functionalities such as:

  • Basic site functions
  • Ensuring secure, safe transactions
  • Secure account login
  • Remembering account, browser, and regional preferences
  • Remembering privacy and security settings
  • Analyzing site traffic and usage
  • Personalized search, content, and recommendations
  • Displaying relevant, targeted ads on and off IvyPanda

Please refer to IvyPanda's Cookies Policy and Privacy Policy for detailed information.

Required Cookies & Technologies
Always active

Certain technologies we use are essential for critical functions such as security and site integrity, account authentication, security and privacy preferences, internal site usage and maintenance data, and ensuring the site operates correctly for browsing and transactions.

Site Customization

Cookies and similar technologies are used to enhance your experience by:

  • Remembering general and regional preferences
  • Personalizing content, search, recommendations, and offers

Some functions, such as personalized recommendations, account preferences, or localization, may not work correctly without these technologies. For more details, please refer to IvyPanda's Cookies Policy.

Personalized Advertising

To enable personalized advertising (such as interest-based ads), we may share your data with our marketing and advertising partners using cookies and other technologies. These partners may have their own information collected about you. Turning off the personalized advertising setting won't stop you from seeing IvyPanda ads, but it may make the ads you see less relevant or more repetitive.

Personalized advertising may be considered a "sale" or "sharing" of the information under California and other state privacy laws, and you may have the right to opt out. Turning off personalized advertising allows you to exercise your right to opt out. Learn more in IvyPanda's Cookies Policy and Privacy Policy.

1 / 1