Characters

Horses

• Black Beauty :  The main character of the story, a handsome black horse. His first home is Farmer Grey. But then, he begins his career as a carriage horse for wealthy people but when he "breaks his knees" (i.e. develops scars on his "knees"--anatomically, wrists—after a bad fall) he is no longer considered presentable enough and is put too much harder work. He passes through the hands of a series of owners. Some of them are cruel and some are kind. He always tries his best to serve humans despite the circumstance.

•  Duchess—Beauty's mother, who encourages Beauty to be good from a young age.

•  Ginger—Named for her chestnut colour and her habit of biting, which is often how the spice, ginger, is described. Ginger is a more aggressive horse due to her traumatic upbringing.  

• Merrylegs—A short, white and handsome pony who is polite to humans and horses alike. He is ridden by the young daughters at Birtwick Park. Then, later on sent to live with the three ladies.

•     Max—Blac Beauty’s new partner at Earlshall Park.

•  Captain—A former army horse who witnessed horrific incidents in the Crimean War, although he was well treated and received no wounds. He lost his beloved master in the Charge of the Light Brigade. He became a cab horse for Jerry, where he works with Black Beauty.

People

•      Farmer Grey—Beauty's first owner, a good kind man who trains him well.

•      Jerry- A cabbie, who owns Black Beauty

•       Mr Douglas Gordon(Squire Gordon)-A very kind and loving master who was also the squire.

•     Joe Green- A stable boy.

•      Mr Jeremiah Barker—A kind owner who uses Beauty as a cab horse. Owns Captain and  Hotspur

•   The three ladies—His final home were he spent the rest of his days very well treated.

 

THEMES

1.      Mistreatment of the animals, particularly horses.

•   Mr.Blomefield’s children rode Merrylegs like she was a steam engine.
• The lady at Earlshall Park wants the horses to wear checkrein to keep the horse’s head high which causes pain to the horse.
•  Black Beauty needs to pull heavy loads through bad winter.
•  Ginger was being sold many times and need to bear with the mistreated of each master until he would rather dead than alive to suffer the human mistreatment.

2.      Kindness, sympathy, and an understanding the treatment of horses

•  James, the stable boy saved the horses live during the fire.
•  Jerry, the cab driver kept Black Beauty clean and gave him plenty of food and    fresh water.
•   John sympathy that the horses will suffer from the use of   checkrein.

3.      Loyalty

•  Although Black Beauty is tired, he raced back as fast as he could to the doctor in order to save his mistress life, Mrs Gordon.
• Max and Black Beauty willing to bear the painful of wearing checkrein since they do not have a choice and need to follow the lady order.

Setting of the Black Beauty

Time Setting :

In the Mid-1800: there is no transport invented yet and people use horses as their transportation. Horse was used to pull their cab and delivered their goods.

                                                                                                                                              

Place setting:

1)   Meadow(Chapter 1): Black Beauty’s early home. He lives with her mother and they were owned by Farmer Grey.

2)   Meadow(Chapter) : Black Beauty’s final home. The place where he met Joe, the stable boy from the squire Gordon.

3)   Birthwick Park: Black Beauty was owned by squire goldon. He made friends with merrylegs and ginger.

4)   Earshall Park: the most tragical moment happened when black beauty forced to wear a checkrein.

5)   A London Cab Horse: black beauty pulled a cab for jerry. He met a new friend Captain and he met ginger, his old friend.

People/background setting:

1)      British/English: all of the events occurred around London. So all of

      the characters were English in Victorian ages.

Author’s Background

http://www.chrissaliba.blogspot.com

Black Beauty is one of the world’s best-loved animal classics and, in the words of the author, was written “to induce kindness, sympathy and an understanding treatment of horses”. In this spirit, she would have appreciated Redwings Horse Sanctuary (open on selected dates) in Hapton, Norfolk, where 350 rolling acres host infirm and elderly horses.

Born in Great Yarmouth (Church Plain, exterior only), Anna’s love affair with horses began in childhood at her relatives' farm near Norwich. Dudwick Park in Buxton (privately owned) was reputedly the model for Birtwick Park where Black Beauty spent his happy early working years. A long, tree-lined avenue winds through the park (which sometimes hosts horses from the sanctuary) just as it does in the book and there is a public right of way used by riders. Black Beauty himself was inspired by Anna’s brother’s black horse, Bessie. The field where Bessie lived is now Sewell Park in Norwich and the barn is now the Sewell Barn Theatre.

           The book was written in the White House (now Anna Sewell House, privately owned) at 125 Spixworth Road in Old Catton, Norwich. From her upstairs room, the bedridden Anna could gaze out over the undulating Deer Park (you can take a footpath through the park) and people it with the horses of her imagination. In nearby Lamas, Anna’s headstone is displayed on the roadside wall of the former Quaker meeting house. 

Source: http://www.storybookengland.com