Once again I was confronted by issues, and subjects that I was uncomfortable with or had no previous knowledge. There are subjects that I choose to acknowledge only without giving my opinion or blessing too. I will do my best to sort out the images and thoughts about the readings I have just completed. With such a short space to write, and time looming over I will condense, and make my points as best as I can.
I have never looked into the history of the longhorn, or the stories told. Relating this to being at UT, most of my classmates are longhorns for life. The stories about longhorns told by Frank Dobie hit a string within me as to why the Longhorn is the symbol for UT. In the stories, the main focus was about a single longhorn always returning home. Longhorns are “gentle animals” that seem to be “the most persistent returners.” (Dobie, pg. 258 The Longhorns) This could be true to longhorn students as well, with all of the groups focused on being a longhorn now and for life. For example, the Texas Exes program focuses on bringing current and former students together to relish in the fact that they are indeed “Longhorns.” Though Frank Dobie insists that “the longhorns of the brush, instead of being modified by men, bent men to their own ways…” (Dobie, pg. 289 The Longhorns) he also told stories of these “free” longhorns finding any means possible to get back to their homeland.
I would find myself to be more toward the mustang heritage of Texas and of the University of Texas. In regard to the mustang, “their essence was the spirit of freedom.” (Dobie, pg. Xi The Mustangs) I had transferred into UT from another college, and in keeping within my own tradition, I have never stayed at one school for more than two years. I pack up, and I move to wear there is “water” so to speak. For me that water is experiences that feed my soul. “Only stubborn facts in human history can explain the arrival of mustang horses upon the land where, in association with mustang men, they ran their course of freedom.” (Dobie, pg. Xi The Mustangs) Mustangs do have many character traits that correlate to the longhorn, relating to territory a
nd tendencies to stay in the same area. The difference I see is that the mustang believes him/her to be free and is able to move with changes and adapt. The spirit of the mustang is one of not breaking, but once an alliance is forged with a rider their bond is till death. If the mustang does not trust the rider, the horse will die before their freedom is given up."I will not be tamed, only persuaded. I will not be coerced or led blindly or tricked or bullied - I am willing only to be convinced. If you don't trust your own basic goodness enough to tell me what you're trying to do... Then you're confessing your own moral weakness and I'll never serve you." Orson Scott Card
Jumping to different topics, within the realm of humanity and the relationship to animals, I turn now to passages by Hemingway. Within the first paragraph, a statement struck me to be true. “Whoever reads this can only truly make such a judgment when he or she, has seen the things that are spoken of and knows truly what their reactions to them would be.” (Hemingway pg. 1, Death in the Afternoon) I choose to apply this reading to my own knowledge, and experiences and choose not to make a direct opinion on bullfighting. I have never witnessed a bullfight, and I personally choose not to. I find the death of an animal strictly for entertainment, sacrificial, or for tradition to be a waste of life. I can find understanding in the killing of animals for a purpose. Other animals, including ourselves, have killed to feed ourselves. I can understand the sport of hunting, only
when use is made of the kill for food and clothing. I have worn and made clothing from animals, only when I have the best understanding that the animal had served a purpose for food… I will get into this discussion at other time. A quote that brings my point home is from “Spilling the Blood of Bulls” when after the bull is killed within tradition “the bull, no longer the center of attention lay motionless in the mud, its bulky head wrenched…” (pg. 711, Spilling the Blood of Bulls) For the animal to die in a brutal fashion, to be cast aside dead is not within my spectrum of reasoning.A final thought, once again after reading “Death in the Afternoon”, relates to a correlation that Hemingway makes with two types of people. “I believe, after experience and observation, that those people who identify themselves with animals… are capable of greater cruelty to human beings than those who do not identify themselves readily with animals…” (Hemingway pg. 5, Death in the Afternoon) I relate this passage to what I have seen and read of war. History has shown how men reacted in battle when riding in on horseback. It was not difficult for the enemy to take the life of men from the other side, yet it has been recorded that it was much more difficult to take the life of the horse upon which the rider commanded.
I hope that my ideas came across this webpage. Had I more space and time I feel that I could have completed these fractured thoughts. As it is in college, time management comes at a cost.
Candice T.
