The Red Pony LITERATURE KIT

In Steinbecks novel, The Red Pony, the author recalls four loosely connected episodes from his own childhood, weaving them together into an unforgettable classic. Growing up on a remote ranch in California, ten-year-old Jody Tiflins life is forever changed when his father gives him a beautiful red pony. With the help of his fathers hired hand, Billy Buck, Jody commits himself whole-heartedly to the raising of this wonderful colt. When the colt grows ill and dies, Jodys world is shattered, as is his faith in Billy Buck, who had assured the boy that the pony would recover. A short time later the Tiflin ranch is visited by an old Mexican man who demands that he be allowed to die in the place where he was born. Ever longingly watching the nearby great mountains, the old man gets up one morning and disappears into the mountains surrounding the Tiflin ranch.