John Steinbeck's novel The Red Pony is a compilation of four coming-of-age stories about Jody Tiflin, a young boy who matures into a compassionate, responsible young man as he handles the disappointments and the successes of real life. All four stories carry the themes of life and death and of conflict between old and new; in each Steinbeck presents the harsher truths of life, including death, as they appear in reality, an approach not taken in most novels for young adults.