The Black Stallion Setting

The Black Stallion Setting

The exotic opening setting sustains theme and characterization in significant ways.

Alec enters the novel in a situation that demonstrates his capacity for independence.

He is a passenger on the steamer Drake, headed toward the Gulf of Aden and into the Red Sea. Alec is returning alone to New York after a stay with his Uncle Ralph in India. The black stallion first appears in a setting that conjures images from the Arabian Nights. Alec's steamer docks to take the stallion aboard at a small Arabian seaport.

The locale establishes the aura of mystery that clings to the stallion and foreshadows the "strange understanding" that soon develops between him and Alec.

Ships at sea, foreign ports of call, and outdoor settings distinguish approximately the first third of the novel, as Alec and the stallion pursue their journey together to New York. The...
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