ht of the fact that his father wants little to do with him and his mother is even more distanced from him. One of GradyÆs biggest sources of communion with nature as well as one of his biggest sources of comfort comes from his relationship with horses. It is a spiritual, mystical, and even human-like relationship that he is highly capable of carrying out in their presence. Horses for Grady offer a source of solace, of meaning, and act as a source of relating that he seldom experiences with other humans. As we are told of GradyÆs connection in this way with nature, he is a ôànatural horseman, someone who understands the animal, the way it thinks, the way it feels. He breaks and trains horses in large part by talking to them, looking into their hearts, asking their agreement in the social compact he proposesö (Arnold 1998, 259).
Nature also acts as a source of wonderment for Grady. When his grandfather dies and his former way of life comes to an abrupt end, Grady makes the decision to head for Mexico. The dec
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