Jewel's+Mother+is+a+Horse

I think the reason Darl sees Jewel's mother as a horse is explained in his chapter beginning on page 128. He worked almost 24 hours a day for over a summer to buy his horse. He showed more love and devotion to buying a horse than he ever showed to his mother while she was alive. If anything, he showed more love to her when she was dead by saving her from the water and fire. I can't really understand why he was so loveless to her while she was alive though because Addie loved him the most. If he was shown this love, how come he couldn't show it back to her. Although from what we learn about Addie in her chapter, maybe her love wasn't enough. She came off as very cruel. Did Jewel know that he was different and resented her for it? Why was his mother a horse? Does Darl mean that Addie herself is a horse? 1203909649

I don't think it means that Addie is a horse. I think what Darl was saying is that Jewel cares more about the horse than he does for his mother, which makes the horse take the mother's place. Jewel doesn't care much for his mother when she was still alive, but after her death, he realizes how much her love meant to him. It's one of those "you never know how much it means until it's gone" type of things. During her life, I think she may have been somewhat overbearing and Jewel just wanted his independence, like any young man, but he just wasn't as sensitive about it as he should have been, I guess. But can we expect him to change who he is for every person that he comes in contact with? I think that after Addie died, he became more loving and he even gave up his horse, giving his mother the title of "mother" again instead of the horse. 1203914073

I think that this meaning is revealed when Jewel sacrifices his horse so that his family can make it that much further on their journey to Jefferson. Addie's worth to Jewel is represented by the worth of the horse to Jewel. Jewel is willing to give that up for his mother (maybe because he realizes this is her last wish to gain revenge?). In that way, the worth of the horse and the worth of Addie are equal. In most situations, this would be considered an insult. Tell your mom you love her as much as you love your horse and she wouldn't be too pleased with you. However, we know that Jewel cared immensely for that horse. We know that he slaved nights to pay for that horse. I think that to say Jewel's mother is a horse shows just how much Jewel really did care for Addie. To add to that, I'm not sure that we ever got an accurate view of what Jewel's actions were to his mother during her lifetime. We only heard that he was distant from Cora, and she seems to be a biased character. Other than that, we don't have much evidence that Jewel was anything but a loving son to Addie, do we? 1203977585

After reading Addie's chapter it seems like the reason that Addie loved Jewel the most was because he was the only one that was hers. That doesn't mean that she showed him more love than the other children; she seemed pretty distant and Jewel seemed like he was the same way. I think Darl calling Jewel's mother a horse is an extention of Vardaman saying his mother is a fish and Darl being hte only one to recognize his mother as Addie, who is now dead and gone. They each had a different relationship with their mother; Vardaman's mother was something that was able to slip through his fingers, much like a fish. Jewel's relationship with his mother was something he worked hard at, and was very connected to, like his horse, but in the end it amounted to nothing helpful for him. And for Darl, his mother was exactly what she was, a human being, dead and gone. He had no misconceptions about where his mother was or who she was, because he was the thinker, but Jewel and Vardaman were willing to take another object as their mothers because they had a weak connection with her and wanted to make their own connection with something that they can relate to their mother. 1203981175

I think that it is hard to pass too much judgement on the way Jewel treated his mother while she was alive because we don't really get to see very much of it. That being said I think that maybe his sudden care for her after her death may have been driven by guilt of not appreciating her enough while she was still alive. Perhaps he wasn't able to fully appriciate her love for him until after it was gone. When he was willing to sacrifice his horse for her, his most prized possesion it showed just how much he really loved her, and saying that his mother is a horse seems to me like it could be left to interpretation either way. Certainly Jewel loved his horse, and it may be a compliment to how much he also loved his mother, but I think that it is intentionally ambiguous and may also interpreted that he cared more about a horse than he did for his mother. 1204001545

I agree with the beginning of your original post, LDo. I think that Jewel's mother is a horse because he doesn't actually care too deeply about Addie. He worked for monthss every night just to get that horse and bring it home with him, so I think he loves that horse as much or more than he should love his mother. I'm not sure that I agree with KHo when she says that Jewel's love for the horse meant that he had a vast amount of love for Addie when he said "his mother was a horse". I saw little to no evidence in the book of Jewel ever really caring whether or not Addie passed away, and I think he quite literally meant his mother was a horse because he cared so much more about the horse's well being than he did about Addie's. 1204071965

More than one meaning I'm seeing. First, it may be as you've said: Jewel cared more about the horse, and so it was his mother in that sense. We hear him staying up late for it, working as for nothing else, and causing family issues even for it. Also, because he did not care for his true mother enough, she was like an animal to him, ie a horse to be worked with no 'thank you' for what it did for him. It's really sad when a child is so ungrateful towards his mother than despite her great love for him, he rebukes her, but that's precisely what he's being doing to her. It kinda fooled his younger brother though, who thought she might be a fish because she had died, but that was another separate case of 'madness'. This odd case is in my opinion what you've already gotten to: that he took all the praise and thanks and work and care that he should have given his mother who loved him, and instead loved his horse. He isn't even there when she dies, but he's with his horse, and this comment is what he's referring to. 1204175817

I think that Darl recognizes that Jewel's love was given to that horse, therofore, takes the place of his mother. Darl does not believe that Addie is a horse, but it's merely an analogy for the absence of his mother-figure in Jewel's life. It sad to think that a mother's love would go unreturned, especially when it was given to an animal, a horse. I mean, I guess it's good to have a companion and a friend, whether it's a horse or not, but at the same time, in no way do I think a horse should be a good enough of a friend to replace your own mother. I'm all for loving animals and pets, they are really great friends to have actually, but I know the difference between an animal and a human being. A horse cannot possibly love you and provide you with what another human can. So why does Jewel do this? I know he worked so hard and devoted all of his time and money to the horse, but it doesn't make sense to me. If Addie was willing to give her love to Jewel unconditionally, what is his reason for loving the horse and clinging to it so much, rather than another member or his family. If he was unloved, then I could understand, but that's not the case. Any thoughts on why Jewel does this? 1204262210