Human beings seldom think of animals- their feelings, joys & comforts. They assume that animals have been created for the sole purpose of serving their human masters. This kind of blinkered vision is the reason behind the unending cruelty to animals. People keep dogs chained for hours, force freedom loving birds to flap uncomfortably in tiny cages, overload their cattle & donkeys & whip horses mercilessly; the list is unending.

But fortunately for animals, there are a few hums ( including me)who think of them & speak up against their plight at the hands of other humans.

One of the first defenders of animals was Anna Sewell who wished to write a book ’’to induce kindness, sympathy & an understanding treatment of horses’’ & so Black Beauty was written. Anna was so ill that she was confined to bed, writing only a few lines at a time. Often her mother had to transcribe her faint scrawls into fair copy. the book was published in 1877 & Anna died a few months later.

Black Beauty is based on a horse named Bessie, owned by Anna’s brother. Her own pony, whom she loved very much, was the inspiration behind Merrylegs.

Black Beauty is the story of a horse narrated by the horse himself. This horse Beauty is fortunate enough to be born on the farm of a kind farmer. Beauty is well looked after & trained during his youth. Later he’s sold to Mr.Gordon, where he’s loved & looked after by the kind groom. Beauty is able to repay the love & kindness of his mistress & master by doing his best when the doctor had to be fetched in a hurry. But soon Beauty has to prepare for a change- He is sold to his master’s friend. In his new place Beauty has the first taste of the cruel bearing reins. Beauty is injured in an accident & as a result is sold to a man who rents out horses( much as people rent out cars today). This is a truly miserable time for Beauty- rented out by the day, he is forced to endure the ignorance of the drivers. The conditions in the stable are also unsatisfactory. Luckily release comes when Beauty is sold to a kind gentleman. But here the grooms neglect Beauty & inadequate food & bad hygiene ruin his health.

Beauty is sold to a kind & loving London cab driver but after three years of the hard work, he is sold. A corn dealer buys him & in a short while, Beauty collapses under the weight of the overloaded cart. This time when Beauty is sold, luck is in his favour & a kind man buys him. Under the care & attention the man lavishes on him, Beauty is soon his old self. He is handed over to the care of some ladies who are so pleased with Beauty’s gentle nature that they keep him, promising never to sell him. Beauty finally finds a home that promises good food, love & proper attention.

Black Beauty is narrated from the point of view of horses. Anna Sewell uses this strategy very effectively & humans are made aware of the animal’s attitudes & ideas. Ginger, another horse, tells Beauty how she was badly treated when she was young, as a result of which she distrusts men. Beauty himself witnesses the death of a horse in a hunting accident. The horses cannot understand hunting as a sport nor can they understand war. The reflections of the horses on war, help man realise the utter futility of war. Beauty passes through the hands of several masters & realises that if man showed some kindness to animals, they would willingly do his bidding.

Man however chooses to use his superior power to tame animals. Black Beauty did not earn the author much money but it made a deep impact on people. It was the first book to use animals to tell a story & it forced humans to reconsider their behaviour to animals. The bearing- rein went out of fashion & a group of people , whose concern was animal welfare, had their say. Reading the book is both an interesting experience. At the same time the few good animal lovers you meet, will restore your faith in humans.

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