Humanism Amidst War: A Reading of Michael Morpurgo’s War Horse

Abstract

War Horse is a war novel set in First World War Britain. Authored by Michael Morpurgo, the novel is a very poignant tale of the human-animal companionship that transcends boundaries of human language and the normally understood and highly limiting definition of human-animal bond. The protagonist, Joey, is a horse that passes into the hands of a young lad, Albert. The setting of the narrative is the First World War in France, when the British cavalry desperately needed horses, and the novel is about Joey's transition from being a farm horse to a war horse. Millions of horses became victims of the cavalry thanks to the overzealous armies that employed the hapless animals for purposes of war. The noble creatures were forced to become beasts of burden due to man’s greed for power. Human-animal relationship is vividly portrayed in the special bond between Albert and Joey. Donna Haraway’s notion of companion species in When Species Meet informs much of the theoretical construct of the paper. The framework employed is Posthuman, multispecies family concepts from a political and ethical standpoint. The key message is that animals should be respected and treated empathetically.