This is the 185th article of Zhishutang, the length of the article is 2995 words, and it takes 5-6 minutes to read.
Anna Sewell was born in Norfolk, England in 1820 and died in 1878. Out of strong dissatisfaction with human cruelty to animals, she wrote Black Horse to persuade people to be kind to horses. It took her 6 years to write when she was seriously ill, and it was the only book she wrote. Her greatest desire to create Black Horse was to arouse kindness and compassion in people, so that they knew how to treat animals.
Portrait of Anna Hugher
The life of Anna Hugher
Anna was born on 30 March 1820 in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England. Mother Mary Wright Hughell was a popular poet and writer of children's literature, and father Isaac Philip Hughell was a businessman who ran a small shop.
In 1822, Isaac was encouraged to be deceived in his investment, fell into financial difficulties, and the family had to move to Darston for ten years. In Dalston, mother Mary published her first book of poems, full of instruction. Mary is also responsible for educating her children at home, hoping to earn money through writing to meet the education of her two siblings. She single-handedly took care of Anna's education before she went to school, teaching Anna to read aloud, and Anna also showed a love of history, animals and nature.
Birthplace of Anna Hugher
In 1832, Anna moved with her family to Stock Newington, north London. Here, Anna officially enrolled for the first time. At the age of 14, Anna accidentally fell on the way from school and seriously sprained her ankles, and despite receiving prompt and adequate treatment, her foot injuries continued to get worse day by day, until she finally had to spend most of her time at home.
In 1836, his father, Isaac, led the family to the southern English city of Brighton due to job changes. During this time, Anna's parents tried their best to provide her with various treatments, but Anna's situation became worse and worse. But in her diary in 1844, Anna stated that it was a very happy time. Under the care of her parents, she "traveled" to almost all the hot spring resorts in Europe, and while treating foot injuries, she also made many friends.
In 1845, the Hughele family moved to Lansing, where Anna fell completely in love with horses. Every day, she would "wander" around in a carriage made of a small black horse, and carry her father back and forth between home and the station. The little dark horse, named "Beth", is Hughe's family pet horse, anna especially likes to talk to Beth, as if Beth can understand, she even needs to move the reins in her hand, she can make Beth obediently pick up the stone on the ground.
The Hughes
In 1858, the Hughes settled in Wick. Here, Anna's daily task is to assist her mother in creating together, helping her mother organize the manuscript, and thus honing her writing skills.
In 1867, Anna moved with her family to Old Caton on the outskirts of Norwich. Anna was 47 years old.
On November 6, 1871, Anna spoke for the first time in her diary about her creation of The Black Horse, in which she wrote: "I am writing about the life of a horse and preparing toys and boxes for Christmas. However, Anna's foot injuries became more and more serious, and she spent almost all of her time at home writing with a pencil, while also helping her mother copy the manuscript. She once wrote: "I can only stay at home now, sit on the couch, when I think it's okay, I will always think about writing stories, I think I will finish this little book, I want to achieve a special wish through it, that is, to let more people sympathize, understand and treat horses well." 」 ”
Anna Hugher in her later years
On 24 November 1877, when Anna gave her six-year manuscript of Black Horse to Jarrold and Sons Ltd., she was paid only £40. As she wrote in her diary, "I just wanted people to learn to empathize, understand, and be kind to horses through this book, and I didn't even think about how it would sell well." The publishing house published the book at the end of the same year, which immediately caused a huge sensation.
Perhaps Anna could have made a lot of money and a huge reputation with Black Horse, but she would never have had the opportunity to discuss it with the publisher. Anna Hughe died of tuberculosis and hepatitis on 25 April 1878 at the age of 58, just five months after the publication of Black Horse, and the novel became the only work of her life.
Anna Hugher Tombstone
"Black Horse"
The protagonist of the novel, "Black Horse", is a beautiful black horse, who has lived in a noble family since childhood, has been well trained, has a docile personality, is kind, and is smart and witty, and the owner likes him very much. But the good times did not last long, and the master's family changed, and the black horse had to be sold. He was sold many times in a row, and came into contact with all kinds of people: there were drunks who drank too much wine and took horses, there were rental carriage drivers who smoked whips at every turn, there were barbarians who did not take animals seriously, and there were good families who regarded animals as friends, and they tasted the sweetness, sourness, bitterness and bitterness of the world. Through its own eyes and in a beautiful language, the black horse tells a beautiful story, so that the reader can feel: animals understand human nature, how we treat animals, animals will treat us.
Animal feelings for humans can be felt in the conversation between a black horse and a war horse:
"Oh, it must have been autumn. In the morning, we got up very early. It was as if everyone was excited about today's battle, as if it were going to be a decisive day. As soon as the enemy opened fire, we were ordered to line up. My master, one of the bravest warriors, led us to the front line of the battle and said to me, 'Captain, today's battle is fierce, but we will not give up this battle!' ’”
"Then the commander shouted orders us to launch an onslaught against the enemy. We all run forward as quickly as we can, paying little attention to the dangers we face. I saw my companions on the left and right fall. My master kept letting me rush forward, and as we charged forward, the guns and enemy shouts became louder and louder. I saw more English warhorses running with me to my left and right. Like my master said, no one is going to give up. Seeing this, I even became braver. I started running fast, thinking I was going to fly soon. But then I saw that directly in front of me was the most powerful Russian (army) firepower. You can only see the smoke of war and the fire soaring into the sky. Just as my master was loudly encouraging his companion, I heard something passing over my head, and my master suddenly fell silent and did not move. He loosened the reins in his hand and fell to the ground.
"I didn't want to leave him there and let all the other horses step over him, but I couldn't help him with anything. I didn't have more time to think about it, because a moment later another British soldier jumped on my back and urged me to run. ”
"I fought for the rest of the day until the enemy defeated us. I was surrounded by blood and cries of pain. Most of my friends were killed. ”
"What about those who are still alive like you?" What happened then? I asked.
"We were brought back to England along with the horses that had been sacrificed. The horses, which could not walk due to their injuries, were shot. I suspect that only a quarter of all the horses that took part in the battle that day returned to England alive. ”
"After that battle, I continued to fight in the army for many years, but I never admired and loved any of my masters as I admired and loved the master who sacrificed that day. I was wounded several times, but none too badly, and when the fighting was finally over, I returned to England and was as fit as I had been before joining the army. ”
"Do you know why those countries are fighting, or why you're fighting?" I asked.
"No! That's just something humans do. But the enemy must be very hateful, because so many people have to go so far to fight. ”
One man, one horse, a life of gentleness
Mother Mary has always had a great influence on Anna, Anna not only inherited her mother's character but also taught people to always have a humble and tolerant attitude. The Black Horse remains absolutely loyal to his master from beginning to end, even if it is his abusive master and no longer his master's master. Although humans always make mistakes, the friendship between horses has always shone with courage and dedication.
Anna doesn't just portray the villains and heroes of humanity, she pays more attention to the many unavoidable social problems reflected in the eyes of the black horse—the greed and vanity of the rich, the financial difficulties of coachmen, and alcohol (drunk driving) that can end human and animal life at any time, which is still a serious problem that modern human society cannot ignore.
The bumpy life of the black horse makes the reader can't help but follow the undulating plot to deal with various "masters": good, bad, gentle, cruel... It's easy to jump from "man-horse relationship" to "man-to-man relationship" and learn how our kindness and concern for others can bring warmth to others. Some of the depictions in the story may be a little sad, but fortunately, the life of the black horse will allow us to see the animals from difficulties to light.
As a 10-year-old British reader put it after reading the story: "I feel like a black horse... I really couldn't help but cry... But I prefer the beautiful ending of the black horse..."
Through Black Horse, the resilient and kind Anna Hughell is destined to deliver an eternal message to generations of children around the world: as long as you care for and treat animals with great tenderness.
Reference source of text: People's Literature Publishing Company Foreign Literature