Cody Wilkinson -- All the Pretty Horses

   I agree with most of your analysis of how and when John Grady Cole actually
   grows up over the course of the events in All the Pretty Horses.  If you 
   go back and look at his conversation with the judge in Texas at the end of
   the novel, though, you will see that he's actually seeking reassurance or
   validation for all of the times he has had to do something he does not
   feel comfortable about:

     - not helping Blevins when he might have
     - the way he went against Don Hector's wishes in his relationship
       with Alejandra (which he thinks was a betrayal of the trust Don 
       Hector showed him in hiring him)
     - killing the "cuchillero" in the prison
     - taking the Captain hostage and wanting to kill him too

   Showing that kind of moral sense and being able to acknowledge that his
   actions have been questionable in multiple situations seems like a big 
   piece of evidence to say he has grown up. 

   I'm not sure I see the ending the way you do, though.  Yes, he's riding
   off into the sunset in classic Western movie style.  But aren't we supposed
   ask, what kind of life can he possibly find in 1950's America that will
   live up to what he plainly still wants?      


   Some minor points:

   (1)  "Even how he idolizes the life of a free roaming cowboy ... " -- maybe say 
        "the way" instead of "how"; also, use a hyphen: free-roaming when you are
        putting more than one word together to make an adjective.  Similarly at the
        top of page 2 "high-school-age relationships"

   (2)  Probably want "shackles of parental support" since you are not talking 
        literally about one of the physical devices

   (3)  Page 2:  "Were too impulsive ... " should be We're = we are 

   (4)  Page 3:  "more serious trails" -- did you mean "trials"?

   (5)  Page 4:  "The judge reassures him that there was nothing John Grady could 
        have done that would have saved Blevins life."  -- maybe say "The judge
        reassures John Grady that there was nothing he could have done ... "
        Then "Blevins" should be Blevins' (possessive).  

   (6)  "The novel ends with John Grady riding off on horseback into the 
        sunset the classic Western movie style, alone and completely free."  See
        comment above, and I think you are missing something after "sunset" -- maybe 
        "in the classic Western movie style ... "

   Content:  A-

   Mechanics:  B+