The Red Pony - Suggestions for Further Reading

Bernardo, Anthony. "The Red Pony." Masterplots II: American Fiction Series, Rev. Edition. Vol. 5. Pasadena, CA: Salem, 2000. 2077-81.
The novel is evaluated through its principal characters, themes, and critical context as one of Steinbeck's "finest fictions," an introduction to his "distinctive combination of naturalism and transcendentalism." The four selections in the annotated bibliography update the earlier edition.

Etheridge, Chuck. "Raising Cain: Steinbeck's The Red Pony and the Reversal of Biblical Myth." The Betrayal of Brotherhood in the Work of John Steinbeck: Cain Sign. Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen P, 2000. 297-326.
Etheridge traces three elements of the Cain and Abel myth through the four stories of The Red Pony to show "how Jody grows from a naïve, unthinking Abel into a morally aware Cain who, in the process, gains the approval of elders who have withheld it earlier." The novel thus reverses Biblical myth.

Galen, David, ed. Novels for Students. Vol. 17. Detroit: Gale, 2003. 129-42.
Biographical facts, a plot summary of The Red Pony, character descriptions, style, historical context, and a critical overview precede a critical essay by Joyce Hart.

Geffner, David. "Travels with Steinbeck." Globe and Mail [Toronto] 14 June 2003, T: 1+.
After reading "The Red Pony" as a child, Geffner made a promise to himself to visit Steinbeck country, a promise which he realized three decades later as he sorted through his own ambitions to be a novelist. His trip took him to Corral de Tierra, Steinbeck's childhood home, Cannery Row, and an inspiring stop at the Steinbeck family cottage in Pacific Grove.

Hart, Joyce. "The Red Pony." Novels for Students. Vol. 17. Detroit, MI: Gale, 2003. 139-42.
By close reading of Steinbeck's methods of developing Jody's maturity in the four short stories that comprise The Red Pony, deeper appreciation for Steinbeck's writing skill is gained.

Other Resources:

http://www.penguinreaders.com/downloads/9780582434738.pdf

Penguin Readers Fact Sheet on The Red Pony with summaries, vocabulary, and reading activities.

http://www.hollywood.com/tv/The_Red_Pony/5189021

Production history/cast of the 1973 made-for-TV version of The Red Pony.

http://www.ebsqart.com/ArtShows/cmd_91_Exhibition_Entries.htm

Artistic creations based on Steinbecks work, including The Red Pony.

http://www.musicweb-international.com/film/2006/apr06/ed_redpony.html

Review of Aaron Copland's musical score for 1949 The Red Pony film.

http://www.isu.edu/~trinmich/Oregontrail.html

History of the Oregon Trail and facts about western migration in the United States.

http://digilander.libero.it/tepec/falange.htm