Cities of the Plain

The cowboys of Cities of the Plain are bound to nature, but they are not unaware of its brutality. The unforgiving life they lead is an extension of the difficulty of life out on the plain, an environment in which animals and people struggle to survive. The hunt for the wild dogs illustrates the constant, brutal struggle. For the men on the ranch, dogs are both friends and enemies. While the wild dogs are killing calves on the ranch, the hunting dogs are tamed animals used to locate and destroy the wild dogs. The chase is a brutal, day-long event. Billy and John Grady pay no mind to the frequency of death: They chase down and kill the dogs who, in turn, have been chasing down and killing cattle. They are part of the same brutal cycle of life, in which the same species and the inhabitants of the same environment are familiar with the frequency and the brutality of death. Only when a dog is violently beheaded, do Billy or John Grady pause to reflect on their actions. However, they have no regrets, only bemusement at the brutality of their actions. The brutality of nature is portrayed as so commonplace and so ubiquitous that it is rarely worth considering. Whether killing dogs, seeing an owl crash through a windshield, or putting down a lame horse, the men acknowledge that nature is brutal and harsh. At the same time, there is no other way they would rather live.

The brutality of nature is not limited to animals and humans. The environment itself creates harsh conditions. The men live on a plain where the rains have failed over several years, and the years-long drought threatens Mac’s ranch. The environment is so brutal that it can no longer sustain the scant life that inhabits the area. However, the true brutality of the drought is that it does not just threaten the lives of the inhabitants but the entire culture of the local people. The real victim of the drought is the cowboys’ lifestyle; once Mac’s ranch closes down because it is no longer profitable, they have nowhere else to go. Like the wild dogs, the owl, and the other deaths on the harsh land, the cowboys’ way of life is not sustainable in a dry, arid land. The environment has become so hostile that it can eradicate an entire culture and destroy a way of life.

The brutality of nature is contrasted with the brutality of man. While nature is portrayed as vast and indifferent in its brutality, humans are more personal and emotional. The murder of Magdalena and the knife fight between Eduardo and John Grady demonstrate how humans can torture and murder one another for fun or vengeance. For all of the death on the plain, nature never takes pleasure in its brutality. Instead, brutality is simply a fact of life in a challenging environment. The difference between the brutality of humans and the brutality of nature is that humans are much more vindictive and torturous. Humans mean to hurt one another, and they deliberately inflict pain for pain’s sake. This form of petty cruelty is absent from nature. The theme of nature’s brutality shows how nature may be harsh but is ultimately indifferent. On the other hand, humans have agency and control over their actions yet choose to be even more brutal than the most violent parts of nature. The cowboys’ appreciation for nature includes the brutality that they witness firsthand. In a world filled with violence, they prefer the indifferent brutality of the natural world rather than the selective malice of humanity.