ALL THE KING’S HORSES
THEME
 The moral dilemma of
sacrificing one for the benefit
of the many
PLOT OVERVIEW
 American’s and Kelly’s family were prisoners in Asia
 Pi Ying agrees to let them go if Kelly wins at chess, using human chess pieces
 Kelly begins to sacrifice his troops
 Pi Ying gets killed by his concubine
 Barzov takes over the game and begins playing against Kelly
 Kelly makes the ultimate sacrifice (son) and wins the game
 Barzov lets them go, but warns of other people willing to play with human lives
QUOTES
 “Now he recognized the eerie calm – an old wartime friend – that
left only the cold machinery of his wits and senses alive. It was the
narcotic of generalship. It was the essence of war” (95).
 “There will be others like Pi Ying eager to play you with live men,
and I hope I will again be privileged to be an observer” (110).
CHARACTERIZATION
 Kelly – he has the capability to remove his emotions from the
situation; willing to sacrifice one for the greater good; desensitized
from war; experience in war has changed him, puts family in danger,
but ultimately saves them
 Barzov – mediator, but at the same time controlling to Pi Ying;
better sense of morality; plays by rules and doesn’t want to be
sacrificing lives but still wants to be involved in the battle
IMAGERY
 Chess
• Representative of war, strategy and sacrifices
• Shows disadvantage of some people because they have to sacrifice
their own friends as opposed to being removed from war and being
able to simply regard them as “wooden players”
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE
 Symbols
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Wooden pieces
Concubine – betrayal and emotional attachment
Son – sacrifices made during war
Balcony – removed from war, higher position and advantage
 Metaphor
• Mathematical terminology (p. 102) “if x is dead, the rest shall live”
• Shows strategy and ability to understand the situation completely