The Summer of the Beautiful White Horse - Summary, Theme, Character sketch | Class 11 English

Added: 2026-06-03

[00:00:00]Hello students, welcome to English Academy.

[00:00:02]In today's session we will discuss the first chapter of Snapshot Supplementary Reader for Class 11 English.

[00:00:07]The Summer of the Beautiful White Horse Written by William Saroine. In this video we will discuss the summary, theme and character sketches of this lesson.

[00:00:19]Now this story is about two Armenian boys who belong to the Garoghlanian tribe which was famous for its honesty and trust.

[00:00:30]Now this tribe is very poor.

[00:00:32]Everyone is very poor. And these two children are crazy about horse riding.

[00:00:39]So, this story tells how once one of the two cousins keeps a horse with him. So that he can enjoy horse riding. And they think that he is not a thief because he does not sell this horse further for money. So that's why they think that they did not commit any theft. So they are trying to justify their act and keep up the honesty and integrity of their tribe.

[00:01:07]So, let us start. First of all let us see its summary.

[00:01:09]Aram and Murad were two poor boys who belonged to the Arminian Garoglanian family who were known for their honesty and trust since the 11th century.

[00:01:20]One Early Morning When Aram Was Asleep And Was Enjoying Pleasant Dreams His Kaz Murad Shoved Up To His Window With A Beautiful White Horse. I couldn't believe it and was thinking it was a dream, but since there was a little light outside, he knew this for show that the horse was real. As they were poverty struck, he could not believe that the horse was their own. So now these two brothers are named Aram and Murad and they are cousins. And one day Murad knocks on Aram's door window and it is not morning yet. It is dawn time but some light has come.

[00:01:57]So when Aram looks outside to see the horse he doesn't think he's dreaming. He finds out that this is true. But he is confused whether the horse is real or not because they are very poor. And so he ca n't imagine that his brother can afford to buy a horse. He was trying to figure out if the horse had been stolen by his cousin. Murad had come to invite him for a ride along. He asked him to make it quick before everyone in the world woke up. Aram War h close and jumped out of the window and sat behind Murad on the horse.

[00:02:34]Now Aram is surprised that my brother Murad has stolen the horse. Whereas his tribe is known for honesty, truthfulness and sincerity. So Murad tells him to come quickly if he wants to go horse riding and says hurry up before everyone gets up and starts working.

[00:02:53]Aarav wears his clothes and jumps out of the window and sits behind her on her horse.

[00:02:59]They road on the old country side of the area where they live Walnut Avenue. After some time Murad asked him if he wanted to ride the horse alone. Aram asked if he could also ride the horse alone just like him to which Murad said, they would see as it was for his own self. He got to know that Murad had stolen the horse a month ago and had been riding it every morning.

[00:03:25]So he was horse riding and they lived on Walnut Avenue, behind which was the whole rural area. It was country side. So there he was horse riding in the open.

[00:03:36]After some time, Murad told Aram to get down from the horse.

[00:03:40]I want to go riding alone. Aram said that he also wants to go horse riding alone.

[00:03:45]So Murad says that we will see because he wanted to say that whether you will be able to do horse riding alone or not, we will have to see that you do not fall from the horse and then Aram comes to know that Murad had got this horse a month ago and he had stolen it and kept it hidden and every morning he used to go horse riding.

[00:04:08]When I got the chance to ride the horse took him to the wine yard and took him off and ran away. After searching for 30 minutes, Murad finally manages to find the horse and they hide it in the deserted wine yard that had some oats and Alfa Alfa. Murad had a way with everything especially hose. Now what happens when Aram gets a chance to ride a horse alone? The horse runs very fast and goes to the area where vines and fruit trees are planted and runs so fast that the Arab falls down and then both the boys search for the horse for full 30 minutes.

[00:04:47]Murad finds the horse and hides it in a farmer's empty wine yard. There were also some oats and alfalfa lying around that the horse could probably eat to sustain itself.

[00:05:00]Now Murad had a very good way of handling every animal.

[00:05:06]Especially with horses. He New How to Handle Every Type of Animal and Also Humans. Every morning for two weeks they would take the horse for a ride and then hide it again. One day John Byro came to Arms House to talk to his uncle Khosrow, who was an irritated and loud man who shouted it almost everything.

[00:05:25]Byro told him about his missing horse that he had bought for $ for one month he could not find it and he walked for 10 miles to reach their house on Khusro Road at him and told him it does no harm pay no attention to it Byro became irritated by his attitude and went away So Murad had a very expert way of handling all animals and humans.

[00:05:50]So these two boys used to ride this horse every morning for two whole weeks and one day a farmer named John Barrow came to their house.

[00:06:01]He had come to meet his uncle.

[00:06:05]Uncle's name is Khosro. And how is uncle? He is a little angry.

[00:06:10]Remain irritated and speak loudly.

[00:06:12]What do you say? It is no harm, pay no attention to it. He says the same thing for everything.

[00:06:18]Ok? So when John Barrow told them I had bought the horse for $ and I had been looking for it for a whole month. I do n't know where someone stole it. Then that's what Uncle Khoso tells him. It is no harm if you pay no attention to it. So John Barrow gets angry and leaves from there. Because he was thinking that they would sympathize with him. Will give you some ideas to find a horse. But Khusro did not do anything like that. Aram went to Murad and told him about the missing horse of Burrow and asked him not to return the horse until he learned to ride it. Murad told him that it would take one year for him to learn to ride the horse. He further angrily added that they could not be thieves as their tribe was known for honesty and said that they would return the horse after six months. Now the Arab went and told Murad that John Byro had come to our house and he was telling Uncle Khosoof that his horse was lost, then he told him not to return the horse until I learn horse riding. So Murad says, Murad, look how right he is becoming. He says, hey, it will take you a year to learn horse riding.

[00:07:28]We are not thieves. We ca n't keep his horse for so long. We will return his horse after 6 months.

[00:07:35]One day on their way back to hide the horse at the hidden spot they met John Barrow who was going back to town. He talks to them and carefully examines the horse. He is admitted at the horse looked exactly like the one he had, but since he knows the boy's parents and the honesty of their family, he didn't believe that they had his missing horse. He assumed it was a twin horse. Murad managed to let Byro assume that it was not his horse. So, they went away. The Next Morning Both of Them Took the Horse Back to Borough Vineyard and Put It in the Bann. The Dogs Followed Them All Along Quietly and They Left the Place. Now one day when the boys were going to hide the horse after horse riding, they met John Barrow on the way and after examining the horse very carefully, he said that it is exactly like my horse which has gone missing. But he says that you people are known for your truthfulness and honesty. So maybe this is my horse's twin. This is not the horse I had. And Murad also convinces him that yes, this is not your horse.

[00:08:37]But he knows that he has stolen the horse. So the next day he leaves the horse at John Barrow's vineyard and quietly leaves. The Same Afternoon John Barrow Visited Them to Tell the Mother About His Horse That Had Returned. He Was Happy and Was Astonished to See the Horse's Better Temper and That It Was Stronger Than Ever. Uncle Kostrob Again Road Quiet Man Quiet Your horse has been returned Pay no attention to it So on the same day John Barrow goes to his house in the afternoon to give him the good news that his horse has returned and says I am very happy and surprised because my horse has become better than before. His temperament has improved and he has become very strong.

[00:09:25]Uncle Khusro shouts again. He says shut up, shut up. Your horse is back, just don't pay attention to it.

[00:09:33]So he always speaks like this about everything.

[00:09:38]So with this our story ends.

[00:09:41]What incident happened between Aram and Murad with the horse and then how they returned the horse to John Barrow because they were not thieves. Now let's see what the themes of the chapter are. Desire versus morals.

[00:09:55]We first see this in Boys. His desire is to do horse riding.

[00:10:00]But at the same time, his moral is that his family is famous for its honesty and trust. That's why they can't steal.

[00:10:09]So to fulfill his desire of horse riding, he takes someone's horse.

[00:10:14]But he thinks in his mind that he did not steal the horse because he will return it to him after riding it for some time.

[00:10:24]We saw honesty and integrity in both these boys.

[00:10:27]He wanted to go horse riding so much. He also took away a farmer's horse. Used to ride it also.

[00:10:34]But then finally he returned the horse to him. We see childhood innocence in Aram and Murad who are so passionate about horse riding that they steal someone's horse.

[00:10:51]His family is so poor that they cannot afford to buy a horse. But at the same time, those children are also very crazy about horse riding. So in this we see his innocence. And then family pride. We see family pride in the Garoganian tribe, where all the members work hard and try not to tarnish their family's reputation. We saw trust and forgiveness in the character of John Barrow. As soon as John Barrow sees the horse, he knows it is his horse. But to maintain the reputation of Aram and Murad's family, he says that your family is very honest and sincere.

[00:11:34]Known for its trust. So you did not steal and that is why he lets them go from there and accepts their words that this is his horse's twin horse.

[00:11:46]Temptation versus Conscience. We see how tempted both boys are to not return the horse. Keep riding horses until Aram also learns horse riding well. But his consciousness awakens when he meets John Barrow and John Barrow recognizes that this is his horse. After that his conscience does not allow him to keep the horse with him.

[00:12:09]So he goes the next morning and returns his horse to his farm. Now let's see Aram's character sketch. Aram is younger in age.

[00:12:19]He is 9 years old. Murad's younger cousin. He is very practical. And that is why he is different from Murad. He is not crazy like his elder brother. He knew that the reputation of his tribe was very important and had to be maintained.

[00:12:37]He loves the world and he loves horses very much and he is very eager to learn horse riding.

[00:12:46]When he finds out that his elder cousin has a horse, he also wants to go horse riding. This is his passion. He knew that Murad had stolen the horse. But how did he justify his act and say that it was not theft because he was not making money by selling the horse to someone else.

[00:13:05]He was only using the horse for horse riding and he would return the horse after some time.

[00:13:13]Now he was jealous seeing how well Murad could handle the horse and he also wanted to make a similar connection. Let's see the character sketch of Murad. He is older than Aram. He is 13 years old and it is believed that he was born with the qualities of Uncle Khusro as he is equally crazy.

[00:13:37]He knows how to handle animals and humans.

[00:13:40]He domesticated John Byro's wild horse. Made him sober.

[00:13:46]His health also improved. And once he even repaired the injured wing of a robin bird.

[00:13:53]He knows how to deal with horses, dogs, animals and makes them feel comfortable and safe. He took such good care of John Barrow's horse that when he returned the horse, John Barrow said that now the temperament of my horse has improved and its health has also become strong. He loved the horse very much.

[00:14:16]That's why he broke the rules, stole the horse because he wanted to go horse riding.

[00:14:21]He did not tell Aram that he had stolen the horse because he did not want Aram to get into any trouble and when he has a confrontation with John Barrow and John Barrow recognizes that it is his horse, the next morning he goes and returns the horse to John Barrow's farm because he does not want to spoil the honor and reputation of his family. Now let's see the character sketch of John Barrow. He's a farmer whose horse gets stolen and he's Assyrian but he starts speaking Armenian because that's the language everyone in that area speaks. Now his horse was stolen, so he had to walk a long distance and after walking he reached the house of these two boys. That poor guy is very simple and when by chance he meets both the boys and they have his horse, then he recognizes the horse but to maintain the reputation of his family, he says that this cannot be my horse because you belong to a very respectable Garogaranian tribe and you cannot steal, so this must be the twin horse of my horse and saying this he goes away from there.

[00:15:43]He wants the boys to accept the truth and say that this is his horse. Then he sees that these boys return his horse the very next day and then he says that yes, both the boys maintained the reputation of their tribe.

[00:15:59]Now let's see the character sketch of Uncle Khusro.

[00:16:03]He is very huge. He has big moustaches and his head is full of hair.

[00:16:09]He has a very bad tapper. He is angry. Remain irritated. He remains very impatient. Once his house caught fire.

[00:16:18]His son comes to the barber shop to tell him that there is a fire at home. Even then he says it is no matter but no attention is paid to it. So for them this is the answer to every problem.

[00:16:29]Pay no attention to it. So they don't have any problem with anything.

[00:16:35]Now he left Armenia and came to live in Central Valley California and his entire tribe settled there.

[00:16:46]Perhaps this was why he remained frustrated and angry and kept saying all the time, it is no matter but no attention to it. He had no problem with anything and that's why nothing was that big. There was no serious problem. But he maintained the honesty of his tribe very closely. With this our session is complete. We discussed the summary, themes, and character sketches of The Summer of the Beautiful White Horse Lesson.

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