How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
When I was young I was taken to a place where those cruel things were done. I was tied up and made fast so that I could not stir, and then they came and cut off my long, beautiful tail, through the flesh and through the bone, and took it away. (10.3)
This vivid image comes from Birtwick horse Sir Oliver's story—he tells the other Birtwick horses about the horror of having his tail docked as a colt. It's particularly effective because he actually includes the detail of cutting through flesh and bone. Ouch. This isn't the only time we'll learn about animal cruelty done just for fashion, either.
Quote #2
There was a dreadful sound before we got into our stalls: the shrieks of those poor horses that were left burning to death in the stable—it was very terrible and made both Ginger and me feel very bad! (16.20)
In this painful scene, the stable at the inn where Beauty and Ginger are staying catches fire, all due to a lit pipe left in the hayloft. This moment of carelessness causes the stable to go up in flames, and Beauty and Ginger are barely rescued in time. Unfortunately, two of the other horses are too afraid to leave and die in the fire. This detail of the dying horses' shrieks makes their pain super real.
Quote #3
When I returned from my work, my neck and chest were strained and painful, my mouth and tongue tender, and I felt worn and depressed. (23.12)
When Beauty is first forced to wear a bearing rein at Earlshall, he can't believe the suffering it causes. His descriptions of the physical suffering that horses endure when the bearing rein is used makes this practice seem outrageous. Does Beauty's experience make you angry?