War Horse Characters

A Horse is a Horse (Of Course, Of Course)Yep, War Horse is told from the point of view of a horse. Namely Joey, "a spindly-looking half-Thoroughbred colt" (1.2). Talk about an interesting narrative...

Horse Whisperer Joey tells us early on that "only one man was ever [his] master" (1.3). That's one faithful pet.Joey and Albert's relationship is like that of another famous boy/animal duo: Lassie...

Topthorn is everything you would look for in a horse—or a sports car: a "shining black stallion" (5.16) and "an eight-horsepower horse" (5.19). He and Joey become BFFs through circumstance (Topth...

Brushes His Teeth with a Bottle of Jack We only have to spend four chapters with Albert's drunk father, but that's more than enough to realize we don't like him. Before you can say "Natty Light", t...

A Nicholl for Your ThoughtsMorpurgo's Author's Note introduces us to Nicholls as though he's a historical figure who painted a picture of a forgotten war hero: Joey the horse. Note to Shmoopers: th...

Crazy Old Friedrich is the "kind old gunner" (12.6) in charge of Joey and the rest of the horses taken from Emilie by the Germans. Joey spends more time with him than he does with Nicholls, Stewart...

Emilie's Outpost Sold to soldiers and captured by the opposing army, Joey finds himself at the mercy of the Germans. But they're kind to him and allow him and Topthorn to work on a farm belonging t...

Emilie's GrandpapaEmilie's Grandpapa outlives young Emilie and saves Joey from becoming gelatin in the book's final act. Although Emilie has died, Grandpapa sticks around to give us a little bit of...

They're No Gentlemen You want the read moral of War Horse?: never trust a pale, thin man. Like the Gentlemen from Buffy they will steal your hearts (or your horses) and leave you for dead. How...

Other than Joey and Topthorn, most of the horses in War Horse are pretty flat characters. But they serve to show that, just like people, different horses have different personalities.ZoeyKind old Z...