Pony

By incorporating elements of magical realism, Pony investigates the intersection of the real and the supernatural and suggests that the distinction between the two categories is not as simple as it seems. Whereas most characters in the novel cannot see ghosts and do not regard them as “real,” Silas argues that his ghost companion, Mittenwool, “is as real as the chair he sits on, and the house [they] live in, and the dog” (15). Likewise, he asserts, “That no one but me can see him, or hear him, doesn’t mean he’s not real” (15). Silas has been able to see ghosts since he was a baby, so their presence does not surprise him. To Silas, ghosts are simply people who have died and not yet moved on to the afterlife. This perspective rationalizes the presence of ghosts as “normal” and realistic. Perhaps because he is sure that ghosts are real, Silas is willing to entertain the possibility that other seemingly supernatural phenomena, such as psychic experiences, could also be real. The novel also explores how strange and mysterious many mundane experiences can be, such as Pa’s former identity as the infamous counterfeiter Mac Boat and the scientific processes behind photography. Ultimately, many of the novel’s scientific phenomena are presented as being stranger than the presence of ghosts, further complicating the distinction between the mundane and the supernatural.

Silas’s father argues that completely denying the supernatural leads to a limited, underdeveloped viewpoint of how the universe works. When Silas’s teacher and classmates bully him for talking to ghosts, Pa says, “She has no idea of the grandeur that lies inside your head, Silas. I’ve known people like that my whole life. They have no imagination. No fire in their minds. […] The world is infinite! And you, young as you are, already know that” (73-74). This statement implies that the automatic dismissal of inexplicable things leads to a lack of understanding of reality, rather than a deeper understanding of it. As the novel repeatedly postulates, appearances are not always as they seem. For example, Silas cannot see the sun at night, but Pa uses the moon to explain that the sun is always there, even when it’s not directly visible.

At times, purely everyday experiences in the novel are portrayed as being even more mysterious than supernatural occurrences, further troubling the distinction between the mundane and the supernatural. The author uses burgeoning scientific fields and processes such as photography to highlight this theme. Although photographic processes may seem like magic to the uninitiated, understanding the principles behind the process reveals it to be a science instead of magic. Likewise, Silas’s tree-shaped lightning scar is described as a “wondrous curiosity of science” because scientists at the time were still figuring out how this process worked (2). Silas also believes human memory to be another extraordinary phenomenon because while he remembers some moments effortlessly and clearly, he struggles to remember others. Silas finds it almost unbelievable that he survived being struck by lightning, and this experience has made him more open-minded about both the reality of the supernatural and the strangeness of the real.

Silas feels that the strangest and most mysterious phenomenon of all is love. When he starts to realize that Pa’s secret former identity is that of Mac Boat, an infamous counterfeiter, Silas reflects, “It was a whole other kind of unknowable. I suppose that somewhere in my heart of hearts, I might have known the truth. […] But the heart is a mysterious country. You can travel thousands of miles […] and still never find anything as unknowable as love” (118). The greatest mystery in the novel is not ghosts, but love, for it motivates people to grow and change in seemingly impossible ways. In fact, many of the ghosts in the novel are actually a result of love because they stay behind to convey a message to a loved one or to continue caring for someone who still needs them.