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Why did Michael Morpurgo decide to write War Horse?

Why did Michael Morpurgo decide to write War Horse?

Morpurgo was inspired to write War Horse after meeting veterans of the Great War, who remembered the suffering of the horses. He wanted to write a book from the horses’ point of view and it became a bestseller that was made into a stage play and a film.

What was War Horse based on?

The movie War Horse is a 2011 American war film directed and co-produced by Steven Spielberg, based on Michael Morpurgo’s 1982 novel of the same name. The Sunday Times points out: “The star of Spielberg’s film [War Horse] is fictional. The horse, Warrior, remains the true equine hero of 1914-1918.”

What is Michael Morpurgo’s inspiration?

Morpurgo’s writing career was inspired by Ted Hughes’ Poetry in the Making, Paul Gallico’s The Snow Goose and Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea. Hughes and another poet, Seán Rafferty, were influential in his career, with Hughes becoming a friend, mentor and neighbour.

What is the purpose of War Horse?

They were used for pulling heavy artillery, transporting supplies and the wounded – and for riding. Horses with hunting experience had an advantage, as did farm horses, which are trained to endure.

Who inspired war horse?

The inspiration for War Horse came from the place that I live, in the middle of Devon, in the village in which it is set, and from an old man who had been to the First World War. This was a man who had been there with horses, had walked the mud and had suffered along with so many of his comrades.

Who wrote 1982 novel War Horse?

Michael Morpurgo
War Horse/Authors

War Horse is a British war novel by Michael Morpurgo. It was first published in Great Britain by Kaye & Ward in 1982. The story recounts the experiences of Joey, a horse bought by the Army for service in World War I in France and the attempts of 15-year-old Albert, his previous owner, to bring him safely home.

Was Joey the War Horse real?

In Michael Morpurgo’s 1982 novel War Horse, Joey, an English plow horse, narrates his own harrowing journey through the horrors of World War I. But for Steven Spielberg’s feature film of War Horse, Joey is simply a real horse, with nothing more than his eyes and body to communicate what he’s going through. …

What was the real name of the horse known as War Horse?

Joey
In Michael Morpurgo’s 1982 novel War Horse, Joey, an English plow horse, narrates his own harrowing journey through the horrors of World War I. For the current blockbuster stage adaptation of War Horse running in London and New York, a masterful crew of puppeteers bring Joey to dazzling, heart-rending life.

Who is Friedrich in War Horse?

Crazy Old Friedrich
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, Warren, or any of the British in battle.

Why did Michael Morpurgo write the book War Horse?

I wrote War Horse because of these experiences, the horror of it and the sadness of it, growing up after the Second World War and seeing the grief in the faces of my family when they remembered my uncle who’d been shot down in the RAF.

Where did the idea for war horse come from?

The inspiration for War Horse came from the place that I live, in the middle of Devon, in the village in which it is set, and from an old man who had been to the First World War. This was a man who had been there with horses, had walked the mud and had suffered along with so many of his comrades. It was an extraordinary conversation.

How old is Michael Morpurgo when he started writing?

Morpurgo, now aged 70, is gentle and polite and has an avuncular manner that delights in telling a story. He’s had plenty of practice, with 120 books to his name since he started writing in 1974.