The Black Stallion is a book of contrasts. Alec begins by leaving one highly populated place—Bombay, India—in anticipation of disembarking in another—New York City. Instead, he ends up on an island where he is the only human being. When working with the Black, Alec partners with the retired Henry and the even older Jake in a contrast of a young boy bonding with older men. Napoleon, a draft horse who has never known a day of freedom, becomes the stablemate of the Black, who refuses to be tamed or constrained. Such contrasts are the framework of the novel.

The starkest contrast Farley draws, however, is between what is tame and what is wild. Alec, courteous and dutiful, is a tame person. Indeed, almost every human being in the story is tame in that they are extremely civil and cooperative. The few somewhat wild humans—a panicked passenger on the Drake, rowdies who want to see the Mystery Horse—suffer in Farley’s descriptions. Contrasted against these tame humans is a perpetually wild animal. The Black cooperates, but only with Alec. The Black’s docile relationship with Alec should not be mistaken for growing domestication, as Farley’s characters are quickly reminded that the Black is not and will not be tamed.