Billy The West Analysis

The second half of the nineteenth century in the western region of the United States is commonly referred to as the period of the “wild west”. This title is given in reference to the largely lawless nature of the region that arose after the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 which opened the frontier west of the Mississippi river to settlers from the established colonies on the east coast. The media flourished during this time as the rest of the United States became intrigued by the way those in the wild west lived their lives. Newspapers began to print articles and stories exaggerating the romance and violence of the time, and soon enough, in the 20th century an entire western film genre was created following Edwin Porter’s The Great Train Robbery
Bonney, was an infamous wild west gunfighter who participated in New Mexico’s Lincoln County War and is known to have officially killed eight men. His first arrest in 1875 was for stealing food, the second for stealing clothing and firearms five months later. Following his second arrest, he escaped from jail and fled from New Mexico territory into Arizona Territory, which made him not only a fugitive but also an outlaw in both states. In 1877, he murdered a blacksmith and fled back to New Mexico territory from Arizona territory. Back in New Mexico, he joined the Regulators, a wild west posse that fought in the Lincoln County War. In April of 1878, the Regulators killed three men, including a sheriff and his deputy. Billy the Kid and two other Regulators were charged with killing all three men. Billy the Kid’s name spread across the country in December of 1880 when the Las Vegas Gazette and the New York Sun published stories of his crimes. (Metz
At the same instant Maxwell whispered to me, “That's him!”. Simultaneously the Kid must have seen, or felt, the presence of a third person at the head of the bed. He raised quickly his pistol, a self-cocker, within a foot of my breast. Retreating rapidly across the room he cried: “Quien es? Quien es?” (Who's that? Who's that?). All this occurred in a moment. Quickly as possible I drew my revolver and fired, threw my body aside, and fired again. The second shot was useless; the Kid fell dead. He never spoke. A struggle or two, a little strangling sound as he gasped for breath, and the Kid was with his many victims” (Garrett