Doniphon Vs Ransom

Tom Doniphon and Ransom Stoddard are the two key characters in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence, directed by John Ford and filmed in 1962. Tom Doniphon is played by John Wayne, while Ransom Stoddard is played by Jimmie Stewart. In this movie Ransom Stoddard is a well educated attorney from the East who comes to the West to find new opportunity and a place to practice law. He finds out real soon while traveling to the town of Shinbone that the West doesn't really care about law or city folk. Liberty Valence played by Lee Marvin gave Stoddard a dose of reality by robbing him and beating him till he was close to death the first time they encountered one another. So this brings us to the place that we know there has to be a hero to save the
He was a recently qualified lawyer from the East, suffered a brutal introduction to his new home. His stage was jumped by outlaws, resulting in a savage beating as he defended a female passenger. To me this shows a lot of strength of his character and that he was no coward. Luckily he was found by Doniphon, a hard-bitten and sharp-shooting character, and brought into the town of Shinbone. Here Ransom finds out a few facts, a gun is the only law in the area and that the town is in dire need for a man like himself. The result is that Ransom vows to put Valance in jail, using the law not a gun, by using his education and principles. This is hilarious to the people of Shinbone and they feel that Ransom has to be out of his mind and doesn't understand the laws of the West. But it does eventually come to be seen that the people of Shinbone respect and admire his ideas and beliefs. Soon Ransom has the whole town learning to read and write. This is the point where the movie takes an unusual twist and Hallie who is considered to be Tom's girl becomes fond of Ransom.
Tom Doniphon on the other hand is a man who knows and believes the law has to be handled by every man for himself. In regards to his character he is a very silent, laid back, let his actions speak for him type of person. He wants everyone to know he is the toughest man in town and aint no outlaw going to ever scare him or cause him to back down. He is a big, tough, but sentimental
Shortly there is to be an election for two representatives to the state senate, although the real issue is whether the area should become a true state. On one side are the cattlemen (with a hired Valance) who want to keep the land free and on the other are the townspeople who want the protection gained from being in a state. As the vote takes place there is a tense standoff between Ransom and Valance as the latter tries to force his own election. Although he fails in this Valance challenges the lawyer to a gunfight, knowing that Ransom is no match for