The American Old West: Myth Versus Reality
Ray
Miss Dae Selcer
ELA III
22 December, 2011
The American Old West: Myth versus Reality
Western, a genre of short stories that are set in the American west, primarily in the late of the 19th century (“Western” 598), and still being told until today by films, televisions, radio, and other art works. The major of moving to the west was because of the Homestead Act, 1862 (“U.S. Statues at Large” 392) which would give lands to people who stayed there for five years. This lead to a huge wave of immigrants moved to the West, and they had to face to many hardships and conflicts such as Indian attacks, tornadoes, blizzards, and illnesses.
Yet the portrayal of westerns is always very romanticized compared to the real Old West. This paper is the battle of myth and reality, showing how important of westerns to American culture, facts about the American West, and subsequently analyze how was western romanticized in the books: Shane, The Tall Tales, and the movie Tombstone.
THE IMPORTANCE OF WESTERN IN AMERICAN CULTURE
Every place has its own culture. Japan has Samurais, Europe has Knights, and America has Cowboys. These classes all are heroic men, symbols of their own countries in a specific time of history, and are romanticized in literature. Noticeably, cowboys differ from the rest; they are not soldiers. But why are they compared to those military nobilities? As a young country likes the U.S., western is unique in its own way that makes cowboys became an important part of the American culture. As far as I’m concerned, Americans don’t have any original art except western movies and jazz (Eastwood). Since the history of the U.S. is only 300 years, it can be seen as one of the youngest countries. It also is a country of multiculturalism so that the Americans do not have many original art except like the other countries. This is why Americans romanticized cowboy as legends and the western stories are still being told over, over, and
Miss Dae Selcer
ELA III
22 December, 2011
The American Old West: Myth versus Reality
Western, a genre of short stories that are set in the American west, primarily in the late of the 19th century (“Western” 598), and still being told until today by films, televisions, radio, and other art works. The major of moving to the west was because of the Homestead Act, 1862 (“U.S. Statues at Large” 392) which would give lands to people who stayed there for five years. This lead to a huge wave of immigrants moved to the West, and they had to face to many hardships and conflicts such as Indian attacks, tornadoes, blizzards, and illnesses.
Yet the portrayal of westerns is always very romanticized compared to the real Old West. This paper is the battle of myth and reality, showing how important of westerns to American culture, facts about the American West, and subsequently analyze how was western romanticized in the books: Shane, The Tall Tales, and the movie Tombstone.
THE IMPORTANCE OF WESTERN IN AMERICAN CULTURE
Every place has its own culture. Japan has Samurais, Europe has Knights, and America has Cowboys. These classes all are heroic men, symbols of their own countries in a specific time of history, and are romanticized in literature. Noticeably, cowboys differ from the rest; they are not soldiers. But why are they compared to those military nobilities? As a young country likes the U.S., western is unique in its own way that makes cowboys became an important part of the American culture. As far as I’m concerned, Americans don’t have any original art except western movies and jazz (Eastwood). Since the history of the U.S. is only 300 years, it can be seen as one of the youngest countries. It also is a country of multiculturalism so that the Americans do not have many original art except like the other countries. This is why Americans romanticized cowboy as legends and the western stories are still being told over, over, and
Cited: Savage, William Sherman. Blacks in the West. Green Wood Press. Westport Connecticut. 1976. Print. Franz, Joe B. 1969. The Frontier Tradition: An Invitation to Violence. In The History of Violence in America, edited by Hugh D. Graham and Ted R. Gurr, 127–54. New York: New York Times Books.