"The Searchers" is your typical western film starring John Wayne, who plays Ethan a western ranger/cowboy. The movie opens with Ethan returning back home a few years after fighting in the civil war to see his brother and brother's family. The opening scene is played out just as described by Tompkins in West of Everything, there is a shot of Ethan riding in on his horse to the lone house sitting in the desert. The backdrop is the desert landscape very vast and open with only the canyons in the distance. Ethan has been traveling through the desert facing its hardships everyday and once he arrives at his brothers his stay gets cut short because the Comanche Indians raid his brother's home setting it on fire and killing some of the family. The one member they do not kill is Debbie; instead they kidnapp her and take her in to live with them. So Ethan and Martin (Ethan's nephew) set out on a journey seeking revenge against the Comanche Indians and to rescue Debbie.
This when I believe the land and landscape begins to take more of a role in the film. Tompkins main argument or point that I believe she is trying to get across in the chapter is that the landscape challenges and tests man to endure many physical hardships. When they are out in the desert they have no control over the weather conditions they are going to come across, at one point they were on their horse riding through several feet of snow then other days they were in the sweltering heat with nothing to hide them from the sun. They cannot bathe themselves regularly, they wear the same clothes for months at a time, and food and water are very scarce. The land is mainly just open desert with very little greenery, just as Tompkins talks about, and water is very rare. There are a few rivers, one of which is seen during the movie when Ethan and his men have to ride their horses across it to escape the group of Indians chasing after them. By facing the land men like Ethan are shaped into what we portray as the western "cowboy" or "ranger." You can tell right from the beginning what the land has done to Ethan because he enters the house very worn out, dirty, and even has a rugged, worn look to his face. Tompkins writes "for the setting by its hardness and austerity seems to have selected its heroes from among strong men in the prime of life, people who have a certain build, complexion, facial type, carriage, gesture, and demeanor; who dress a certain way..." (73). What she is saying is that it is almost like the land chooses the men who can handle the conditions it will throw at them. Ethan meets this description Tompkins makes to the dot; it looks like he has been wearing the same clothes for monthes, he is covered in dust, and his body is built like he can withstand the land.
Another hardship described by Tompkins is the loneliness of the land. It is like they are in a relationship with the land, by being out in the desert for monthes or years at a time it takes away from the companionship every man looks for. It is like they are in a relationship with the land. Ethan comes back home longing to find the one he loves but it is his brother's wife so nothing can be done, so he seems to rather have the land than nothing at all even though it has taken a toll on him. When Martin wants to come with him to find Debbie it is almost as if Ethan tries to push him away from coming. Which makes me wonder if he is doing that because he doesn't enjoy his life as a western ranger and wants Martin to have better. But Martin gives up love a few times throughtout the movie to continue on with Ethan. This goes to show that there is something about the land that draws men to it. Tompkins said that "nature is the one thing larger than man," (72) it is the only thing that man can't have that it wants. The western ranger/cowboy is always the white, Anglo-Saxon male who believes himself to be superior to everything but the land is the one thing that he is not greater than.
The landscape described in both the chapter and seen in "The Searchers" is the desert; it is as plain and simple as you would imagine it to be. It's a vast area of land so wide open that you can see everything going on around you, as Tompkins described there is no hiding. When a man is out in the land riding his horse he feels like he dominates the land, he could be alone for miles but be able to see anyone appearing in the distance. Ethan dominates the land while he is on it and as the movie progresses Martin begins to develop a feel for the land as well. Ethan originally was not very fond of having Martin along with him, but I believe as the movie progresses Martin shapes into a man similar to Ethan due to their time on the land together.
Overall though I believe that Tompkins description of the western land and landscape relates very closely to the western life and land in "The Searchers."
"The Searchers" is your typical western film centered around the alpha-male cowboy, Ethan Edwards. The interaction between the hero and landscape plays an important role in the western genre and is often overshadowed, but The Searchers displays this interaction throughout the film (81). The opening scene is played out just as Tompkins described in "West of Everything." Ethan is riding in on his horse with nothing but the desert behind him and a lone house in front of him. The backdrop is a very vast and open desert landscape with only canyons in the distance.
ReplyDeleteOne point Tompkins makes throughout the chapter on landscape is the way the landscape challenges and tests the men through different physical and mental hardships. When a man is out in the desert he has no control over the weather he will come across or face, he cannot bathe himself regularly, he wears the same clothes for months at a time, and food and water are a scarcity. By facing the land he is shaped into what we portray as the western “cowboy” or “ranger.” The land takes its toll on the cowboys and this is seen in Ethan’s face at the beginning of the film. He enters the house looking worn out, covered in dirt and dust, and has the rugged, worn look to his face. Tompkins writes “for the setting by its hardness and austerity seems to have selected its heroes from among strong men in the prime of life, people who have a certain build, complexion, facial type, carriage, gesture, and demeanor; who dress a certain way…” (73). It is almost as though the land chooses the men who can handle the conditions it brings. Ethan meets Tompkins description of the selected “heroes”. He has been wearing the same clothes for months; he is covered in dirt and dust, and has the strong build and body complexion.
Another hardship the land brings that is described by Tompkins is the loneliness of the land. It is almost as though the hero is in a relationship with the land; by being out in the desert for months or years at a time it takes away from the companionship that every man looks for. When Martin wants to come with Ethan to find Debbie Ethan tries to push him away. However, he ends up allowing Martin to come and multiple times throughout the film Martin gives up love to continue on with Ethan. “The hero imitates the desert’s fierceness in his hard struggle to survive, its loneliness in his solitary existence, and its silence in his frugal way with language” (84). The western landscape is a lonely place and the cowboy gives up companionship with others to match the lands loneliness. This goes to show that there is something about the land that draws men in to it because they are willing to sacrifice for it. Tompkins said that “nature is the one thing larger than man,” (72) it is the one thing man doesn’t have that he wants. The western cowboy is always the white, Anglo-Saxon male who believes himself to be superior to everything, but the land is the one thing he is not superior too. Ethan and Martin are shaped by the land and the challenge it gives them.
As Tompkins described there is no hiding. When a man is out in the land riding his horse he feels like he dominates the land. Ethan dominates the land while he is on it and as the film progresses Martin begins to develop a feel for the land as well. Ethan originally was not very fond of having Martin along with him, but I believe as the film progresses Martin shapes into a man similar to Ethan due to their time in the land together. “In the end, the landscape is everything to the hero; it is both the destination and the way. He courts it, struggles with it, defies it, conquers it, and lies down with it at night” (81).