One of the strongest relationships in our country’s culture between man and nature is the relationship between the cowboy and the land. When one pictures a cowboy you cannot picture him without the vast desert, pale blue sky, and bright sun beating down on his back. Their relationship is one that is very strong. The landscape that the cowboy is known to be associated with is one that is very dry and with scarce plant life. With not much around the cowboy can see for miles. The landscape if filled with orange sandy hills, high flat top mountains, and blue sky that goes on forever. In West of Everything, by Jane Tompkins, she explains how the landscape gives the cowboy his tough and heroic appeal. “It is an environment inimical to human beings, where a person is exposed, the sun beats down, and there is no place to hide…no shelter, no water, no rest, no comfort…Be brave, be strong enough to endure this…you will become like this-hard, austere, sublime.” Without the landscape what would the cowboy be to us? The cowboy is who he is because he endures such hardships in nature that no normal person could overcome. The cowboy shows no weakness and does not let the landscape conquer him. Thus proving his tough heroicness being able to overcome challenges and being able to adapt to any situation at any moment. This is evident in the movie “The Searchers,” by John Ford, where we meet John Wayne’s character Ethan. He has rough skin and an attitude to match. His long experience with the landscape made him this way. He knew the way of the land as well as seen in the movie. He used his veteran skills on the journey when many doubted and questioned what he did and where he would go. He knew what to do and that was important to the survival of the group that stuck with him.
The landscape however provides much more to the cowboy than just scenery and making him physically tough. With the land of the West being so vast and open it adds a new element of survival for the cowboy. As Tompkins explains, “when a lone horseman appears on the desert plain, he dominates it instantly, his view extends as far as the eye can see, and enemies are exposed to his gaze.” The landscape provides protection. Not like forest an enemy does not have many places to hide in the desert, there are no shadows. This is also seen in the movie as well. At the beginning the man is outside with his gun looking for Indians and sees the reflection of light from the sun by an Indians gun off in the distance. This situation would give any cowboy an advantage, however in this case Uncle Ethan the “cowboy” was not there to protect them. This situation is also shown in the movie again when the Searchers are out looking for the little girl and see an Indian mounted on his horse staring at them. He has nowhere to hide nor is he afraid of this. This is then followed by two groups of Indians riding alongside the Searchers. The searchers have nowhere to hide because of the landscape; their only way of escape is a river.
The landscape is also used to describe the people and mostly the men of the west and of the time. The desert makes the men rough and tough compared to the women who according to Tompkins are, “dusky, and dressed up are not harsh and hard and pure like the desert.” It is very rare to find a cowgirl, so a majority of the women during that time once settled primarily work within the home and on the farm. That is nothing compared to what the men go through. In the movie the men do care about the women’s soft sensitive side. This is seen when Ethan pushes the older woman back into the house when the fight breaks out. The woman is mad and wants to see it and yells out fighting tips before she is pushed in. Her hidden rough side comes out provided by the landscape, but Ethan wants to protect her grisliness. The landscape provides so much more to the cowboy which also helps to make the relationship between the two strong. Ford and Tompkins do a nice job portraying this relationship in their works.
PS "The Searchers"
ReplyDeleteOne of the strongest relationships in our country’s culture between man and nature is the relationship between the cowboy and the land. When one pictures a cowboy you cannot picture him without the vast desert, pale blue sky, and bright sun beating down on his back. Their relationship is one that is very strong. The landscape that the cowboy is known to be associated with is one that is very dry and with scarce plant life. With not much around the cowboy can see for miles. The landscape is filled with orange sandy hills, high flat top mountains, and blue sky that goes on forever. In West of Everything, by Jane Tompkins, she explains how the landscape gives the cowboy his tough and heroic appeal. “It is an environment inimical to human beings, where a person is exposed, the sun beats down, and there is no place to hide…no shelter, no water, no rest, no comfort…Be brave, be strong enough to endure this…you will become like this-hard, austere, sublime.” Without the landscape what would the cowboy be to us? The cowboy is who he is because he endures such hardships in nature that no normal person could overcome. The cowboy shows no weakness and does not let the landscape conquer him. Thus proving his tough heroicness being able to overcome challenges and being able to adapt to any situation at any moment. This is evident in the film “The Searchers,” by John Ford, where we meet John Wayne’s character Ethan. He has rough skin and an attitude to match. His long experience with the landscape makes him this way. He knows the way of the land well. He uses his veteran skills on the journey when many doubt and question what he does and where he would go. He knows what to do and that is important to the survival of the group that stuck with him.
The landscape however provides much more to the cowboy than just scenery and making him physically tough. With the land of the West being so vast and open it adds a new element of survival for the cowboy. As Tompkins explains, “when a lone horseman appears on the desert plain, he dominates it instantly, his view extends as far as the eye can see, and enemies are exposed to his gaze.” The landscape provides protection. Not like forest an enemy does not have many places to hide in the desert, there are no shadows. This is also seen in the film as well. At the beginning, the man is outside with his gun looking for Indians and sees the reflection of light from the sun by an Indian's gun off in the distance. This situation would give any cowboy an advantage, however in this case Uncle Ethan the “cowboy” is not there to protect them. This situation is also shown in the film again when the searchers are out looking for the little girl and see an Indian mounted on his horse staring at them. He has nowhere to hide nor is he afraid of this. This is then followed by two groups of Indians riding alongside the searchers. The searchers have nowhere to hide because of the landscape; their only way of escape is a river.
The landscape is also used to describe the people and mostly the men of the west and of the time. The desert makes the men rough and tough compared to the women who according to Tompkins are, “dusky, and dressed up are not harsh and hard and pure like the desert.” It is very rare to find a cowgirl, so a majority of the women during this time, once settled, primarily work within the home and on the farm. That is nothing compared to what the men go through. In the film the men do care about the women’s soft sensitive side. This is seen when Ethan pushes the older woman back into the house when the fight breaks out. The woman is mad and wants to see it and yells out fighting tips before she is pushed in. Her hidden rough side comes out provided by the landscape, but Ethan wants to protect her grisliness. The landscape provides so much more to the cowboy which also helps to make the relationship between the two strong. Ford and Tompkins do a nice job portraying this relationship in their works.