The West - RS

Even after his death, Wayne’s legend still lives. His characters which “showcase the persona created by Duke Morrison and John Ford, appear to be part of the narrative formulas generally found in Westerns. But on the closer examination, they prove to embody complex cultural coding, creating an oxymoron that has engendered a lively critical debate” (889). Wayne’s characters seem to impersonate an “antisocial longer who functions in a world peopled with sociopaths” (891). This is important to the depiction of The West because it creates the concern of the man surviving in the harsh desert, rather than “..the garden world that is civilized America” (891).

Additionally, “moral individualism and pervasive corruption” (896) are shown to be associated in most of Wayne’s films. Matheson using the example of The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance is important because the main character Stoddard, “expects the West to be a place where civilized values are respected” (896). Yet as shown in many of Wayne’s films, this belief is quite incorrect; with the West being a large unknown.

Wayne has proven to dedicate himself to his characters, “achieving their full human potential” (900). Applying himself to the West so immensely has allowed for his legend to stay almost as clear as it was when he was still living. I believe that Wayne as well as his characters satisfied their need to be the ultimate hero, justifying the many “killings” by ending a life that had created bad.