The American Cowboy Discuss the American cowboy in terms of myth vs. reality. How and why did this less than glamorous historical figure become transformed into our romantic “All-American” national hero? The traditional cowboy depicted in media is noble, heroic, determined, and humble – all qualities that many individuals would like to possess themselves. So it is no wonder that America has adopted this image of the rugged do-gooder as its national symbol.
Through these expectations the image of the cowboy and the values he holds have been shaped and molded by years of cinema into an almost completely false assumption of what true cowboys did and how they behaved. Even popular assumptions of a cowboy’s physical appearance are often false. Cowboys in cinema are generally tall with impressive builds. However, for practicality, true cowboys tended to be shorter with smaller builds, since horses would have not been able to support the wait of a six foot four heavy weight champion for very long.
Despite the many fallacies surrounding the traditional cowboy a few descriptions of the cowboy’s appearances are somewhat accurate, such as the wearing of wide-brimmed hats, boots, Levis, and bandannas. However true, some of these wardrobe staples may have not been used for the purposes we believe. For example bandannas were not worn to mask a cowboy’s identity, but were in fact used as dust guards when riding behind a herd of cattle. Another unfortunately true description of the cowboy’s appearance was that they were rugged and dirty.
The Term Paper on The True American Cowboy
The True American Cowboy As the twentieth century approached, America was experiencing a time of considerable expansion. All eyes were looking for ways to make the United States a larger, more powerful, and more efficient country. Because of this wave in American society, there was no movement given more devotion than the settling of the West. The range-cattle industry in its various aspects, and ...
Cowboys would travel on horseback herding hundreds of cattle for 1200-1500 miles over the course of a few months and they would not bathe often during these treks. While some of the physical aspects of the cowboy’s appearance may have been accurate, the behavioral aspects of his image are almost entirely created by media. One of the most popular images of the cowboy is that he is courageous and dedicated to justice. In reality however, cowboys were not heroes but simply employees. Employees in arguably one of the worst and hardest jobs any person could have in fact.
Cowboys did not fight in duels, kill Indians, or rescue the damsel in distress. Instead they drove cattle for thousands of miles, bribed Indians to avoid conflict, and were often single. Cowboys were believed to be lone vigilantes who weather the tough terrain of a life on the road alone. However in reality the task of successfully herding hundreds of cattle over thousands of miles could not have been done by a lone ranger and was performed by groups of ten or more. Every aspect of a cowboy’s job required teamwork.
These fictional accounts of cowboys were caused primarily by the romanticized portrayal of them in western literature and shows. The most famous of which is Owen Wister’s novel The Virginian written in 1902. Wister’s character embodied all of the selfless heroic characteristics we associate with cowboys in myth and his stories sparked the popularization of tales of cowboys and the frontier (Brinkley 413-414).
In addition, the interest in western culture and the cowboy drove the success of Wild West shows. These shows traveled throughout the nation, as well as abroad, depicting the adventures of heroic cowboys.
These shows and novels created the glamorous image of cowboys as the rugged heroes of the west. This image stuck and has remained over generations. This romanticized image of the cowboy has in fact overpowered the factual account of who they were. So much that many American’s would be surprised to learn that the hero they associate their country with was in reality a low-paid manual laborer who never rescued a maiden or stood for justice. However if America was searching for a symbol they Brinkley, Alan. The Unfinished Nation. 6th. 2. New York: McGraw Hill, 2010. 413-414. Print.
The Term Paper on Image And Reality
Valery Potakh Mr. Anderson US History 1A, P.7 24 November 1998 Image and Reality In the years since the thousand days many questions have been raised and are still being studied about John F. Kennedy. A Life of John F. Kennedy: A Question of Character is a book written by Thomas C. Reeves, in which Reeves discusses these issues. JFK was a great man, and yet there are still some things that one ...
