In the days of early western heroic literature, a brand of hero emerged. One that did not boast of slaying dragons like Beowulf, or who used an array of terroristic measureslike the Irish warrior hero, Cuchullian. A new mold was shaped with the portrayal of the simple westerner in Owen Wister's The Virginian. This new hero was one who avoided talking in circles, instead this new heroic figure would use short foreboding phrases often mimicked in westerns down the line.
Wister's unintential molding of a new literary heroic structure may have been by accident. The main character is often proded to be more influenced by the east, and in the end of the book he is presuaded to be a mixture of western and eastern influences which allows the audience to respect and admire him (at the time of the making of the book,western influenced characters were looked down upon and were usually used as mere foils only).
The strong, silent type has survived the test of time. Its literary prowess for creating a likeable character has caused many in politics, movies, and even business to use elements of the westernized hero in order to meet one aim or another.
Your writing is very exciting, but I am confused about what you are writing about. Is the Virginian a chapter out of our text or is it a personal book? Your blog was very vauge but it had the potential to be very interesting
Posted by: Whitney Nobiling | February 08, 2006 at 01:35 PM