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LITR 4533: |
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Genre Presentation 2004 |
Anti-mythic Western
Our forefathers had civilization inside themselves, the wild outside.
We live in the civilization they created but within us the wilderness
still lingers. What they dreamed, we live, and what they lived, we dream.
-T.K. Whipple
Definition-
To define the Anti-mythic Western one must first define the traditional
Western.
Western: A novel set in the United States, featuring the
experiences of cowboys and
frontiersmen. Many are little more than
adventure novels, but some have literary
value. -Jessica Sirmans ‘00
Examples of mythic characters are Billy the Kid, Buffalo Bill, Calamity
Jane and Wyatt Earp.
The Anti-mythic Western deals with the same setting and essentially the
same characters. Although they do perpetuate the picture of strong, silent men
riding their horses on an open range, that myth "grew into a Western
image" (Lich 56). The mythical cowboy figure did not feel any hate
towards the West, only love. The anti-mythic cowboy is torn between
civilization and wilderness. These modified characters are amusing, included
in community life, talkative and are flawed as well. They posses flaws
like laziness, unethical behavior and foolishness. (Busby 182). The time
period may also be altered by dealing with the “New West,” which is set in
more modern periods. (Jacobs)
Larry McMurtry: Lonesome Dove, Horseman Pass By, Zeke and Ned
Cormac McCarthy: All the Pretty Horses, Border Trilogy, Blood Meridian
Barbara Kingsolver: The Bean Trees, Animal Dreams
Old Wives’ Tales, folklore, superstition, urban legend
Historical Fiction- Andrea Perkinson ‘02
Regionalism: Southwest American Literature-Jessica Sirmans ‘00
Western, period piece dealing with west but not bound by the myth of the “Wild West.”
Narrator + Dialogue.
Westerns are generally romances. Although the anti-mythic western lends itself more to tragedy. It includes a journey but not all end well, and because the characters are flawed we can not distinguish clearly who is good and bad.
Discussion-
1. In his autobiography, Larry McMurtry says, “I thought of Lonesome Dove as demythicizing, but instead it became a kind of American Arthuriad, overflowing the bounds of genre in many curious ways. Readers don’t want to know and can’t be made to see how difficult life in the Old West really was. Lies about the West are more important to them than truths...”
Do you agree that lies about the past are more important to readers than the truth?
2.Do you think it is right to try and dispel the myth of the West?