Category: Reading and Film Presentations and Discussion

On the outside, the movie Shane looks like a movie that showcases a classic battle of good and evil, but taking a closer look, it is a movie that hones in on more complex American ideals. Set in the Grand Tetons after the Civil War, Shane follows a family of Homesteaders, the Starretts, and a man trying to escape his past, Shane. They struggle to retain the rights to their land as a cattle baron, Ryker, tries to force homesteaders off of it. Shane moves in with the Starretts, and the Starrett’s son, Joey, idolizes him throughout the movie. In the end, Shane kills Ryker and his men, knowing it will save the Staretts and other citizens, yet force him to leave. He rides off in the distance while Joey cries for him to come back. All of this takes place with any real law enforcement (ex. police) too far away to interfere.

On its own, the idea of citizens buying land and getting a fresh start is a fundamentally American idea. The Starretts, searching for a better life for their family, start a farm in the Grand Tetons. With the looming threat of losing their land and their new life along with it, the Starretts fight back, preserving their American right. Likewise, Shane pursues a new life, which is a fresh start from his past. He is attracted by the family style of living the Starretts share, and he, too, fights for his right to keep the life he made for himself. However, he fights the good fight by laying low and not causing trouble, even when he knows he has the power to kill someone if he wanted to. At the end of the story he sacrifices his new life for that of little Joey’s, the future of America.

In the movie, Shane is depicted as the ideal American Citizen of the time, as he has strong morals and uses them to pursue the American dream. However, when he feels things aren’t right, and there isn’t law enforcement to intervene, Shane takes matters into his own hands, letting go of the life he’d built for himself in the process. Joey’s aggressive idolatry of Shane only solidifies his role as the classic American Hero.

The chilling ending of the movie raises the question of whether Shane absolutely had to go. He did a good thing for the Starretts, and Joey’s calling for Shane to come back makes it clear that he would love for Shane to stay with his family still. However, Joey is naive, and doesn’t yet fully understand the mark killing a man leaves on people. Though all acts of heroism require some sacrifice, it is worth questioning whether one can achieve the American dream and be an American hero at the same time.

The film Shane is about a lone cowboy, Shane, who is traveling through the Wyoming territory when he comes across a small family of homesteaders. After some initial awkward introductions, Shane sympathizes with the homesteaders and agrees to work as a farmhand for the family in exchange for food and a place to lay his head. Shane quickly becomes aware of an ongoing problem for the homesteaders, where Ryker, a powerful neighboring landowner, has been working towards systematically pushing out homesteaders across Wyoming in order to expand his territory. Shane and the father of the household, Joe Starrett, form a unique friendship over the work they are doing and Shane quickly bonds with the entire family. On one of his runs into town to pick up supplies for the family, he has a violent encounter with Ryker’s men. While no guns were drawn, the conflict was escalated as Ryker stated the next fight would be deadly. Ryker hires a highly experienced gunman to deal with the problem of Shane and Starrett. Ryker invites them into an ambush at the saloon, which the family is tipped off about by one of Ryker’s former men. After fighting about who should go into town to confront Ryker at the saloon, Shane ultimately prevails and goes to the saloon alone, but he is trailed by Starrett’s young son, Joey. After some provocative discussion in the saloon with Ryker and his hitman, Shane draws his gun and fires, killing both Ryker and the hired gun. A third assailant is positioned upstairs and would have taken out Shane, had Joey not shouted to warn him. Shane kills the shooter, but is wounded in the altercation. After a brief discussion with Joey telling him to return home to his mother and father explaining that everything was going to be okay, Shane rides off into the sunset, with Joey pleading with him to come back as the scene fades out.

In this chapter, Tocqueville describes the condition, relationships, and lifestyles of the three different races (European, African, and Indian) in America. The white people were cruel, unfair, and lived as superiors to the other two races. Tocqueville goes on to explain how the African population had it rough as they were taken from their home country and families. In fact, Tocqueville explained how they became slaves right away when he stated, “The Negro enters upon slavery as soon as he is born, nay, he may have been purchased in the womb, and have begun his slavery before he began his existence.” 

Before the Europeans came to America, the Indians lived quietly in the woods and practiced their traditions. However, this soon changed once the Europeans came to America. There used to be Indian tribes covering the country, but this changed as many had disappeared due to moving and being destroyed. The Indians had little options as they could either migrate, civilize themselves, or start a war. Migrating was difficult and often resulted in suffering, civilizing themselves was a possibility but it was not how they were used to living, and war maybe could have been possible for the Indians if they united and fought during the arrival of the Europeans. Tocqueville describes how unfair it was for the Indians when he stated, “they have no longer a country, and soon they will not be a people; their very families are obliterated; their common name is forgotten; their language perishes; and all traces of their origin disappear.” 

It is clear that both the Indians and Africans were mistreated and had rough lives. I found it interesting how Tocqueville was pessimistic in his writing, as he does a good job describing the harsh and unfair situations of the different races. With all of this information in mind, do you think it was inevitable that the Europeans would eventually take over America? Also, if the Indians knew how they were going to be treated by the Europeans, how do you think they would have treated and reacted to the Europeans when they arrived in America?