The Western Formula Essay Research Paper A — страница 2

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to follow the standards Cawelti has set forth, Potter would most likely be dead and Scratchy Wilson would be marking another notch on his gun belt. The macho male attitude has been covered by the marks moral principles. Cawelti feels there is no room for that in a formula western. Tompkins feels, This is a moment of moral ecstasy. Married! He was not a student of chivalry; it was merely that in the presence of this foreign condition he was a simple child of the earlier plains. He picked up his starboard revolver, and, placing both weapons in their holsters, he went away (Crane 312). Crane s divergence from Cawelti s standards pattern entirely away from this formula western, however, do not seem to hurt the overall story instead helps in providing a variation of how a Western may

be written. In another story by Crane, The Blue Hotel, the Western formula can hardly be considered. The first half of this entire story is based in a hotel, bed and breakfast type of inn where there are several men sitting around a table playing a card game. However, none except for one is a cowboy, and the setting does not relate too much to the West, besides their slang vocabulary. In ways, it seems that some random person, who not only did not live in the West, but also did not live in the country, could have written this story. It was so far off basis of a Western that all one could think is that there are random people sitting and playing cards. The interesting part is the basis of a foreigner. A crazy Swede thinks that he is in a rough place, and if he does anything wrong,

he will be killed. Cawelti would never consider this for a Western. This first part held no Western significance. The second half of this story had a more Western feel to it, as the nutty Swede introduced in the beginning of the story enters the town bar. As the Swede talks too confidently he ends up getting killed, by a gambler, not even a cowboy. What! You won t drink with me, you little dude? I ll make you then! I ll make you! The Swede had grasped the gambler frenziedly at the throat, and was dragging him fro his chair. There was a great tumult, and then was seen a long blade in the hand of the gambler. It shot forward, and a human body, this citadel virtue, wisdom, power, was pierced as easily as if it had been a melon. The Swede fell with a cry of supreme astonishment

(Crane 334). The fact that there was no brawl, but just a simple murder, no struggle between evil and good contradicts the formula western. This was not a black and white, hero and villain situation, rather an annoyance. The entire story had complete irrelevance to a stereotypical Western except for the fact that there were three daughters of the hotel owner, Scully, and they made food. That could be the only potential relation to Cawelti s feel on womens insignificance. It seems that Tompkins is the interpreter between Crane and Cawelti. Cawelti defines the standards and Crane seems to contradict them. Tompkins jumps in and explains what Crane has done and why it is not done like Cawelti. Now she does not directly acknowledge either writer, but clearly works for both. So instead

of offering you a moral, I call your attention to a moment of righteous ecstasy, the moment when you know you have the moral advantage of your adversary, the moment of murderousness. It s a moment when there s still time top stop. There s still time to reflect, there s still time to recall what happened in High Noon, there s still time to say: I don t care who s right or who s wrong. There has to be some better way to live (Tompkins 239).