How the novel The Virginian can change a person's view of the 1870s
An average history student's depiction of the "Wild West" or frontier life during the 1870s would consist of a cowboy hero who is fighting a villain that is usually Native American. This depiction is a stereotype that resulted from such television shows like "Bonanza" during the 1950s and novels. The images portrayed in these items are passed on from generation to generation thus changing the perception of a history student today. A book that has both stereotypical qualities yet factual content is The Virginian. In Owen Wister's The Virginian, a history student can perceive the daily life, culture, and environment of the settlers in the Great Plains or "The Frontier".The Virginian is a story about a man who is nicknamed "The Virginian". The book is written from the perspective of the Virginian's "city-boy" friend, and the two have several escapades. One of the main conflicts in the story is between the Virginian and cattle-rustler/murderer Trampas. Throughout the story the Trampas are locked in combat. Trampas also tries to make the Virginian look bad but it does not work. Miss Molly Wood, a dainty school teacher from the East with a family history and a mind of her own becomes the girl for the Virginian so the Virginian
A history student's perceptive of the environment in the frontier can be changed from reading The Virginian. A normal student's perceptive of the area is a cowboy town with a saloon, a sheriff's office, a inn, and some homes. Although some towns of the west really looked like that, most were not. Most of the time, the towns were usually separated for farming. Most of the people had to either farm or be a cowboy. sets off on a comical wooing. The book ends with the two getting married and having a good life together. In The Virginian, the culture is very much the same, as one would expect. The men are very polite to the women. If they get married, the two get settled down to open a farm or a cattle ranch. In the book, The Virginian is very kind to Molly Wood. He was very polite to her in order to win her love. Quickly to thunderstorms, and locusts attacks in order for them to protect their crops and livestock. At one point in the story, Miss Molly Wood is worried about her chickens because a thunderstorm could occur. She was also afraid for her pigs too. The way they speak in The Virginian is the same as some cowboys spoke in the television shows or books. They speak with a country accent. This quote shows their country accents. This explains the scarcity of finding an area like this because in the Great Plains there is very little trees found. Also, in the desert, there are practically no trees located. The area of the Great Plains is very much a plain are
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1020
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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