The Man who shot Liberty Valance

Throughout the movie, “The Man who shot Liberty Valance”; we are introduced to three different men: Tom, Rance and Liberty. Although Matheson describes all of them as the alpha male, you can clearly see extremely significant differences in their personalities and ways of resolving issues. Tom is the cowboy, the man who takes all responsibility, like Matheson said: “… Doniphon is the only character whose words become deeds” (897). Rance is more of the educated type of guy, his attitude was that there were laws to solve people’s issues and people had to obey them. But in a town like Shinbone, this was nearly impossible to happen; you had a terrible man, the most famous outlaw in town, Liberty Valance, preventing this from happening.
As the movie moves along, you can see Rance’s initiative to make out of Shinbone a more cultured town, and just as projects start flowing comes Liberty in a desperate attempt to stop this and challenges Rance to a gunfight; a gunfight Rance cannot refuse. Like Matheson says, “He has to settle his problems like ‘a man’” (896). Doniphon, the slightly altered alpha male cowboy, shows his true personality due to this occurrence. Tom knew that if this gunfight took place, Valance would kill Stoddard. He opens up and shows everybody his feelings when he helps Stoddard in the gunfight and kills Valance, but lets Rance keep all the credit and the girl. Matheson illustrates this show of emotions by stating, “He kills Valance because Hallie wants Stoddard alive. He makes sure that Stoddard runs for office not for the public good, but because Hallie needs a man who can give her ‘something to read and write’” (897).
The set of events in this movie cleary show the fascinating alterations that make a man an alpha male in so many different ways and attitudes, but still make him an alpha male worthy of respect.