Although Matheson’s article is enlightening on the Western Cowboy during the early 1900’s it has little to apply to “The Man who Shot Liberty Valance” melodrama. The three main characters Liberty Valance, Rance Stoddard and Tom Doniphon all vary significantly from her assessment of the western protagonist and the supporting characters.
Valance, the villain of Shinbone is shown in the beginning of the movie beating Stoddard nearly to death with a whip. He, like most villains does not adhere to the law but rather the “Western Law” as he proclaims where it is his right to be able to terrorize the citizens of Shinbone and those who pass through robbing them of their belongings and possessions. Valance is the one character in this movie that best fits Matheson’s opinion. Unlike Stoddard he is the standard ruthless, outlaw who doesn’t work for anyone but himself living a life of crime and filth.
Stoddard, a city boy at heart is the outlier in Matheson’s article. Serving as the current Senator, he retells the story of Doniphon and Valance through flashback. First arriving to Shinbone in a three-piece suit with his law books in tow to open his own practice he is unpleasantly surprised that the West is not a civilized nation as he thought. The law from the book is not stronger than the law of the gun and the land. After arriving into town, he is brutally attacked by Valance and his gang in attempts to protect an older lady he is traveling with demonstrating his character. In order to avenge this attack, Stoddard attempts to use books to defeat the race of the gunslinger. This is a prime example against Matheson. Matheson notes that “the individual does not enforce the law; he is the law” (896). This means that Stoddard shook take matters into his own hands following Doniphon’s advice- to carry a gun. At first Stoddard refuses this ideology believing that justice is only served through the law; to send Valance to jail for his wrong doings; however, by the end of the movie we see Stoddard begin to form a different idea confirming to Matheson’s assertions. Stoddard realizes that the Western Law (taking matters into his own hands) is the only solution to take care of Valance and bring peace back to Shinbone, therefore, placing himself outside of the law.
Doniphon, although similar in characteristics to Valance remains human at heart. The both exhibit “antisocial and disordered [personalities];” however, the carry themselves in a completely different manner. Matheson states that the cowboy is only responsible for himself; however, Doniphon takes great interest in protecting Hallie, as well as, Stoddard. He was unable to stand there and watch Valance kill Stoddard and becomes proactive by killing Valance in cold blood. He keeps this murder a secret until the final scenes where he saves Stoddard the pain of knowing he murdered someone. Another example of how Doniphon shows emotional attachment to others there is only the acts committed is after Valance’s murder he becomes belligerently drunks and burns down his house in anger after seeing Hallie, the love of his life, with Stoddard.
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Consider the two alpha cowboys in the film, as well as, Rance Stoddard in light of Matheson's article. Explain what applies and what doesn't. When you consider the three, do you agree with M's assessment? Explain.
ReplyDeleteAlthough Sue Matheson’s article on the Western Cowboy during the early 1900’s is enlightening, it has little to apply to The Man who Shot Liberty Valance melodrama. The three main characters (Liberty Valance, Rance Stoddard and Tom Doniphon) all vary significantly from Matheson’s assessment of the Western protagonist and the supporting characters.
Liberty Valance, the villain of Shinbone, is shown in the beginning of the movie, nearly beating Stoddard to death with a whip. He, like most villains does not adhere to the written law, but rather “Western Law.” He proclaims this law entitles him the right to be able to terrorize the citizens of Shinbone and those who pass through. Valance is the one character in this movie that best fits Matheson’s opinion. Unlike Stoddard, he is the standard ruthless, outlaw who doesn’t work for anyone but himself, living a life of crime and filth. Valance does not understand the difference between right and wrong as he has no emotional base, serving as the “sociopath” of the western film.
The second character, Rance Stoddard, is a city boy at heart and therefore, the outlier in Matheson’s article. Serving as the current Senator, he retells the story of Doniphon and Valance through flashbacks. In the opening scene, Stoddard was brutally beaten by Liberty Valance’s gang. To avenge this attack, Stoddard attempts to use books to defeat the race of the gunslinger. This is a prime example against Matheson’s assessment. Matheson notes that “the individual does not enforce the law; he is the law” (896). This means that Stoddard should take matters into his own hands instead of abiding by the written law. At first, Stoddard refuses this ideology, believing that justice is only served through the law; the only solution is to send Liberty Valance for his wrongdoings. However, by the end of the film we see Stoddard begin to form a different idea. He realizes that it is Western Law that will solve the issue of Valance and bring peace back to Shinbone, thereby placing himself outside of the written law and thus conforming to Matheson’s assessment that “in noir films, the world is ultimately corrupt and corrupting. Thus, decent, normally law-abiding citizens tend to find themselves enmeshed in situations that require them to become criminal” (896).
Doniphon, although similar in characteristics to Valance, remains human at heart. They both exhibit “antisocial and disordered [personalities]” and are “callous, remorseless, and manipulative” (896). However, both alpha male characters carry themselves in a completely different manner. Matheson states that the cowboy is only responsible for himself; however, Doniphon takes great interest in protecting Hallie, as well as Stoddard. He was unable to stand there and watch Valance kill Stoddard and becomes proactive by killing Valance in cold blood. He keeps this murder a secret until the final scenes where he saves Stoddard the pain of knowing he murdered someone. Another example of how Doniphon shows emotional attachment to others is the act committed after Valance’s murder. Doniphon becomes belligerently drunk and burns down his home in anger, after seeing Hallie, the love of his life, with Stoddard.