Following the roll of the beginning credits, The Searchers’ audience is introduced to the two main characters, Ethan and the landscape. The film begins with the Edward’s family staring out into the vast, sunny, barren, Texan landscape from their cabin porch, watching as Ethan rides to their house on his horse. The landscape personifies itself immediately; this scene provides a contrast between the comfortable life of a family inside the cabin and the life of a nomadic cowboy whom finds his comfort in the adventures and dangers provided by the wilderness.
Throughout the quest to locate his nieces, Ethan displays the true characteristics of the cowboy, self-sacrifice, discipline, and dedication. With the death of the Edwards comes the loss family, but Ethan still manages to maintain his most important relationship, which he shares with the land. It is his “constant contact with it – thinking about it, using it, enjoying it, fearing it, seeing it, smelling it, touching it, hearing it” that gives the land such a meaningful value to Ethan (78). The landscape proves to be the most important element in a cowboy’s life, with which he shares many of the same qualities. The terrain is rugged, bleak and merciless, as is the cowboy. These “qualities needed to survive on the land are the qualities the land itself possesses” (73).
Throughout the winter months, blizzards delay the men’s journey. At one point Marty wants to give up as the snow covers up the trials of the Indians’, making the search that much more difficult. Being the alpha male that he is, Ethan refuses to listen to Marty’s plead for retreat; he accepts the challenges and fights through them. “The landscape challenges the body to endure hardship – that is its fundamental message at the physical level. It says, This is a hard place to be; you will have to do without here. Its spiritual message is the same: come, and suffer” (71). Although the landscape provides the searchers with many challenges, Tompkins reveals that the land “doesn’t just test men; it also rewards them with food, water, shelter and finally rest” (80). The land provides safety, which is exemplified as Ethan and Marty seek protection in a cave while hiding from the Indians’ raid. The men are able to slaughter animals by which they were nourished and were also able to find a place to rest at night. During another scene when the searchers were being chased by the Indians, they were able to cross the water way with ease, while the Indians found difficulty in doing so. The water provided the searchers with the chance to get ahead, to defend themselves and to kill Indians as they struggled to pass through the stream.
Just as the film began, it ends very similarly. After bringing Debbie home, Ethan stands outside the house looking in on the family and realizes he is a cowboy and therefore could never be part of such an environment. Ethan turns his back on civilization and looks into the landscape, which “seems to reflect a desire for transcendence, an urge to join the self to something greater” (76). Ultimately Ethan makes his way back home into the solitude of the wilderness, leaving only a trail of dust behind.
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Instantly following the roll of the beginning credits, The Searchers’ audience is introduced to the two main characters, Ethan and the majestic landscape. The film begins with the Edward’s family staring out into the vast, sunny, barren, Texan landscape from their cabin porch, watching as Ethan rides to their house on his horse. The landscape personifies itself immediately; this scene provides a contrast between the comfortable life of a family inside the cabin and the life of a nomadic cowboy whom finds his comfort in the adventures and dangers provided by the wilderness.
ReplyDeleteThroughout the quest to locate his nieces, Ethan displays the true characteristics of the cowboy, self-sacrifice, discipline, and dedication. With the death of the Edwards came the loss of family, but Ethan still manages to maintain his most important relationship, which he shares with the land. It is his “constant contact with it – thinking about it, using it, enjoying it, fearing it, seeing it, smelling it, touching it, hearing it” that gives the land such a meaningful value to Ethan (Tompkins 78). The landscape proves to be the most important element in a cowboy’s life, with which he shares many of the same qualities. The terrain is rugged, bleak and merciless, as is the cowboy. These “qualities needed to survive on the land are the qualities the land itself possesses” (73).
Throughout the winter months, blizzards delayed the men’s journey. At one point Marty wanted to give up as the snow covered up the trials of the Indians’, making the search that much more difficult. Being the alpha male that he is, Ethan refused to listen to Marty’s plead for retreat; he accepted the challenges and fought through them. “The landscape challenges the body to endure hardship ¬– that is its fundamental message at the physical level. It says, This is a hard place to be; you will have to do without here. Its spiritual message is the same: come, and suffer” (Tompkins 71). Although the landscape provides the searchers with many challenges, Tompkins reveals that the land “doesn’t just test men; it also rewards them with food, water, shelter and finally rest” (80). The land provides safety, which was exemplified as Ethan and Marty sought protection in a cave while hiding from the Indians’ raid. The men were able to slaughter animals by which they were nourished and were also able to find a place to rest at night. During another scene when the searchers were being chased by the Indians, they were able to cross the water way with ease, while the Indians found difficulty in doing so. The water provided the searchers with the chance to get ahead, to defend themselves and to kill Indians as they struggled to pass through the stream.
Just as the film began, it ends very similarly. After bringing Debbie home, Ethan stands outside the house looking in on the family and realizes he is a cowboy and therefore could never be part of such an environment. Ethan turns his back on civilization and looks into the landscape, which “seems to reflect a desire for transcendence, an urge to join the self to something greater” (Tompkins 76). Ultimately Ethan makes his way back home into the solitude of the wilderness, leaving only a trail of dust behind.