I would have to say that Matt and Tom are both alpha male cowboys in Red River. Both of these men exhibit many of the characteristics that accompany the quintessential alpha male. Tom, we see him again in this film in a very similar role to his past. He is always looking to settle confrontation with a gun. Some examples would be when he first gets to his land across the Red River; he kills the man who states that this land has already been claimed. Also, Tom has been plagued by death. As Tompkins states, “When death occurs it is never at home, in bed but always sudden death, usually murder”( 39). His one true love was killed by Indians in a wagon raid. Tom had a chance to take her with him but he turned it down. He let her die in his mind and wants Matt enjoy love even if he can’t.
Tom taught Matt everything he knew; from wielding a gun, to driving cattle. Tom has been like Father to Matt and Matt is the son Tom never had. We experience a power struggle midway through this movie where Matt’s compassion holds firm against Tom’s cruelty. He refuses to let Tom hang two of the men and essentially gets Tom kicked off the drive. Matt became the new leader to the cattle drive and is now the person everyone looks to for their next orders. He has assumed Tom’s role as the alpha male in group.
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I would have to say that Matt and Tom are both alpha male cowboys in Red River. Both of these men exhibit many of the characteristics that accompany the quintessential alpha male. Tom, we see him again in this film in a very similar role to his past. He is always looking to settle confrontation with a gun. Some examples would be when he first gets to his land across the Red River; he kills the man who states that this land has already been claimed. His skills with the gun continue to be very precise. When he starts drinking a lot the rest of the group is able to take advantage of the situation and remove Tom from the drive. Also, Tom has been plagued by death. As Tompkins states, “When death occurs it is never at home, in bed but always sudden death, usually murder”( 39). His one true love was killed by Indians in a wagon raid. Tom had a chance to take her with him but he turned it down. He let her die in his mind and wants Matt enjoy love even if he can’t. Also, Tom closely follows Tompkins definition of a cowboy because he is a loner. He chooses to sleep and separate himself from the group. When they created the brand, he refused to let Matt have his mark on it because Tom was in charge. Matt hadn’t earned it yet.
ReplyDeleteTom taught Matt everything he knew; from wielding a gun, to driving cattle. Tom has been like Father to Matt and Matt is the son Tom never had. We experience a power struggle midway through this movie where Matt’s compassion holds firm against Tom’s cruelty. He refuses to let Tom hang two of the men and essentially gets Tom kicked off the drive. Matt became the new leader to the cattle drive and is now the person everyone looks to for their next orders. Although Matt took over the role, he didn’t just immediately become an alpha male character. We see Matt in this film as a coming of age character. With Tom’s help, and the experiences Matt has, he becomes a full on alpha male by the end of the film. Both Tom and Matt also have similar female troubles. Tom originally was forced to leave his one love behind and she was murdered in the process. While Matt fell for another women during the drive and understood that he had to leave her behind. They both are stubborn individuals and clearly fit the roles of two alpha male cowboys who butt heads throughout the film.