The Western Frontier Is An Important Part Of American Society

The Western Frontier is an important part of American society that captures the archetypal curiosity that ever American has in search of new opportunities. Frederick Jackson Turner’s essay titled, â€Å"The Significance of the Frontier in American History† explains the relevance of westward expansion in the late nineteenth century. Turner describes the western frontier as the â€Å"meeting point between savagery and civilization† because once one crosses the boundary from the East to the West; the laws of civilization no longer apply. The West is characterized by its lawlessness and violence as the settlers struggle to stake their claim on the rough terrain (Turner). Two western classics that are complete polar opposites—Willa Cather’s My Antonia and Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian— both depict the civilized but also the savage aspects of the western frontier. The difficult and ever changing geography of the American West shapes each character in both stories, since the American West is a harsh and tedious environment, it allows Darwin’s principle of survival of the fittest to be tested. In My Antonia, the protagonist, Antonia, is shown to the reader through the memory of Jim Burden as his childhood sweetheart. Antonia represents the captivating and peaceful beauty of the western prairie even as it endures harsh conditions. On the other hand, Blood Meridian portrays a horribly savage image of the West, where one is in a dog eat dog world and must choose to kill or be killed. McCarthyShow MoreRelatedThe Frontier Of American History1116 Words   |  5 PagesIn the Significance of the Frontier in American History, Frederick Jackson Turner discusses the understanding of the West as a concept. Turner’s claims included that the expansion into the frontier fueled individualism, stimulated democracy and nationalism, and widened the opportunity of advancement. In the census of 1890, the frontier no longer had a place in the report because the previously unsettled areas had been broken into areas of settlement. Turner uses the definition of two people per squareRead MoreThe Expansion Of The Frontier And The Relationship Among The Native Americans908 Words   |  4 PagesUnforgiven and Stagecoach The film Stagecoach incorporated the expansion of the frontier and the relationship among the Native Americans. The film starts with a wide view of an open valley to show the vast plain and the open frontier, introducing and getting an idea of the setting. The movie was interesting in the sense that it had more social commentary than most films. An article was written by Thomas Myers explaining the film and the unique social commentary of the film Stagecoach by stating,Read MoreWomens Liberation in the 1920s Essay example1652 Words   |  7 Pagesway of life that affected the entire nation. A common misconception is that no women were allowed to vote before the 19th Amendment. In reality, females in most western states had been granted full suffrage as early as 1869, starting with Wyoming. Why did women’s voting rights first become recognized in the West? As a wild frontier, the West expanded the roles of women as they struggled to survive in the harsh environment. Gone was the socialite who attended parties, trailed her husband, and keptRead MoreRediscovering The American Frontier Of The United States882 Words   |  4 PagesRediscovering the American Frontier Humans have always had a sense of curiosity for the unknown and a greedy fascination for individual growth without seeing the repercussions on others. The United States culminates these qualities not only as a first-world country but it can also be seen from the very beginnings of the nation’s history. The philosophies’ of early settlers in the United States was to have equality between the people, however Americans failed to incorporate this ideology of equalityRead MoreIAH 201 paper 11183 Words   |  5 Pagesï » ¿Dr. Magee From Relative Isolation to Global Involvement At the time of the Spanish American War the United States went from relative isolation to increased global involvement because of 1. The spirit of the American people captured by the idea of the frontier and, 2. The belief it was the duty of America to maintain peace of all nations. The consequences of this increased global involvement on American Society was 3. The clashing views of the imperialist and anti-imperialist parties. AmericaRead MoreThe Western Genre: An Analysis of its History and Rise and Fall as a Genre1403 Words   |  6 Pages The Classic Western genre is dead. Western films created now are not considered Classic Western, but are instead categorized in the Post-Western form. This happened because the overuse of filmic codes in the Western genre eventually led to predictability in the films. These â€Å"genre film cycles† occur because of the overuse of predictability. Film cycles are when a genre and its conventions become overused to the point of death to that specific genre. For example, if the film The Good, The Bad, andRead MoreThe Frontier Thesis3825 Words   |  16 PagesThe Frontier Thesis Introduction The emergence of western history as an important field of scholarship started with Frederick Jackson Turner’s (1861-1932) famous essay â€Å"The Significance of the Frontier in American history.†[1] This thesis shaped both popular and scholarly views of the West for the next two generations. In his thesis, Turner argued that the West had to be taken seriously. He felt that up to his time there had not been enough research of what he in his essay call â€Å"the fundamentalRead MoreHow the Federal Government Helped Develop the Trans-Mississippi West1611 Words   |  7 Pagesspecific reference to western economic activities in the 19th century. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, the idea of the far west captivated many. The chance to begin life anew attracted thousands of individuals and families alike to move out west and escape their current life, which was usually full of poverty and for some, full of discrimination. As the west expanded and grew into an important part of the United States, westerners found it somewhat difficult to survive with important resources goingRead MoreReflection On The American Culture1384 Words   |  6 PagesReflection on Class Sources American culture refers to the traditions and practices of the people of the United States. Culture comprises of the nature of buildings, religion, music language and marriage. The population of the United States is more than 320 million people making it the most culturally diverse country in the globe. Books such as Crabgrass Frontier, Manifest Destination and Muscular Christianity are important sources of information about American culture. This paper is a reflectionRead MoreIndustrial Western Movie: There Will Be Blood Essay1369 Words   |  6 Pagesother western genres. It is a story that is formed from a novel by Upton Sinclair’s book, Oil! (1927) (Belton, 2009, p.401). Many westerns were based on dime novels that were written in the mid and late 1800s (Belton, 2009, p.246). American society was going through a transitional period from an agrarian society to an industrial society in the 1800s and early 1900s (Wright 2001; Desk Encyclopedia, 1989, pp. 27-28, 630-631). Th e change in revolutions could explain the difference in most western genres