Elmer Kelton's "The Day the Cowboys Quit" is a novel based on a Texas cowboy strike against five significant ranches in the late 1800s. The cowboys protested against low pay, substandard working conditions, and limitations on their freedom because they thought the ranches were run by businesses mainly concerned with money. This fight stands as a pivotal moment in the history of the American West and the labor movement because it demonstrates the tensions that existed between cowboys and ranchers at a time when the open land cattle industry was going through substantial changes. "Hitch" Hitchcock, a thirty year old cowboy and leader on Charlie Waide's "W" Ranch, one of the first ranchers in the area, serves as the protagonist of the story. Hitch respects Waide because he values the cowboys he hires and compensates them well. Hitch considers the actual cowboys and the reasons for their …show more content…
They face a variety of difficulties on the long and challenging journey, including bandit attacks, strong storms, and an unforgiving environment. Not only that, but Hitch also has to deal with staff conflicts brought on by the poor pay and working conditions from Kress. They learn Kress has filed a lawsuit against them after successfully bringing the animals to the Kansas market and being accused of livestock theft. In the end, Hitch and his crew successfully defend themselves in court with the support of an attorney, revealing their innocence and rebuilding their reputations. After receiving the respect they deserve for their persistence, they leave the meeting with a revitalized feeling of fulfillment and confidence. Anybody interested in the history of the American West or the labor movement will find this to be an intriguing and enjoyable read due to Kelton's portrayal of the cowboys as hardworking men and his in-depth descriptions of the surroundings on the
His insights into the mechanics of land speculation,on the frontier and on the effect of the Indian removal controversy and on the nascent abolitionist movement are particularly noteworthy. Inskeep’s incredible storytelling skills guide us through a critical period of time that meant heartbreak for thousands but expansion of the country for
Grade 5, Unit 2: Cornerstone 2 Westward Expansion Database Articles Database Articles • Pioneer Women - http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/pioneer-womanx2019s-life-200-years-ago Note: you will have to log into the databases below using a DC Public Library Card or DC One Card. After logging in, click on the link again to get to the appropriate article. • Black Cowboys - http://www.worldbookonline.com.dclibrary.idm.oclc.org/student/article?id=ar753924&st=exodusters#tab=homepage • Manifest Destiny - http://school.eb.com.dclibrary.idm.oclc.org/levels/elementary/article/353420 • Oregon Trail - http://school.eb.com.dclibrary.idm.oclc.org/levels/elementary/article/353574 • Oregon Trail - http://www.worldbookonline.com.dclibrary.idm.oclc.org/kids/home#article/ar831676
These cowboys would be the ones that would get rich and would have the business out west for a long time. They were the ones that you would want to be like if you were going to the west to be successful. For the women out near Durant, Wyoming, it was to protect a little girl from something she was sure to experience after getting raped. The woman had gone through a similar situation when she was younger and she didn’t want the young girl to go through it to. She was, however, murdering the boys who did the raping
The West had many different types of people, ranging from gunfighters and pioneers. The cowboy was a heroic figure during this time. This was far from the truth, as they had to work many hours a day in horrible conditions, and often spent months in the same saddle. The people often would take matters into their own hands, and shootings could happen at any time. Additionally, in the Indian territory (near Arkansas and Oklahoma), many criminals would hide and terrorize anyone who tried to
I really haven’t read a western yet, so I can’t compare the show to a western book. Obviously there is more detail and story in a book than a TV show or a movie. During the episode “The Trail Gang” Ben and Hoss Cartwright are in need of cowhands for the cattle drive. A young man named Sam Jackson comes upon their camp and the cook puts him to work.
Program 5 describes the impact Cooper, Ridge, and Whitman made on America through their writing. Cooper, Ridge, and Whitman are well known for their portrayal of the developing America and what became known as the “western hero”. Cooper was the first to create the character of the western hero. His hero was characterized as a strong man who, unintentionally, led the expansion west through his desire to separate himself from the civilized world. Along the way, this man became best friends with a Native American because he could recognize the same manliness in this man as he saw in himself.
Throughout the film Stagecoach, there were several examples of archetypal characters. Not only is the typical true western hero exhibited, however you also see the damsel in distress and many antagonists. The typical western hero attempts to embody the frontier. They’re overall goal is to be successful amongst their tasks with minimal regard to the understanding of danger.
In Sarah Gleeson-White’s article, Playing Cowboys: Genre, Myth, and Cormac McCarthy's All the Pretty Horses, she talks about how “Cormac McCarthy moved from the South to the Southwest in the 1970s, so did the settings and associated meanings of his novels.” This novel is somewhat related to the background of the author and the transitions they went through. John Grady Cole is a representation of the last generation cowboy of Western ancestry. As written in All the Pretty Horses, “People dont feel safe no more, he said. We’re like the Comanches was two hundred years ago.
In the book, American Exodus: The Dust Bowl Migration and Okie Culture in California, James N. Gregory attempts to change readers perspective of stereotypes created by artist during the Great Depression, such as those created by John Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath and Dorthea Lange’s photograph of the “Migrant Mother”. In his book, Gregory “takes us back to the dust bowl migration” to reveal that there is more to Oklahoman, Arkansan, Texan, and Missourian immigrants than economic hardship. He focuses on regionalism, and an “Okie” subculture that was created due to the high rate of migration to California. Gregory sets out to prove that they also had a mass effect on Californian culture and social patterns. Using extremely efficient primary
In American Society during the 1800s, the Frontier was a land full of mysticism, mystery, adventure, and potential. The idea of American pioneers, explorers, and travellers conquering the formidable and uncivilized Frontier carried a sense of allure among American Society, which corresponded to fashioning the American identity associated with expansion, determination and perseverance. Fredrick J. Turner’s The Significance of the Frontier in American History, explores the concept of overcoming the challenges of the Frontier and, by overcoming these challenges, helping to craft aspects of the American identity, portraying the Frontier as a land in need of taming, a land that is “the meeting point between savagery and civilization”. It was the Frontier, Turner argued, that helped to construct the identity of America, an identity associated with vanquishing problems with resolution and hard work.
The text states, "Cowboys ate plenty of beans, rice, sourdough biscuits, salt pork, and strong coffee." and "The chuck wagon soon was the backbone of all successful cattle drives. " This shows the amazing foods cowboys were offered and how it attracted more cowboys. Their morale was raised and Goodnight was attaining his goal as a result of the chuck wagon being built.
These men worked hard herding, branding, and tending to cattle from sun up until sun down. However, over the years the image of the cowboy has been blurred by media. Often times when someone thinks of cowboys they think of a vicious gunslinger who is always looking for a fight. In reality, many cowboys could not even afford a gun. Regardless, throughout Kelton’s novel, The Day the Cowboys Quit, he was able to effectively portray the correct speech patterns, distinguishing characteristics, and lifestyle of the Texas
After his grandfather’s death, his mother decided to sell the family cattle ranch in order to pursue her career in acting and divorced his father; leaving nothing for John in his hometown of San Angelo. The night of his grandfathers funeral, John Grady “stood like a man come to the end of something.” (Page 5) Rather than face this end to his family’s lifestyle and come to terms with it, John decides to ride south to Mexico in
Perhaps the most significant myth in American culture is that of the American frontier generated by the European encounters with the American West. The most noticeable part of the frontier myth is the mythic struggle between modern civilization and wilderness. Frontier is defined as “the meeting point between savagery and civilization”. Turner believes that the American frontier is closely related to American civilization and that frontier
They take you on a journey full of dream-crushing brutality and deception of what seems to be the ideal place to work and built a life. They settle near the stockyards and meatpacking district, where Jurgis finds his first job at Brown’s slaughterhouse. Jurgis, thinking the U.S. offered more freedom, finds that the working conditions there are very