Ballad Of Little Jo Analysis

Samantha Hoppe – The Virginian (Novel) and The Ballad of Little Jo Journal Entry “But he expressed nothing, as usual” (Virginian, 37). The stereotypical cowboy in a Western never lets his words flow. He keeps his sentences short and to the point, usually to show that he holds power over his acquaintances. However, cue a pretty woman, and all that may change. The Virginian matches this description perfectly whereas Jo struggles a bit. Throughout the first third of the novel, the Virginian is consistently a man of few words. The Easterner quickly discovers this as he writes, “But the Virginian made no comment. …and we rode home in our usual silence” (Virginian, 37). Tompkins believes that cowboys’ restriction of language may be in place to avoid accidently speaking about one’s feelings. The Virginian supports this theory when narrating the thoughts of the Virginian himself. “‘It don’t need mentioning,’ the Southerner was saying, embarrassed by any expression of thanks” (Virginian, 24). He doesn’t want to show his feeling toward anyone, and he doesn’t want anyone to show their feelings to him. However, this all changes once Miss Mary Stark Wood comes to town. All of a sudden the Virginian’s restriction of language is lifted. It seems as if he is trying

Jo consistently comes across as odd to the men of Ruby City. Her civilized manners are out of place, but so is her talk. She talks entirely too much to be a normal man, and she uses “Thank You” and “You’re Welcome” too often. After observing the men for a while, however, she begins to pick up on their always-negative point of view. Frank once told her, “Little Jo, you are the unfriendliest fella I ever met…” (Ballad). That is almost a compliment to someone pretending to be a man. As the days passed, Jo became more and more reserved with her language, but her emotions still overcame