Tropes In Westerns

The Western is a popular genre which is set in the mid to late 19th century in America. The most common tropes of Westerns are shown to be centered on a masculine man who needs to save the day. Even though the West is symbolized as an option of freedom, this is only true for the men as the role of women are usually restricted and fenced in. In the film Shane and the novel Riders of the Purple Sage by Zane Grey we can see how guns play an important role in the men’s identity, and how women are treated as a object for men to save or hardly play a role at all and are completely sidelined. The Riders of the Purple Sage begins with one of the most common tropes in Westerns, a woman Jane Withersteen, is calling out for help, and a rider arrives

Guns are seen as a part of man’s identity as throughout the film Joey would ask either his father or Shane to teach him how to shoot, and when Joey sees Shane shoot for the first time he is completely in awe and idolizes him. Another scene which shows the importance of the gun is when Shane decides to go into town and is not going bring his gun with him, he is asked by Joey’s father, Joe Starrett, why is he not going to bring his gun with him. The scenes indicates that guns are a integral art of a man’s life, and if he doesn’t bring it with him everywhere he is seen as odd for doing so. When Shane does go in to the town, he is rediculoued in the bar for buying a soda pop and is told that he should smell and act like a man. Even in Shane gun fights seem to be a part of being a man. Joey is obsessed with learning how to shoot a gun and having a quick draw despite his young age. When he first sees Shane do a quick draw he is enamored by it and brags it to his parents. The major conflict is also resolved with a gun duel with the victor being the one who has the quickest the