The Main Conflict in 'The Virginian' - Essay Example

1. Essay Character Sketch of Virginian, from 'The Virginian' by Owen Wister The first portrays the Virginian as an exceptionally capable and self-sufficient young man, slightly suspicious of the 'tenderfoot' placed in his charge. He worked hard and played hard, but showed early that he would not take any nonsense. He is loyal to his friends and employer, has a strong sense of duty and moral values as to what is right and wrong, he is brave too. He is viewed by others thus:t's not a brave man that's dangerous,continued the dealer, t's the cowards that scare me. .. a man like that black-headed guy is [the dealer indicated the Virginian] need never worry you.(p. 33 Chp. 3) His physical and mental presence .in the whole man there dominated a something potent to be felt, I should think, by man or woman.(p. 21 Chp. 2), tell of the author's first impressions, and this inner strength was sustained as he held onto what he believed to be right, in the face of all adversity, trials and emotional upheaval. He lived by the code of the West, which could never be abandoned. That did not exclude a gentle, yet wicked sense of humor, evidenced by his teasing of Uncle Hughie, the music and fun in Medicine Bow, the trickery over sleeping arrangements and the switching of the babies at the Swinton barbecue. His exchanges with Molly also demonstrated a fine, dry wit and much intellect. e took her hand, and his heart bounded. ou're a gentleman!e exclaimed.(p. 86 Chp. 10) The Virginian's love of nature extended from the eccentric old hen Em'ly, through to his dog, Monte horse, the defense of poor Pedro the pony against Balaam's cruelty, and finally to the island he shared with Molly on their honeymoon. The two main events which changed his character were falling in love and promotion to foreman, which developed his sense of loyalty, duty and responsibility even further. The author 2. says, anhood had only trained, not broken his youth. It was all there, only obedient to the rein and the curb.(p. 96 Chp. 13). His intellect was honed by the good literature Molly lent him, from which he learned, and applied. Not only did he write and speak better as a result, he learned wisdom from the books too. The difficulties with Steve turning cattle rustler, the enmity and dishonorable actions of Trampas, Shorty's death and Steve's hanging, did not change his character so much as showed it in full maturity. Love, duty and honoring the code of the West were the main elements of the Virginian's character. He would never shirk duty and would always stand on the side of 'good' His essence may be explained in this statement he makes to Molly, when seeking her understanding about the gunfight. I work hyeh. I belong hyeh. It's my life. and am goin' my own course he broke in.an't yu see how it must be about a man(p. 270 Chp 35) That she does, finally see, is testament to the greatness of his character. Essay 2: The Main Conflict in 'The Virginian' This was between the Virginian and Trampas, for their morals and characters were at opposite ends of the scale, one being an honest and upright person, the other a sneaking thief and finally, a murderer. Their conflict, the beginning of ive years of hate(p. 272 Chp. 35) appears early in the story and sets the scene for the enmity and animosity. ou bet, you son of a ---(p. 32 Chp. 2) is Trampas laying down the gauntlet, and the Virginian's response, putting his gun on the table and ordering the other man hen you call me that, smile.(p. 32 Chp 2) Though Trampas's character was unknown to the tenderfoot narrator, he recognized A public back-down is an unfinished thing for some natures at least.(p. 32 Chp. 2) The Virginian on the other hand, showed that he would offer the chance of a peaceful outcome, but would not avoid a harder course of action. The only resolution would be that one must triumph and the other be destroyed. In this, it is a conflict of good against evil. 3. Trampas bad mouthed Molly, the Virginian's public response is another thorn in his side. His thwarted attempts to lure the crew away from returning home with their acting foreman, the Virginian, to go prospecting for gold at Rawhide, is yet another step closer to the inevitable show-down. Scipio the cook explains it well: e's got to deal with Trampas somehow man to man...I know he's goin' to reckon to a finish.(p. 125 Chp. 17). Trampas succeeded in taking Shorty away, despite efforts to dissuade him. The Virginian himself explained the crux of the matter to Scipio, .it ain't any goodness, it is Trampas that badness resulted from.(p. 157, Chp. 23) The dead cow, with her calf driven off to another ranch, is the work of Trampas, but there is no proof. After tracking and tracing some of the rustlers, and finding that Shorty has been shot in the back, the conflict deepens, and resolution must soon be achieved. However, it seemed that the man had melted into the mountains, maybe never to be seen again. This was of course, not the case. The climax showed the triumph of good over evil in the man to man gunfight. There is some ambiguity of how 'right' it can be to kill another human being, and this was explored through Molly's reactions, for after all, they had gone to town to be married. She had to decide whether she could live with a man who had shot another man down. That too, showed a conflict of cultures, codes and values, resolved by love for a man who is intrinsically 'good'. The death of Trampas was the final resolution of the main conflict, showing the moral person of integrity, who would have preferred not to have to take such action, but who refused to shirk a 'duty' to himself, as having delivered justice. Essay 3: How The Virginian Tried to Live a Moral Life Early in their acquaintance, the author/narrator senses the qualities of a true 'gentleman' in an apparently ordinary cow boy. Such qualities meant that a personal code and set of values were inherent, and these included honesty, respect, politeness, duty and loyalty. Not matter what situation arose, the young man faced it, thought carefully about rights and wrongs and learned from his experiences and others whom he respected and admired. 4. An example of how he progressed from the hard-working, hard-playing cowboy who gambled and spent his money on drink and women, was presented by the Virginian himself, as he tried to persuade Shorty to stay at Sunk Creek, rather than endure a life of misery and thievery with Trampas because of money. noticed a right strange fact. The money I made easy that I wasn't worth, it went like it came..But the money I made hard that I was worth, why I began to feel right careful...and now I have savings.. and found out what I could do, and I settled down and did it. Now you can do that too (p. 160-161 Chp. 23). The point here is that Shorty is a sad, lost soul but the Virginian wanted to help him, rather than give up on him. He hoped by showing the boy that his skills with horses was appreciated, to keep him safe. He felt morally obliged to help, and to stop him 'going wrong'. Once he met and fell in love with Molly, there were no more drunken nights in town. He conducted a patient and honorable courtship, writing to her mother to explain himself, with no boasting. He cared about his workers, tried to play fair to all, even Trampas. A very sad and difficult task, that of hanging his old friend Steve for cattle rustling, while almost breaking his spirit, did not sway him from his moral values and the code of justice of the West. His conscience would not let him do otherwise, as he told the narrator, his good friend: would do it all over again the same this morning. Just the same.(p. 225 Chp 31). Though this might seem harsh and difficult to understand, the historical context and the untrustworthiness of the law in that territory must be considered to have a bearing on the situations portrayed. There was no other way the Virginian could 'be' and live with his conscience or uphold his moral values. He stated clearly and often what he believed in ad this particular statement seemed to contain all which defined how he led a moral life. ain't religious. I know that. But I ain't unreligious. And I know that too. Do you think there ought to be fifteen varieties of good people.....There's one kind. And when I meet it, I respect it....And if I was ever to have a son...I would wish their lot to be to know one or two good folks might well-.(p. 129 Chp 18) 5. The meaning here was that those good people thought well of him, and by their good opinion and example, his decisions were influenced so that he would never act in a way which would shame himself or lose that opinion. His actions showed that honesty, kindness to all, man and beast, loyalty and justice motivated him and were an integral part of his personality and his life. It may be truthfully said that The Virginian became one of those 'good people.' Read More