The film "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" depicts two prominent alpha male cowboy characters, Liberty Valance and Tom Doniphan, who offset the newcomer's, Ransom Stoddard, eastern view of the world. When Stoddard frist arrives, he is ambushed by Liberty Valance, which marks the beginning of thier long term battle agaisnt each other. In various scenes, Liberty Valance comes into town to hastle Stoddard, however, Doniphan is always there to help Stoddard out of these situations, even though thier ideas on the best way to handle it differ. Doniphan represents the typical alpha male cowboy by resorting to guns and violence to solve his problems and emphasizes that there are no law books in the west. Stoddard on the other hand, wishes to abide by the law and put Liberty Valance in jail. In Sue Matheson's article, she writes, "The world is ultimately corrupt and corrupting. Thus, decent, normally law-abiding citizens tend to find themselves enmeshed in situations that require them to become criminals." This is exactly the situation Stoddard finds himself in when Liberty Valance comes to kill him, where he finally decides to use a gun. In this way, the film also traces Stoddard's transformation from a pure easterner, believing and relying on laws, to a western cowboy solving problems with guns.
The character of Tom Doniphan also follows the code of duty based ethics analyzed in Sue Matheson's article. Doniphan continuously looks after Stoddard to protect him from Liberty Valance, even though he does not really care for him. Stoddard is seen as competition in Doniphan's eyes, threatening to take away his love, Hallie. It is clear that Hallie cares for Stoddard, and Doniphan sees it as his duty to keep Hallie happy by saving Stoddard's life again and again. This ethics theory is based on a set of virtues, which can prove to be a downfall in the west. Matheson states, "On the frontier where vices become virtues, however, it is not surprising that proponents of a duty-based system often find that their virtues have turned into liabilities." This is certainly true for Tom Doniphan. By saving Stoddard and becoming the unsung hero, he losses Hallie and the label of the town hero, both of which he possessed before Stoddard arrived to town.
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The film The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance depicts two prominent alpha male cowboy characters, Liberty Valance and Tom Doniphan, who offset the newcomer, Ransom Stoddard’s eastern view of the world. When Stoddard first arrives, he is ambushed by Liberty Valance, which marks the beginning of their long term battle against each other. In various scenes, Liberty Valance comes into town to hassle Stoddard, however, Doniphan is always there to help Stoddard out of these situations, even though their ideas on the best way to handle it differ. Doniphan represents the typical alpha male cowboy by resorting to guns and violence to solve his problems and emphasizes that there are no law books in the west. Stoddard on the other hand, wishes to abide by the law and put Liberty Valance in jail. In Sue Matheson's article, she writes, "The world is ultimately corrupt and corrupting. Thus, decent, normally law-abiding citizens tend to find themselves enmeshed in situations that require them to become criminals." This is exactly the situation Stoddard finds himself in when Liberty Valance comes to kill him, where he finally decides to use a gun. In this way, the film also traces Stoddard's transformation from a pure easterner, believing and relying on laws, to a western cowboy solving problems with guns.
ReplyDeleteThe character of Tom Doniphan follows the code of duty based ethics analyzed in Sue Matheson's article. Doniphan continuously looks after Stoddard to protect him from Liberty Valance, even though he does not particularly care for him. Stoddard is seen as competition in Doniphan's eyes, threatening to take away his love, Hallie. It is clear that Hallie cares for Stoddard, and Doniphan sees it as his duty to keep Hallie happy by saving Stoddard's life again and again. This ethics theory is based on a set of virtues, which can prove to be a downfall in the west. Matheson states, "On the frontier where vices become virtues, however, it is not surprising that proponents of a duty-based system often find that their virtues have turned into liabilities." This is certainly true for Tom Doniphan. By saving Stoddard and becoming the unsung hero, he losses Hallie and the label of the town hero, both of which he possessed before Stoddard arrived to town.
Doniphon ultimately helps Stoddard because he respects him, and not just to make Hallie happy. He respects his willingness to stand up for what he believes in. "He has sand," he says after hauling Stoddard back to town. He helps Stoddard again and again because they have shared values. The only difference between the two is one's talent with a tool.
ReplyDeleteWere there no guns in the West, Doniphon and Stoddard might have stood against Liberty Valence as Plato might have - with sinew and bone.