Kevin Wynne Professor Legal Systems November 30 2015 Billy the Kid When I first started this research paper I didn’t know who Billy the kid was and why he was one of the top 100 notorious criminals. After my research I discovered why Billy the kid was a well known outlaw in American old west and how much he did in the little time he had. Not much is known about his early life and what is known is not very accurate. The amount of myths around Billy the kid really starts to blur what actually happen. That’s what makes Billy the kid a legend. Billy the kid’s life starts when Catherine McCarty gave birth to Henry McCarty in 1859 in New York City. His exact birth date is unknown and some people belief he was born on November 23, 1859 and …show more content…
others believe it was on September 19 1859. Yet there is no actually proof to back these statements up and I don’t think we will ever find out when he was really born. Billy the kid real name is Henry McCarty. When his mom remarries he took the name Henry Antrim. Later in his life he changes it to William H. Bonney. He got his famous nickname Billy the kid when reporters during the last year of his life started referring to him as Billy (nickname for William) The Kid (because of how young he was) got his name from (Samantha, Para 5). Billy the kid has one brother named Joseph Antrim and one sister named Bridget McCarty. Billy the kid and his family moved to west New Mexico were his criminal actions begin. His mother dies from lung cancer in 1874. His stepfather leaves them behind and they get put into many foster homes. Billy the kid then gets arrested for stealing laundry. This is when the kid escapes from jail for the first time. After that Billy the kid moves away from his family to work as a ranch hand. Billy the kid committed many crimes during this period and this is where the legend begins. At the age of 17 on August 17, 1877 Billy the kid claimed his first confirmed victim Francis P also known as “Windy Cahill”. Francis bullied Billy the kid and one day Billy wiped out his pistol and shot him in his gut and killed him. He fled Arizona and went back to New México. Billy the kid joined the Lincoln County wars and was in a gang called the Regulators. In these wars he participated in 5 shootings which is a lot especially at his young age. He joined the wars between ranchers and businessman when his leader of the gang John Tunstall died. When Tunstall died Billy the kid became the leader of the gang. Billy the kid swore he would kill the man responsible. That man happens to be the sheriff William Brady. Billy the kid and some members kill the Sheriff William Brady. Billy the kid now an outlaw and was on the run but he offers parley to his enemies and returns back. Billy gets a planned arrested so he can testify against 2 rival gang members and by doing this he breaks the treaty they just made. But what Billy wasn’t aware of is that after he testifies he was set for a hearing. When he found out he walked right out the jail. This is when Billy kills his second confirmed victim Joe Grant. Joe was a bounty hunter and he challenged Billy. Billy the kid won the fight because Joe was drunk. After this everything went downhill for Billy the kid when the Pat Garrett the newly elected sheriff comes to town. Billy gang killed a deputy and blamed it on him. This is when the $500 reward comes out for the capture of Billy the kid. There are many people claiming there was a wanted poster for The Kid $5,000 dollars dead or alive. But these are myths because there was only 1 poster that exists. The new sheriff and his friends start to track down Billy the kid. Billy and his gang surrender to Sheriff Garrett. He tries to dig his way out of jail and is caught and chained to the floor. Billy the kid goes to trial twice. The first one gets dismissed. The second one is for the death of Sheriff William Brady. He is convicted of first-degree murder and gets sentenced to a hanging on May 13th. Billy was the only person to get convicted from the Lincoln county wars. They put Billy the kid in Lincoln county jail to await hanging. Then the great Billy the kid had an amazing escape where he found a shotgun then killed 2 guards named James Bell and Robert Olinger, He left the jail and is on the run again. A few months later on July, 14 1881 Sheriff Garrett killed Billy the kid. Billy the kid never reached his 21th birthday. There are so many myths about Billy the kid that you start to lose sight on what really happen.
There is a myth going around that Billy the kid didn’t die in 1881. There are some stories that Garrett the new sheriff shot and killed the wrong person and that Billy the kid got away. A man called by the name Brushy Bill Roberts claimed to be Billy the kid. I don’t think he was really Billy the kid because when questioned his answers were not vivid and were mostly incorrect. When comparing the two pictures of them both they don’t look like it’s the same person. What’s even more amazing is that another man named John Miller also claimed he was Billy the kid but unlike Brushy Roberts this man only told his friends and family and did not talk publicly about it. Even though he does in fact look similar like Roberts his information on Billy the kid was unclear. This is still debated today whether he died or not and a professor is asking to see the death certificate of Billy the kid so he can prove or disprove this theory. I think Billy died that day because Garrett proved he would stop at nothing to get the kid. But these myths just make for a great story. They said Billy the kid killed 21 people one for each birthday. There are a few problems with this theory. He never reached his 21th birthday and he only killed 4 confirmed people. Billy the kid was in 5 shootings so we don’t really know if he actually killed was the person to kill those people. There is no way to prove if he did …show more content…
because in shootings bullets are just flying and you can’t prove who killed who. Like what Ms. Marcelle Brothers said “If he never participated or was killed during the war we would not have heard of Billy the Kid.” (Brothers, Para 2) This is true because if we look at all the kills that people claim he committed only 4 were from outside the war. Billy the kid was also blamed for quite a few murders he didn’t commit. The reasons these myths come up are to make a good story and make Billy the kid a legend. Even with some many Billy the kid myths you can still tell why he is one of the most know criminals in the United States.
He committed tons of crimes in such a short amount of time. What really makes Billy the kid a legend is being able to escape from jails at such a young age. Billy the kid’s age plays a huge role in making him a legend. Before he even reached his 21th birthday he was in 5 shootings, the Lincoln county war, becomes leader of a gang and even escapes from a jail. To be able to do that at his young age is incredible and is why Billy the kid is so known today and the myths of him just add on making him even more amazing then he already is. One thing many people believe is that Billy the kid was mean and coldhearted. But he wasn’t as bad as people make him seem. All of the people he killed were from self defense, so he wasn’t a killer. He did what he needed to do at the time. He was a fun kind of guy to be around and he wasn’t a mean person. In fact he loved music and could even sing (Samantha). He only did what he needed to so he could survive. I believe he was a famous outlaw because how he committed those crimes but always came back to the same town to try to handle it. He wrote to the Governor a few times to try to talk to him about getting him pardoned. Billy held up his end but too many people have heard of Billy the kid so the Governor couldn’t do it. That’s when Billy knew there was only one way to get out of it which was escaping. But that was what
put Billy the kid apart from any other outlaw in the west. He always compromised his way out. He did kill but he wasn’t an evil person. There are many bad people today and they don’t try to talk or write to get them out of there trouble and that’s what makes Billy the kid different. Killers don’t care about what the governor or mayor thinks but Billy the kid did. That’s why I think his age really played a part in that because he had more reason and was open-minded. An old man can be stubborn but a kid at the age of 17-20 has reason and is willing to compromise just like most kids today. He is the most known outlaw that the west has ever seen and the best part is he wasn’t the deadliest. Billy the kid is so famous that’s he featured in 75 films (Hutton, 6). There are so many movies about him because of all the myths that evolve around him. That’s what makes Billy the kid such a legend. Billy the kid isn’t a bad guy, just bad things happen to him which lead him to do the things that happen to him. Like Samantha once said “He is considered one of the most misunderstood historical figure of the Old West, probably because of the amount of myths associated with his name and life.’’ (Samantha, Para 23) Billy the kid will always be a legend and people will always know who he was because people keep writing the new stories and making new films about The kid.
Because of the outlaw hero’s definitive elements, society more so identifies with this myth. Ray said, “…the scarcity of mature heroes in American...
The lives of everyone in the town of Springfield Oregon changed on May 21st of 1998. A quiet boy named Kip Kinkel became known as “The Killer at Thurston High” after killing both of his parents, murdering two classmates, and severely injuring 24 others. There are many factors in the 15 year old boy’s life that led up to the horrific events that occurred on that day. The same factors that influenced the tragedy in occurring could have very easily insured that it never happened to begin with.
In "The Thematic Paradigm", Robert Ray explains how there are two distinctly different heroes, the outlaw hero and the official hero. The official hero embraces common values and traditional beliefs, while the outlaw has a clear sense of right and wrong but operates above the law (Ray). Ray explains how the role of an outlaw hero has many traits. "The attractiveness of the outlaw hero's childishness and propensity to whims, tantrums, and emotional decisions derived from America's cult of childhood", states Ray. (309) Ray also says, "To the outlaw hero's inconsistence on private standards of right and wrong, the official hero offered the admonition, you cannot take the law into your own hands." (312) The values of these two traditional heroes contrasts clearly. Society favors the outlaw hero because we identify with that character more. We see ourselves more so in the outlaw hero than in the official hero. The outlaw hero has the "childlike" qualities that most of us wish we had as adults. To civilians it may seem that the outlaw hero lives more of a fantasy life that we all wish to have.
Somewhere out in the Old West wind kicks up dust off a lone road through a lawless town, a road once dominated by men with gun belts attached at the hip, boots upon their feet and spurs that clanged as they traversed the dusty road. The gunslinger hero, a man with a violent past and present, a man who eventually would succumb to the progress of the frontier, he is the embodiment of the values of freedom and the land the he defends with his gun. Inseparable is the iconography of the West in the imagination of Americans, the figure of the gunslinger is part of this iconography, his law was through the gun and his boots with spurs signaled his arrival, commanding order by way of violent intentions. The Western also had other iconic figures that populated the Old West, the lawman, in contrast to the gunslinger, had a different weapon to yield, the law. In the frontier, his belief in law and order as well as knowledge and education, brought civility to the untamed frontier. The Western was and still is the “essential American film genre, the cornerstone of American identity.” (Holtz p. 111) There is a strong link between America’s past and the Western film genre, documenting and reflecting the nations changes through conflict in the construction of an expanding nation. Taking the genres classical conventions, such as the gunslinger, and interpret them into the ideology of America. Thus The Western’s classical gunslinger, the personification of America’s violent past to protect the freedoms of a nation, the Modernist takes the familiar convention and buries him to signify that societies attitude has change towards the use of diplomacy, by way of outmoding the gunslinger in favor of the lawman, taming the frontier with civility.
A question that arises in almost any medium of art, be it music, film or literature, is whether or not the depiction of violence is merely gratuitous or whether it is a legitimate artistic expression. There can be no doubt that Michael Ondaatje's long poem The Collected Works of Billy the Kid is a violent work, but certain factors should be kept in mind before passing it off as an attempt to shock and titillate; certainly, the poem does both of these, but they are not the primary purpose of the work. For one thing, social context needs to be considered; Billy lived in the "Wild West", a time associated with range wars, shoot-outs and great train robberies. The entire legend of Billy the Kid has been built around his criminal activities and notorious reputation; indeed, the more popular this myth becomes, the more people he is accused of having murdered. If anything, it was a cultural fascination with violence that "created" the legend, perhaps even more so than anything the "real" Billy ever did. Michael Ondaatje comments on this phenomenon and actually offers an alternative vision of who Billy the Kid was; perhaps he was not just a blood-thirsty killer but a man who, due to circumstance and human nature, was continually being pushed over the edge. Ondaatje is more concerned with the motivations behind the acts of violence than the acts of violence themselves: "A motive? some reasoning we can give to explain all this violence. Was there a source for all this? yup -" (54). If they shock, it is to shock the readers out of complicity and encourage them to think about the nature of violence and their own capacity for it.
Henry Starr was a 17 year old Cherokee cowboy working a steady job at a ranch. One day, however he was framed for stealing two horses by a man that was in cahoots with a crooked sheriff. Henry’s uncle paid his bail, and Henry went back to work. A little while later, a rival cowboy hid whiskey in Henrys wagon, and Henry was stopped with a whiskey warrant, which was a way for crooked lawmen and lawyers to make money off of each other. Once again, Henry’s uncle bailed him out.
When one thinks of the United States of America, they probably consider our history, our culture, our media, our impressive cities and the extremely wide variety of beautiful wildernesses that we are lucky enough to still enjoy. We are lucky enough to have a melting pot of cultures in this country, and many different kinds of people. However, when thinking of an original, all-American figure, cowboys come to mind for many people. Our history and the settlement of the U.S. was unlike any other country, and the development of the country in the more western states came with the unique and fascinating time period referred to now as “The Old West”. The Old West was a crucial time in American history, and though it was a simpler time it also came with its share of excitement. Some of the most memorable details about the Old West were the characters that came with it, and some extremely interesting ones were the least conforming- the outlaws. Jesse Woodson James was one of the most notorious outlaws in American history. His name would go down in history as one belonging to a tough as nails and fearless bank robber who led a group of outlaws across the mid-west robbing banks and trains, and even murdering people. When we look at the big picture of what the U.S. has become today, The Old West certainly has had a large impact on our culture, and Jesse James certainly had a large impact on the Old West. Though most would argue that he was not a decent or moral person, one cannot argue that he was still a very interesting and unique icon of the west. So how did Jesse Woodson James change and leave his mark on the United St...
to tell childr en about a kid around their age or little older than they
Atticus risked his safety and reputation to defend Tom Robinson because he believed in equality and showed it with his actions. However Boo Radley, the crazy recluse of the village is also a hero. He came out of his house, and risked exposure and his safety to save Atticus’s children from murder. A hero is someone who puts others’ safety or needs before their own. Therefore, this essay shows both Atticus and Boo are heroes.
"...The fate of each character is the direct reverse of what one is led to expect from his nature" (Johnson, 185). The character of Billy Budd is portrayed as a peacemaker, a young, innocent, likable, sweet man. However, halfway through the story, he becomes a murderer. Billy Budd was first introduced to the reader as a good looking young man in good health who was honest and sincerely innocent. He does not believe that Claggart could dislike him, since he is so nice to his face. When Billy finds out about Claggart's lies, he strikes him and kills him. This is not an action that was expected by readers due to the persona he exemplified throughout the first half of the story. Bil...
...ntful life. He was responsible for the death of over 500 people. As a young boy, he had no opportunities to be rich and live in a big home. The only way out was through a life of crime. That’s where he turned and he succeeded with over $60,000,000. To do something well you have to have the drive to do it. This was how Al Capone was and he was a natural at what he did. He had the right personality and the right connections to be at the top. This was how he became the most feared gangster in the city of Chicago and got that $60,000,000. I noticed a connection to Al Capone and Adolf Hitler. They both seemed to have it all then have it suddenly swept under them. They lived lives of crime and hatred but in the end it took a turn. Hitler ended up putting a gun to his mouth while Capone went insane from his stay at Alcatraz. I learned a lot from doing this report. Besides the amount of typing, which has repeatedly cramped my fingers, it let me read some interesting articles that made me really know what Al Capone’s life was like. It may seem cool to talk about Al Capone, but behind his innocent face, was an evil gangster. Al Capone’s name will live on as the crime czar who ruled Chicago.
Imagine waking up on a normal day, in your normal house, in your normal room. Imagine if you knew that that day, you would be taken away from your normal life, and forced to a life of death, sickness, and violence. Imagine seeing your parents taken away from you. Imagine watching your family walk into their certain death. Imagine being a survivor. Just think of the nightmares that linger in your mind. You are stuck with emotional pain gnawing at your sanity. These scenerios are just some of the horrific things that went on between 1933-1945, the time of the Holocaust. This tragic and terrifying event has been written about many times. However, this is about one particularly fascinating story called The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne.
We know that Billy respects Dutch Schultz a lot and wants to become a part of his gang, but many times while he's in the gang, he begins to doubt the group and tells himself he should leave and go hide somewhere. One of these instances was when he was watching over Mrs. Preston, thinking to himself that, “I had the feeling that if we just stayed here we would be free, Mr. Schultz would never find us because he couldn't imagine such a place existed” (152). Because of Billy's nature to debate everything that's going on, he doesn't really do much in the story of his own accord, and the other members of the gang just use him as an errand boy for the most part. I say that Billy's inability is to decide on one thing is a weakness, but it didn't really prevent him from doing anything. His indecisive-ness may have gotten him pushed around by the other gang members, but at the end of the story, Billy was the only one left standing. He does get taken to see Lucky at one point, the man responsible for Mr. Schultz's death, but instead of trying to avenge Schultz, Billy decides to go live his life and get an education, all while under the watchful eyes of Lucky. Perhaps Billy's real issue is that he is too complacent with how things are, always going along with what people tell him and even though he thinks about going against orders, he never does. Billy wanted to
Kurt Vonnegut begins the book with writing about his own experience with the war in Dresden. He goes on to tell about how he wanted to write about his experience for a while and how it took him twenty-three years to actually accomplish it. Vonnegut soon writes about another story in Chapter two and this is the story the rest of the book follows. The reader soon finds out about the character Billy Pilgrim and everything about his life. “He has seen his birth and death many times, he says, and pays random visits to all the events in between” (Vonnegut, 26). Vonnegut uses time-shifting throughout the novel to try and make the reader understand Billy Pilgrims traumatic experiences throughout his life. These different experiences made Billy Pilgrims
Growing up as a boy naturally comes with a lot of pure pressure and competition. From Magazine ads to television shows the male always has to be macho and protect his family.