Josey Wales and the Western

In their historical account of the American West, Robert Hine and John Mack Faragher suggest that the American Frontier:

Tells a story of the creation and defense of communities, the utilization of the land, the development of markets, and the formation of states. It is filled with unexpected twists and turns. It is a tale of conquest, but also one of survival and persistence, and of the merging of peoples and cultures that gave birth and continuing life to America as we think of and experience it today (page 5).

The enduring cultural expressions of the frontier were adapted into unique narrative traditions known as the “Western”. The Western genre portrays a story of conquest, competing visions of the land, and the quintessential American frontier hero who is usually a gunfighter or a cowboy. These Western archetypes can be observed in, The Outlaw Josey Wales, a film that employs revenge motifs that lead into and extended chase across the West and touches on the social and cultural issues of the American frontier.

The film is set during and after the American Civil War (1861-65). One of conflicts between the Northern states, the union, and the Southern states was how to proceed in the federal territories of the West. According to Mathew C. Hulbert, in his article titled Texas Bound and Down, this film “clearly captures how Civil War memory and film overlap; the ways in which the war is remembered, represented, and continues to influence the lives of men and women more than a century-and-a-half after its conclusion” (Hulbert). The Civil War drastically changed the social landscape of Missouri, and this is evident through what is observed in the film. The Outlaw Josey Wales shows the effects of the war on Missouri. According to Ge...

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...s than one. It reveals a larger issue at hand between the “white man” and the Indians. This is a common theme portrayed in Westerns—conflicting views of the land. When Watie talks to Josey about how the white man has deamed him “civilized” he expresses a great deal of shame. Watie goes on to talk about how he not only lost his family to the Union but also his pride and his heritage. He talks about being out of touch with his culture because he was forced off of his land and onto the land set-aside for his people by the Union. Watie admires Josey for his bravery, or edge as he calls it. There is a sense of honor and pride that Josey arries with him as he is determined to redeem what was lost. This gives Watie the drive to join Josey and redeem what was taken from him. Both of these men have something worth fighting and dying for and that’s what brings them together.