It has been said that there are three sides to every story: yours, theirs, and the truth. Sometimes all sides are not told, but it is guaranteed that at some point in time the truth will come to light. The infamous story of the bank-robbing dynamic duo Bonnie and Clyde is no different. In recent times, if you ask someone about the pair they will either speak of them highly while recounting some of the crimes that they committed as necessities to get through hard times, or said person will see them as barbaric, good-for-nothing burglars who did nothing but rape innocent citizens and steal their belongings for no reason at all. The truth actually lies somewhere in between the two perspectives. Bonnie Parker's poem The Trail's End and W. D. Jones' …show more content…
Voluntary Statement B-71 provide an inside look into how the "Barrow Gang" would live when they were at large and they also somewhat explain why the group committed the crimes they did. Though the standpoints do differ, the truth is surfaced from the reports. Bonnie Parker wrote a poem titled The Trail's End to inform the public of her perspective of how her and Clyde were living at the time.
Through her work she attempts convey the message that her and Clyde are not as cruel as the media makes them out to be: "There's a lot of untruths to these write-ups; they're not as ruthless as that". In one part of the poem she states that it is not Clyde's fault that he is the way he is but in fact the law's fault: "But I say this with pride that I once knew Clyde, when he was upright and clean. But the law fooled around; kept taking him down, and locking him up in a cell. Till he said to me; "I'll never be free, so I'll meet a few of them in hell"". Bonnie does this to build up the sympathy of the public and to get them on the gang's side so that they would not be exposed when they were moving to new locations. The message makes it appear as if the gang just had a problem with the law and would only take on large establishments like banks, but W. D. Jones' account tells otherwise in his voluntary statement from …show more content…
1933. On November 18th, 1933 W. D. Jones released a statement to the police regarding a few of the misdeeds the gang had committed while he was still affiliated with the group. These claims mostly revolved around Clyde's misdoings interestingly enough. He seems to highlight how unnecessarily violent Barrow was in his statement: "...Clyde Barrow tried to hold up a grocery store, and did kill a man who sought to interfere when Clyde and I were attempting to steal an automobile parked on one of the city streets in Temple, Texas." During the time this statement was released Jones was about to be arrested for burglary and murder charges. As a result, W. D. would tell of the crimes that Clyde committed to give the impression that it was Clyde who was the master of all the devious crimes the gang perpetrated, which he was, and that Jones was forced to abide by his wishes. Parker and Jones both have reasons as to why they see the gang, specifically Clyde, and their actions differently. One was blinded by love and followed her partner to the very end while the other was trying to save himself from a rotting jail cell. Although, both members would agree that the mob had a difficult time trying to survive during that time period. The Barrow Gang did at least attempt to live a somewhat everyday life, but it was quite obvious that the lifestyle they so very much desired would not be able to last forever.
In Parker's poem she writes about how Clyde once joked to her saying "...we're joining the NRA", or National Recovery Administration, to receive government jobs. Bonnie at that point realized that she was no longer considered a citizen and was now seen as a filthy thug as she continues in The Trail's End: "If they try to act like citizens and rent them a nice little flat. About the third night; they're invited to fight, by a sub-gun's rat-tat-tat". Similarly, Jones' statement includes a story such as the one from the poem. He recalls how "They [Buck and Blanche Barrow] rented a house at Joplin where we stayed about two weeks". During those two weeks everyone laid low and life was peaceful. Of course, in time, the police were alerted of their whereabouts and didn't hesitate to open gunfire on the mob leaving them wounded. W. D. also gladly mentions that he in fact did not have a gun during the encounter with the officers: "I did not have any gun, because I had not been carrying any kind of gun after the man had been killed in Temple, Texas on Christmas Day". In Bonnie’s opinion they were just trying to act like regular people and mind their business, but it was the "no good" law that had to end their paradise. Parker includes the stanza about the police shooting at the gang to add that at this point her
and Clyde could never stop. She is trying to make it seem as if her and Clyde would gladly settle down and stop stealing, but they just simply cannot. Jones, on the other hand, mentions that he doesn't have a gun to further separate himself from the actions of the others. He makes it out to be that he was completely innocent and would never hurt a fly unless Clyde forced him to, which totally counteracts the intended message of Bonnie's poem. Even though the tale of Bonnie and Clyde is and will continue to be twisted, regardless of the information available, the three perspectives have still been told: yours, in regards to Bonnie Parker, theirs, in regard to W. D. Jones, and the truth. The truth of the story is that the Barrow Gang members were intelligent thieves who murdered and stole from people, but they still did keep some of their humanity along the way. Now that the truth has surfaced the story is
In the legendary period of American history known as the Old West, the law of the whole nation had yet to tame that frontier which was spottily settled. This resulted in lawlessness seen in the personage of those known as outlaws and lawbreakers whose notorious reputations often exceeded their very person to mythical proportions. Belle Starr was one such outlaw. From her association with outlaws such as Jesse James and the Younger brothers, she reached a level of fantastic infamy that today leaves the facts of her life not always distinguishable from the fiction. Belle's life is an odyssey of many marriage's and affairs with felons, petty criminals, and unsavory characters. Belle Starr’s legacy will live on forever reminding us of the past events that still connect with current societies events.
Ellsworth was mean, and it was ugly. The stench of the its streets fell second to the odor of the unbathed saddle tramps who had just delivered 150,000 cattle from San Antonio to its freight yards. Adding to these smells were the blends of whisky, tanning leather, kerosene and carved carcasses, a revolting combination. Gunfights were spontaneous, either over a woman or a card game. When Wyatt crossed the Smoky Hill River into Ellsworth in 1873, he may have remembered the "rules of the gunman," but had no intention of employing them. The two main “rules of a gunman” were to take his time and always be armed. Although many people had warned him that it would be naive to go westward without being properly armed, Wyatt didn’t own a gun. All he hoped for was to find a peaceable job. But, only hours after hitching his horse in town he began to wonder if perhaps everyone was right. The most boisterous spot in town was Brennan’s Saloon, off Ellsworth Square; its faro and poker tables buzzed 24 hours, bartenders tapped beer and ...
Three additional children followed Clyde’s birth, and the families financial difficulties worsened as the price for cotton bounced up and down. After some years the Barrow’s found it impossible to provide for their children and sent them to live with relatives in east Texas. At one relatives home Clyde developed two interests that remained with him to the end of hid life: a passion for music, and an obsession with guns. Even as Clyde drove along the lane in Louisiana to his death, he carried a saxophone and reams of sheet music, as well as an arsenal of firearms. Clyde loved and named his guns, and regarded them as tokens of his power.
She starts by telling us what she thinks the dead are doing. She is putting this picture in the reader’s head of dead down by the river drinking to start out the poem. The second line and the beginning of the third line talking about unburdening themselves of their fears and worries for us makes the reader think of someone that has passed that they knew. By saying this, she is trying to get the point across that the dead are thinking of us, like we think of them. The thought of the dead still caring and worried about us will later be strengthened in the poem when the writer starts using memories in the poem. Mitchell then says “They take out the old photographs.” she starts using memories to start making feelings more deep. Lines four and five continue this, stating “They pat the lines in our hands and tell our futures, which are cracked and yellow.”. These lines contain a metaphor comparing our futures to something cracked and yellow. Her directly stating that our futures are cracked and yellow, gives a very depressing vibe. This is foreshadowing that she is depressed about something, that we will later find about at the end of the poem. In the first five lines of the poem, the writer is talking about the the dead and what they are doing. Even though she doesn’t really know what they are doing, she puts a picture in our
Jesse James and Billy the Kid are almost perfect examples for the definition of outlaw. Billy and Jesse lead a life of defiance, always running from the law, their lives clinging to existence, hoping death was not a breath away While running from a governor or robbing a bank, both Billy and Jesse were not the type of men that stop and smell the flowers. It is hard to think that these two men were proud of all they had done, but their choices lead them to become legends and icons of the wild wild west, and their fast lives created senerios in the minds of young and old people everywhere. Their stories were embedded in the history of America, stories of two not so different men.
There is no doubt in the minds of many people who are familiar with the Rubin "Hurricane" Carter story that he, and the man who was convicted for murder with him, John Artis, are innocent of those crimes. While no one knows for sure who is guilty of the crime, but the one thing that is for certain is that Carter and Artis were victims of racial bias from many people who would see them in jail. This story is truly a tragic one of a promising career, and of a life that was spoiled by prejudice and one that reviles some of the ways in which, society's present legal system can fail to ensure the right of justice for people in our society.
While the western frontier was still new and untamed, the western hero often took on the role of a vigilante. The vigilante’s role in the frontier was that of extralegal verve which was used to restrain criminal threats to the civil peace and opulence of a local community. Vigilantism was typical to the settler-state societies of the western frontier where the structures and powers of government were at first very feeble and weak. The typical cowboy hero had a willingness to use this extralegal verve. The Virginian demonstrated this throughout with his interactions with Trampas, most notably in the interactions leading up to the shoot out and during the shoot-out itself. “Others struggled with Trampas, and his bullet smashed the ceiling before they could drag the pistol from him… Yet the Virginian stood quiet by the...
In the episode entitled Fawn, Marshal Dillon is charged with a woman that escaped an Indian camp. She is accompanied by a young Indian girl. They are in Dodge till the womans husband arrives fetch her. While the woman is waiting for her husband a man comes to speak to her. He accepts her and the little girl. When the husband arrives he wants the girl to go to a reservation, but the woman refuses to let her go. The husband divorces the woman and goes back east. The woman must run with the little girl because the government wants to put the little girl on a reservation. Marshal Dillon arranges for the man that spoke to the woman earlier to take both the woman and the little girl away with him. This saves the little girl. Throughout the episode Marshal Dillon defends the woman, because he thinks she and the little girl are treated unjustly.
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...
Bonnie Parker grew up with a normal childhood went to school every day was an above average student. She was born in Rowena Texas on October 10, 1910. Her father Charles Parker was a brick layer, but he died when bonnie was only four. After her father’s death the family moved in with her grandparents by Dallas Texas. She met Roy Thornton and soon after they got married, but Thornton got in trouble with the law and sentenced to five years in prison leaving bonnie on her own. She had a waitress job but was unhappy after Roy left. Until went to visit a friend in West Dallas where she then met Clyde Barrow. Clyde was born March 24, 1909 in Telico Texas. Clyde Barrow’s father was Henry Barrow who was a share cropper. He was one of eight children in the family. Clyde’s academics was anything but consistent. When his father quit farming the family moved to West Dallas which was were his dad opened a service shop. Clyde started high school but that was short lived he dropped out of school. Bonnie and Clyde met in West Dallas at a mutual friend’s house .Bonnie’s life prior to their crime spree was completely normal for a teenage high school student job at a café, showing no signs of becoming a notorious robber. Clyde on the other hand was the complete opposite. After dropping out of high school he went out with his brother selling stole...
...laws and all. The Harlem Dancer, McKay illustrates the scenery and admires the beauty of a prostitute as she puts on a show for the crowd, though he knows she is hiding her true feelings with smiles. Both views on the women are rare thoughts, being that other people don’t usually see the way these two poets illustrate. Beauty isn’t about having a pretty face. It’s about having a pretty mind, pretty heart, and most importantly, a beautiful soul.
Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow had a gang called the “barrow” gang and they went across the country robbing and killing people during the Great Depression. Throughout the whole four years of the Barrow gang, they had committed 13 murders. Even when they had kidnapped people, they didn't always kill them. They usually would drive them to a different state and drop them off. Just so they can find their way back, and sometimes they would give the person money to get back home. Many would say what they were doing was too much, but to them it wasn’t, they were just having a good time. In the 1930’s Bonnie and Clyde were considered dangerous bank robbers, burglars and murderers all over the country.
Many of the scenes throughout this movie show the two friend “Snowman” Jerry Reed and “The Bandit” Burt Reynolds truck across the states to Texas to bring back booze with them in order to win a bet. What these two do not plan on is encountering a runaway bride who just so happens to bring the long arm of the law with her. With her new found association with the Bandit, the immediate pursuit is on by one determined officer of the law. These two travel all across the state from Texas back home under “hot pursuit”
When Oakley joined Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show, Buffalo Bill originally advertised Oakley that since she is a female, Oakley would bring comfort to the women and children in the audience ’s, so they have no reason to be afraid of the loud noises from the guns going off. Soon, Buffalo Bill realized that Oakley’s presence in his show would bring about such a large change, not only did his audience size grow, but Oakley started to make a change within society. Oakley promoted females using firearms because she herself felt that a woman’s duty was not just in the home, like everyone else at this time believed because of the separate spheres that men and women believed
Arthur Penn cleverly uses the destruction brought on by Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow with their Tommy Guns to 'convey the violence that was happening with the American