W.D.Wetherell, The Man Who Loved Levittown
How Tommy DiMaria is used to represent the distinction between the cowboys and sheepherders. The first thought associated with the word "cowboy" is that: this is a real man, virile, strong, brave, and dexterous. We imagine a clatter of horses hoofs, wind blowing into his ears, and a lasso in his muscular hands. This word definitely has a romantic tinge; some action is hidden inside it. What about "a sheepherder"? Our imagination depicts flat land occupied by a huge flock of sheep, a doleful man with a long crook in his hand. There is no action at all and only a couple of words can be used: boring and very prosaic. We are about to enter Levittown, the land that has became an apple of discord, which means so much for the cowboys and doesn't have any special meaning for the sheepherders. The setting of the novel carries us back to the late forties. Wetherell invokes the economic uncertainty of the immediate post war period. Tommy DiMaria, the World War II vet was one of the bunches of young men, who were "just trying to get started", who were "just naive, as just crazy hopeful." All they had were a couple of good hands, belief in luck, and an eagerness to provide good care for their families. They had a dream of th
DiMaria believes that the cowboys would never allow themselves to do such things. Then the sheepherders entered the scene. We can't blame them, because nobody is perfect. His garbage was spilled, his mail stolen, they even arranged to have his house reassessed. He saw them as soulless conquistadors, who came to reap where they have not sown. "They didn't have a dream" of their own, but they were "walking on mine. All Tommy had been doing all those years was work, work, and work, but he perfectly understood that it was the only way to live. It didn't have one prize; instead everyone could compete for the bigger, better prize. There is no place in his judgment for the nuances; he uses only black and white paint: the noble cowboys versus the heartless and mean sheepherders. " He sensed himself as part of a big, united whole. What made it seem easier, was, "that everybody else was more or less in the same boat". Tommy was trying to be friendly, but in vain, they rejected him immediately like he was something old and useless. When the first one, Manes, came out of the blue, Tommy didn't feel a danger at first and didn't recognize him as an enemy. The cowboys were proud to be blue-collar workers that could lead middle-class lives.
Common topics in this essay:
Bill Levit,
Tommy DiMaria,
War II,
Grapes Wrath,
tommy dimaria,
cowboys sheepherders,
tommy called,
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