American Heroes John Wayne vs Billy the Kid
John Wayne was viewed as the embodiment of America's spirit. He and the fictitious land he roamed is, says Louis Owens, "The greatest dream of all," (La Puerta 109). The man was always trying to correct some wrong, avenge a moral crime, save a damsel in distress, or capture the "bad guy." He followed his own path, made his own rules, strove for personal justice, and always came out on top (and usually 'got the girl'). Women wanted him; men wanted to be him. In America's John Wayne heyday, there was not a little boy who didn't dream of riding the open range as "The Duke," on a seemingly divine mission full of passion, honor and courage. Regardless of Owens' opinionated view of the incredulity of John Wayne's myth, "It [John Wayne's West] is a place where, like F. Scott Fitzgerald's Gatsby, the white man sloughs off old names an
They both had their own personal code of ethics, a 'black and white' view of what was acceptable and what deemed punishment and judgement. Billy the Kid is a very different American legend. His morals were not a part of some greater set of rules. 'Bibliography Etilain, Richard. John Wayne followed "The Code of the West. Says Owens, "The true hero of the American West is beyond mundane law because he is beyond reach-beyond civilization-and he operates not within the laws of man but within those of a manifest God," (110) the 'manifest God' here is 'The Code of the West. True, there are many similarities between a myth such as John Wayne's and Billy the Kid's.
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Acceptance Essays
