What Makes a Man to Wander? The Transient’s Search for
Redemption
Towards the twilight stages of the mythic Western, several of the usual
elements involved in it evolved and became much more complex. As the American
audience changed, so too did the American storyteller. The grandiosity and epic
nature of these latter myths that are revealed to us on screen portray a depth
of issues that challenge its audience into analysis of our society and our
deepest fundamental beliefs. Two films that reveal the rich complexities of the
issues facing the US are The Searchers (John Ford, 1956)
and Ride the High Country (Sam Peckinpah, 1962). Some
significant issues that are explored in these films are morality, racism,
reconciliation, and religion.
Familiar figures are
presented to us like Ethan Edwards (John Wayne), Steve Judd (Joel McCrea), and
Gil Westrum (Randolph Scott) , however there is something much more peculiar
and opaque about these characters that audiences may find difficult to examine
on the surface. With the characters having to deal with an outer conflict that
is apparent, there is something ruminating deep within them; nothing that is
verbally conveyed but can be delineated through the actions and emotional
responses that these characters play out through the films. There is a constant
inward struggle plaguing these characters. Oddly, they always seem to enter from
and exit into the margins of society; appearing and disappearing into a vast
landscape. I argue that these struggles are based on their inabilities to
conform to the social constructs of subjective moral principles, and in
analyzing this notion one may conclude that the distinction between right,
wrong, good and evil is full of ambiguity and uncertainty. The mythic Western
figure is doomed to fall into a life of transience and an endless search for redemption.
In The
Searchers, the idea of transience is presented to us at the start of
the film, which is an important theme to this narrative. If we analyze it
deeply it could provide some insight. First off, what is a transient? The
dictionary definition is a person who inhabits a place for only a short period
of time. As the opening title credits begin rolling it is accompanied by a
song written and composed by Stan Jones and performed by The Songs of
the Pioneers. The lyrics present intriguing questions that pertain to the
struggles of an individual entering into and becoming a part of society;
What makes a man to wander?
What makes a man to roam?
What makes a man leave bed and board,
and turn his back on home?
Ride away,
Ride away,
Ride away
What makes a man to roam?
What makes a man leave bed and board,
and turn his back on home?
Ride away,
Ride away,
Ride away
(Stan Jones, 1956)
The first scene of the
film depicts the landscape from the inside of a dark cabin. The landscape is
highly contrasted to the inner dwellings of the home. What can we make of this?
Perhaps true answers are embedded within the vast landscape as opposed to being
within the dark cabin which could represent society’s constructed answers to
fundamental moral questions. The transient who is played by Ethan Edwards
(Wayne) enters into the narrative from a mysterious and complex past.
Similarly, in Ride the High Country Steve Judd enters into a
town of unfamiliarity, full of modern buildings and technology. He traverses
the town with a sort of naivety draped on his face while thinking he was being
greeted by a cheering crowd. A police officer yells, “Get out of the way old
man!” Steve is in a place where he and the audience know he does not belong.
Steve is a shadow representing a past that is almost forgotten and
unappreciated as revealed by the bankers where the deal to transport twenty
thousand dollars worth of gold is made. The bankers tell Steve that they are
not concerned about the past and want to focus on the present. This statement
is not only felt by the bankers but can represent the feelings of the town and
beyond to society in general. Steve represents the past and is unable to be
understood by the community that surrounds him. As Michael Bliss, the author
of Justified Lives: Morality and Narrative in the Films of Sam
Peckinpah, states, “Given the way that the film approves of Steve’s
morality and criticizes that of civilization, it seems more likely that it is
the world that has lost touch with Steve.” (Bliss). Steve agrees to the deal of
transporting gold, but there is something more at stake for Steve than being
able to get a monetary reward. He is on a quest of reconciliation. This higher
purpose drives his motivations for being able to live up to principles that are
deeply personal and complex.
Ethan Edwards also has a perception of the world that is personal and complex.
At several instances in the film the audience is jolted by actions played out
by Ethan that seem to surface from an embroiled and conflicted conscience. Soon
after the massacre of Ethan’s family, the search for Lucy and Debbie begins.
When the group of searchers happens upon a dead Comanche Ethan begins to shoot
out the eyes of the corpse. He states that by shooting the eyes out the spirit
will be cursed to eternally wander. Some insight on this scene is stated by Robert
B. Pippin in his essay What is a Western? Politics and Self-Knowledge
in John Ford’s The Searchers. Pippin suggests that
“it manifests again the self-hatred theme, since the description of someone who
must “wander forever between the winds” fits Ethan more than anyone.” (Pippin,
2009).
Furthermore, it may be too simple to suggest that this
reaction of Ethan’s is based on racial-hatred, but more on self-conflict and
confusion. For example, the act of massacre on the helpless buffalo is another
scene where Ethan’s hatred arises. He justifies this act by insinuating that if
he systematically slaughters the herd, the Comanche will have nothing to eat
and will starve. The sentiment, which may or may not have been incidental in
the film, is a known fact in American history. The buffalo were nearly instinct
with the encroachment of the land by white settlement. Shortly after, upon
hearing the bugles of the army rangers, Ethan and Marty are introduced to a
scene of the same type of systematic genocide inflicted on a Native tribe.
Ethan’s reaction to this is not of joy but of deep sorrow. Finding Look
murdered is testament to his dejected state, as he pulls the blanket over her
face. Ethan’s anti-Indian racism gets only more ambiguous. Thus Ethan is doomed
from the onset to be a transient. It is fitting that he is compared to a
spirit, who cannot be seen and understood by society, is doomed to wander
forever.
Both films have religious subtext that is worth analyzing in the attempt to
answer or rationalize the transience that plagues the characters. Christianity
is used as a thematic tool, but it also is a tool to decipher between good and
evil for the characters. Sometimes it could be subjective and shaped into a
twisted perception of morality which is proven harmful. For example, in Ride,
Peckinpah takes the audience to the Knudsen Farm where Gil, Steve and Heck are
greeted by the religious Knudsen and his daughter Elsa. As soon as Elsa sees
the men coming she darts into the house to change from her boyish clothing to
feminine attire. This can suggest two possibilities; Firstly, Knudsen is
attempting to disguise his daughter from the hungry eyes of men and secondly,
Elsa chooses to wear men’s clothes to protect herself from her father because
of an incestuous undertone that could be deciphered from the characteristics of
their relationship.
Knudsen is an appropriate character in analyzing,
considering how religion is commented on in the film. At the surface he is very
religious; however when the narrative goes deeper into his character the
audience finds out just how deplorable and shocking his actual behavior really
is. For example, after he catches Elsa meeting with Heck in secret he confronts
her in their home where he strikes her. Immediately following he backs away
into the darkness (which could symbolize his ignorance) and begins citing
scripture. This scene is insightful in beginning to unfold the notions of how a
person can be educated by the social constructs of religion, but can also be
morally deficient. Steve is highly contrasted with Knudsen. Steve is not on a
quest to change the world. He is on a quest of redemption. The intentions of
Steve are pure and just, as opposed to Ethan who at many times in The Searchers acts out of violence and
hatred. Yet both of these characters are searching for something profound in
hopes of justifying themselves in society. The question is do they ever
succeed?
In both films Ethan and Steve are on a quest of
redemption. While Steve’s morality is distinct, Ethan’s is uncertain. The acts
of violence and dialogue expounding hate and racism, illustrates Ethan as
possessing bad moral judgment, however at several instances this illustration
comes into question. It seems that his self-hatred is projected onto others
subtly. For example, after the scene where Ethan and Marty discover the
massacred Native tribe, they make their way to the army camp in hopes to find
Debbie. When they enter the camp they find that there are some white girls that
were there, around the same age Debbie would be. Upon seeing these girls, Ethan
and Marty find that they have completely dissimilated from being “white” and
culturally assimilated into being Natives themselves. Failing to find Debbie
they exit, but the camera focuses in on Ethan as he is exiting the door. His
face is not that of disgust or racial hatred, but of an almost empathetic
gesture to the plight of the young women. The complications and mysterious
nature of Ethan only get more complex as the narrative progresses.
Perhaps the answer to Ethan’s complexity is his actual
search for Debbie and what he chooses to do once he found her. When he
discovers of Scar’s whereabouts, his initial confrontation with Scar provides
much of our understanding of Ethan than what was formerly revealed to the
audience. As he is greeted by Scar (a blue eyed and indistinct character much
like Ethan) they both discover that they understand each other more than they
previously believed. Ethan “speaks pretty good Comanche” and Scar “speaks
pretty good American.” Upon entering Scar’s tent, Ethan and Marty are
introduced to his wives and discover Debbie to be one of them. It would seem
that it is Ethan’s great fear to have his only niece to be a Comanche.
Afterwards he nearly murders Debbie in yet another jolt to the audience’s
conception of Ethan’s moral judgment.
At the final battle scene and climax of the film, Ethan,
Marty and the other deputies find that Scar’s tribe is camped near town. Marty
firmly believes that Ethan will murder Debbie if he got the chance so he offers
to infiltrate the camp to retrieve Debbie safely. As Ethan and the deputies
start to invade, Ethan in his last violent act of the film discovers a dead
Scar, yet scalps him anyway. This sensationalist act could be seen as a way of
concluding revenge on Scar in the only way Ethan knows, which is violent. At
the critical moment of the film, Ethan chases Debbie down. At first it may seem
like he is going to trample her but in redemptive fashion chooses to spare and
accept her. As Robert B. Pippin mentions in his essay, “he (Ethan) is like Huck Finn, who feels guilty for not
turning in Jim even though he sincerely believes Jim is stolen property and
that he is morally obligated to return him.” With this connection, the
distinction between socially constructed views of moral right and wrong are
unclear, and even though Ethan might feel the need to enact his “racist
principles” by killing Debbie, he cannot. For what he felt in his heart
overcame his moral, social, and racial education.
This moral tension is also seen within the framework
of Ride the High Country. Gil is situated as a counter weight to
Steve’s moral quest. His ambitions are too take what he thought life full of
bitterness and failures owed to him. Gil attempts to corrupt Steve but fails
time and again. Gil fails to see Steve’s convictions as being at a much higher
principle. It is also the failings of Knudsen, and the people of Course Gold to
clearly see what Steve stands for. It is something much more than gold, woman,
or booze. It is a self- justification and redemption narrative. One that is
completely personal. As Steve states, “I just want to enter into my house
justified.” The final scene in Ride
is heroic and tragic. Steve and Gil redeem their friendship with one last stand
against Billy and his two remaining brothers. At the end of the gun fight Steve
is mortally wounded and wishes not to be seen in death. His wish is to be
remembered as he lived his last days; a redeemed hero of the highest moral
principles.
The denouement and final scenes of The Searchers and Ride the
High Country both provide provocative conclusions of the characters Ethan
and Steve. Ethan fades back into the landscape much like he entered. The view
from inside the home looks out on Ethan as he disappears. He still is not able
or willing to rejoin society and will most likely continue his journey into
transience to attain something that is inexplicable. The ending in Ride gives a more distinct conclusion to
Steve. His death is both incredibly heroic and tragic. The mythic Western
figure that Steve represents is only carried on by Gil, who is apparently near
death too, as he states during Steve’s final minutes, “I’ll see you soon.” The
tragedy is that Steve and Ethan and the myth that embodies them is a forgotten
one; left in the margins where society fails to acknowledge.
Works Cited
Bliss,
M. (1993). Riding High on Morality. In M. Bliss, Justified (pp. 33-57).
Chicago: Illinois University Press.
Ford, J. (Director).
(1956). The Searchers [Motion Picture].
Peckinpah, S.
(Director). (1962). Ride the High Country [Motion Picture].
Pippin, R. B. (2009).
What is a Western? Politics and Self Knowledge in John Ford's The Searchers. Critical
Inquiry, 223-246.
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