| Title |
Richins, Rebekah_MENG_2010 |
| Alternative Title |
The American Cowboy: A Cultural Symbol‟s Reflection of the 20th Century American Dream |
| Creator |
Richins, Rebekah |
| Collection Name |
Master of Education |
| Description |
For more than a century, Western cowboy myth has held a firm and unique place in the American psyche. Although its roots stem from actual events and people that exist in American nineteenth century history, fact and fiction start mingling somewhere near the beginning of the 1900s. It is at this point the myth takes on a life of its own. This paper represents an in-depth analysis and discussion of 20th century American cowboy myth and how, over time, it came to reinforce and reflect cultural expectations of success and the American Dream. This theme will be explored in two sections. Section I focuses on giving the audience a contextual base. Three major topics are discussed. The first chapter is an historical overview of the factual American West. The second chapter is concentrated on giving myth a specific definition for the sake of this discussion. And the final chapter focuses on describing and defining the American Dream. Ultimately, this section is necessary to contextually prepare and inform the audience for material presented in Section II. Section II, conversely, is fully focused on mapping evolutions in American cowboy myth and how those evolutions came to reflect and reinforce cultural expectations of success and the American Dream. The chapters of this section are presented chronologically and are categorized to underline the cultural and mythical changes that occurred over the course of the 20th century. In the end, this analysis proves, once and for all, the enormous influence and substantial role American cowboy myth has had on 20th century American culture as a whole. |
| Subject |
Cowboys; Cowboys in popular culture; American Dream |
| Keywords |
American west; American cowboy myth; Cultural symbols |
| Digital Publisher |
Stewart Library, Weber State University |
| Date |
2010 |
| Language |
eng |
| Rights |
The author has granted Weber State University Archives a limited, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to reproduce their theses, in whole or in part, in electronic or paper form and to make it available to the general public at no charge. The author retains all other rights. |
| Source |
University Archives Electronic Records; Master of Arts in English. Stewart Library, Weber State University |
| Format |
application/pdf |
| ARK |
ark:/87278/s63y1v7y |
| Setname |
wsu_smt |
| ID |
96757 |
| Reference URL |
https://digital.weber.edu/ark:/87278/s63y1v7y |
