Notion anglais mythes et héros

MYTHS AND HEROES

Manifest destiny and american exceptionalism :

To introduce the notion of myths and heroes, I will start by defining these two terms. A myth is a set of beliefs, idealized representations around a character, a phenomenon and that give them a particular importance. A hero is someone who shows great courage in distingwishing himself by his actions We have always rewritten and reinvented new myths and there have always been new heroes who appear. Here I will focus on Westward Expansion in the United States in the 19th century.

So I will try to answer the following question :To what extent does the westward Expansion represents the notion myths and heroes ?

First of all we are going to see that there is a mythical vision of the conquest of the west. Then, we are going to see that there is a darker reality. Finally, we are going to see the example of an amiguous hero : David Crockett.

I) A mythical vision of the conquest of the west

⇒ This painting of John Gast represents Westward Expansion, with the godess figure hinting the idea that the USA are destined to bring the light and civilization to the whole Amrican continent. The United States are based on American Exceptionalism which is an ideology according to wich the UsA is unique among all nations because of its ideals of democracy and personal freedom. And on the Manifest Destiny which is an ideology according to wich it is the inevitable destiny of the USA to spread its ideals of democracy, liberty and justice period. It was espacially used to justify Westward Expansion in the 19th century.

⇒ In the trailer of The searchers, which is a western movie released in 1956 we can see the typical figure of the hero : a tall, white, muscular man who is humble, brave, determined,patient, tender, …

he is also wearing the typical dress of the cowboy : hat, gun, bandana, jeans…

This is a cliché and simplistic vision of Westward Expansion in the USA with the good cowboy fighting the hostile, Native Americans.

II) A darker reality

⇒ But in reality, Natives Amercians were persecuted. The settlers were seen as the kind ans Natives Americans were seen as the bad guys. As we can see in the document about the trail of tears. The settlers believed that it was their God-given right and their destiny to seize Indian land. The cohabitation between Natives and settlers became more difficult as more and more white settlers came to the area wanted good lands to grow cotton. So the settlers forced them to leave their homeland and walk a thousands of miles to a specially designated « Indian Territory ». this journey is called The Trail of Tears.

⇒ We can also see that in the poem « White Man Come » by Ray Is na wi chah that settlers used violence against Natives. The settlers came and everything change : the environnment, the culture, the politic… things have changed psychologically for the natives.

III) The example of an ambiguous hero : David Crockett

⇒ David Crockett looks heroic in the mini serie of Walt Disney

...