"Riders of the Purple Sage"

Paper Summary:

The paper analyzes how Zane Gray, in his novel "Riders of the Purple Sage", uses the conventions of the Wild West and the wide-open, lawless landscape of the Western territories, to tell a tale of how the religious conventions of the Church of Latter-Day Saints, the Mormons, clash with the desires of the central protagonists Bern Venters and Jane Withersteen.

From the Paper:

"The beginning of the story shows an individual in conflict with society, and upholds individual rights above the rights of the community. What is so immediately striking about the novel is that a woman, Jane Withersteen, rather than a man, is at the center of the drama about land control and land ownership, and while the Mormons themselves were considered to be outsiders, even outlaws, by the federal government, because of the practice of polygamy, Withersteen's rejection of this practice, which she sees as an enslavement of a woman to male desires, makes her a pariah in the community. For Jane to tend her ranch, and to be able to care for her land only an outsider, Bern Venters will support her in her struggle."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Gray, Zane. Riders of the Purple Sage. Complete e-text. Originally published 1912. 30 Oct 2007. <http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext98/prpsg11.txt>

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