Myths and American Culture

Paper Summary:

This paper compares and contrasts the "myth of the cowboy" and the "myth of origins" in American cultural history. It specifically focuses on the cultural connection between the two myths. The paper argues that these two mythic narratives may be seen to be fundamentally identical in that their narrative elements and ultimate purpose are to justify the expansion and assertion of Euro-American power in the New World.

From the Paper:

"In conclusion, it is clear that the "cowboy myth" is a potent cultural construction that - while distinct from the "myths of origin" in terms of time frame - nonetheless may be seen to be intimately related to these myths in how it justifies the extension of European settlement and authority over North America. The myths together effectively displace the Aboriginal First Nations of the continent from their historical role as the first settlers of these lands, and thus achieves on the level of cultural history what European power achieved on the landscape of the continent itself: the displacement and marginalization of Aboriginal culture. In this way, we can see how cultural narratives, while not even historically valid, can possess enormous power to create meanings and determine how we understand our histories and ourselves."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Bennett, Tony. The Birth of the Museum: History, Theory and Politics. Routledge, 1995: 148-53, 251.
• Davis, David Brion. "Ten-Gallon Hero." In John Wilson, ed. Forging the American Character: Readings in United States History since 1877 Vol.II. Prentice-Hall, 1991: 14-27.
• Kolodny, Annette. "Fictions of American Prehistory: Indians, Archaeology and National Origin Myths." In Annette Kolodny, American Literature: A Journey of Literary History, Criticism and Bibliography. 75.4, 2003: 693-707, 712-721.

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• Comparison Essay # 128381 : "Creation Myths in Different Cultures"

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