"Take my saddle from the wall" : Larry McMurtry and his innovations on the formula Western.

This thesis attempts to discuss Larry McMurtry's use of the formula Western. Chapter One defines the "formula Western" in terms of setting, characters, symbols, and themes; the other chapters examine McMurtry's "Western" novels, Horseman, Pass By, The Last Picture Show, Lonesome Dove, and Anything For Billy in light of this standard critical definition. In each novel, McMurtry experiments with the formula Western, showing not only how the West has changed, but suggesting the way these changes have affected the lives and personalities of Westerners. Thus the New West becomes a symbol for the modern world. Chapter Two considers Horseman, Pass By, McMurtry's most obvious subversion of the formula Western. The mythic horseman, Homer Bannon, is forced to kill his herd and is finally killed himself by his stepson, Hud, a destructive symbol of the New West. As the novel closes, Lonnie, the novel's boy narrator, has left the ranch and is unsure of his future, much in the same way that the future of the New West is uncertain. Chapter Three analyzes The Last Picture Show, McMurtry's bleak portrait of West without the Western myth. Of the teens described in the novel, Sonny Crawford is the adolescent who must deal with life without the myth, or life "after the picture show closes." At the end of the novel, Sonny's future is not promising, but only Sonny has the maturity to stay in Thalia and accept responsibility for his actions. Chapter Four considers Lonesome Dove, McMurtry's most obvious use of the formula Western. But in McMurtry's West, the heroes have real flaws, and good does not always triumph. Perhaps the novel's greatest departure from the formula Western lies in its conclusion, when all of the heroes but one are dead, effectively illustrating the end of the West (most Westerns show the Old West's perpetuation). Lonesome Dove, a novel that transcends the limitations of the formula Western, possesses universal significance. The fifth, and final, chapter analyzes Anything For Billy, McMurtry's parody of Wister's archetypal Western, The Virginian. Anything For Billy is harsh in its criticism of the formula Western, and it raises the question of what really happened in the West. McMurtry's use of and ambivalence toward the formula Western, and the mythic West, is present throughout his writing. But this ambivalence is largely responsible for McMurtry's genius as a writer, and in his continued use of the formula Western, we see his continued struggle to understand his Western heritage and its traditions.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.A.

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters

Grantor

Baylor University.

Year dc:date.issued

1989

Author dc:creator

• Dechert, S. Renee.

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Barcus, James E., 1938-

• McMurtry, Larry -- Criticism and interpretation.
• Western stories -- Technique.

Statement dc:rights

• Baylor University works are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. Contact libraryquestions@baylor.edu for inquiries about permission.

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/2104/14454

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:baylor-ir.tdl.org:2104/14454