Abigail Peacock Gender

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Recommended: Gender roles in Literature

Instead of categorizing its characters into either completely compliant demure women or total lawbreaking, cowgirls, the novel depicts two females that do not follow any of the conventional western tropes. My using the two characters of Annie Oakley and Abigail Peacock, the novel challenges the western genre, by offering these stronger more complex women, who are both caring, sometimes ladylike women, while also being tough, cowgirls who shoot guns. Annie is first shown as a strong willed, fierce character, who is exceptionally talented with a gun, a hobby that would be considered unladylike by many. Though instead of conforming to what is expected of her by the genre, she also manages to have very strong opinions on how a woman should behave “Annie Oakley had big opinions about how a woman should ride and shoot. She was bullheaded about being ladylike.” (Gault 67) Annie’s ethos characterizes her as a tough western, cowgirl, but her actant shows to have some very conservation …show more content…

With a background of historical elements that support the plot and establish the tone and conflict with Native Indians early in the story, it sets the story up for its climax and solution from the beginning. The novel explores the dangerous, sometimes outrageous lifestyle of a western cowboy and The Wild West Show, embodying the tropes of outlaws and gunslinger. It challenges the traditional style of western writing, introducing female characters with complexity and a realness that brings an entirely new depth to the genre. Cinda Gault picks and chooses the very best conventions of the western genre, and joins it with the perfectly unconventional characters to create a new model for the western

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