The Western Lawman
Gunsmoke was a dramatized radio program that portrayed life in the old west. According to online sources, "Plots dealt with the lives and activities of Marshall Dillon, Doc, Miss Kitty, Chester, and the other residents of Dodge City, Kansas in the late 19th century." Lawman Marshall Dillon was the center of everything that happened. The peace and welfare of Dodge City rested in his hands. Marshall Dillon represents the quintessential western lawman, with his independence, authoritativeness, and general distrust of strangers.
Dillon stood alone. No one could dictate to him how to act or what to do. This is illustrated in several instances. In the episode "The Army Trial" the army officer assigned to bring in Jed Cook, the deserting soldier asks for Dillon's cooperation after Cook escapes. Dillon agrees to cooperate but on his terms. He demands that the officer remove his troops from town and allow him to conduct the search personally. In the second episode, "General Parsley Smith", Dillon insists on handling all investigation himself. He takes tips from Parsley, but instructs him to stay out of the situation while he checks things out. In "Uncle Oliver", he makes it plain that there is no job opening for a Marshall's assistant. Oliver suggests that Biney learn how to be a Marshall by shadowing Dillon, but Dillon won't have it. He states that he does not need any help from anyone except Chester. Chester is the only person he consistently allows to help him. Otherwise, he is a one man outfit.
Marshall Matt Dillon is also characterized by his authoritativeness. He will not be challenged and he will not back down. When General Parsley stirs up trouble in town, Dillon warns that he will run Parsley out of town if he does not stop slandering the new banker. When Parsley is caught once again repeating the same offense, true to his word, Dillon orders him to leave town. While being arrested for desertion, Cook cannot fire on Dillon because of the respect he commands. And Uncle Oliver is compelled to search for Biney even though he is plotting to kill Chester.
As you listen to these episodes, you realize that Dillon is also very suspicious of strangers. He is constantly questioning whether or not they are legitimate. In the first episode ("The Army Trial") as he and Chester approach the wagon in distress, they are ready to help but their help is repeatedly refused which arouses suspicion.
...he fact that Brady is being called Colonel Brady by the judge; he claims it gives his opponent an unfair advantage. The mayor is brought in to resolve the issue. He also grants Drummond the title of "Colonel" on a temporary, honorary basis. Now both lawyers are called Colonel.
There were many accounts of what happened in Prineville on that fateful day in 1882, in Reign of the vigilantes, William Thompson told a very different account of the events of vigilantism that occurred on March 15, 1882 Thompson bent the truth to protect himself.
character in the Civil War which he should not even be in as he is
Freedom of speech has been a controversial issue throughout the world. Our ability to say whatever we want is very important to us as individuals and communities. Although freedom of speech and expression may sometimes be offensive to other people, it is still everyone’s right to express his/her opinion under the American constitution which states that “congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or the press”. Although this amendment gave people the right express thier opinions, it still rests in one’s own hands as how far they will go to exercise that right of freedom of speech.
Peter, Sagal. “Should There Be Limits on Freedom of Speech?” 25 March. 2013. PSB. PBS.com 14 Nov.
Antigone, as a character, is extremely strong-willed and loyal to her faith. Creon is similarly loyal, but rather to his homeland, the city of Thebes, instead of the gods. Both characters are dedicated to a fault, a certain stubbornness that effectively blinds them from the repercussions of their actions. Preceding the story, Antigone has been left to deal with the burden of her parents’ and both her brothers’ deaths. Merely a young child, intense grief is to be expected; however, Antigone’s emotional state is portrayed as frivolous when it leads her to directly disobey Creon’s orders. She buries her brother Polynices because of her obedience to family and to the gods, claiming to follow “the gods’ unfailing, unwritten laws” (Sophocles 456-457). CONTINUE
The free speech clause in the Bill of Rights states: “Congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom of speech” (US Const., amend I). This clause, albeit consists of a mere ten words, holds much power and affluence in the American unique way of life. It guarantees Americans the right to speak freely without censorship by preventing the government from restricting the rights of the people to express their opinions. Consequently, this freedom can encourage citizens’ participation in politics; promote an adaptable and tolerant community; facilitate the discovery of truth; and ultimately create a stable nation. However, how much freedom should be granted to an individual? Where should the line be drawn for the coverage free speech protection? (1) What happens when the exercise of free speech puts other constitutional values in jeopardy? What values should prevail? (2) In an attempt to address these questions, many opposing interpretations have been presented. While some construe this clause in an absolute, categorical approach, others take on a more lenient, balancing stance. (1)
The growth of a new nation can be a great struggle. Our founding struggled to form a perfect nation through the enactments of The Articles of Confederation, The Constitution, and also The Federalist Papers. They struggled to make a document that they could depend on in times of need, and the constitution was the one that really set the line and challenged the government to near perfection. Something can never be perfect that's why the federalist papers were created to enhance the constitution and make it something very close to perfect. All of these essays under the federalist papers were very important building blocks that helped us become the great nation that we are now.
Antigone is a strong willed character who is not afraid to defend her beliefs. After learning that Creon has denied Polyneices of a proper burial she uses her free will to decide that she must lay her brother to rest, as she strongly believes he should be honored like the other fallen soldiers. Unable to
The underpinning of his essay is that the First Amendment, freedom of speech and expression should be used to expand people’s minds with new or opposing ideas. “The strange beauty of American freedom is that it is ungovernable, that it always runs slightly ahead of human temperament” (Rosenblatt 484). He believes that free is how people’s minds are made to be and is their natural state of being and attempting to control people’s minds is
A typical Western would usually be set in the late 19th century in the mid-west of America in a remote town. The town is usually small, lonely and unwelcoming. Typically a western set looks like it is in the middle of a desert with sand, cacti and tumbleweed which gives a desert look, there are usually never any lakes or rivers around these features make the place look really hot and deserted. The buildings are generally timber board houses with swinging doors and outside the buildings are places to keep their horses, there is also always a General Store and a Saloon. Horses and carriages and cattle are used to give a western feel. The cowboys are typically dressed in western style clothing for example they wear simple shirts and jeans they may also wear ponchos, waist coats, hats, boots with spurs, guns and a belt to hold the gun and bullets, Hero's tend to wear lighter clothing and the villain’s tend to wear darker clothing.
Antigone risks her own life to bury her brother, therefore, she goes against Kreon’s edict that Polyneices should be left unburied; she believes Polyneices deserves to reach the afterlife. Antigone tells Ismene, “I will bury him myself. If I die for doing that, good: I will stay with him, my brother; and my crime will be devotion” (Sophocles 23). Antigone is willing to risk her own life by disobeying the king’s authority; She stands up for her religious belief that Polyneices should be buried. Kreon tells Antigone before she takes her own life, “I won’t encourage you. You’ve been condemned” (Sophocles 57). Kreon believes that Antigone’s crime is severe, and righteousness should be used to justify her crime. At this point of the play, Antigone realizes she will be put to death, but she does not regret her act of loyalty. In Antigone’s last speech before she takes her own life, she exclaims, “Land of Thebes, city of my fathers… see what I suffer at my mother’s brother’s hand for an act of loyalty and devotion” (Sophocles 57). Here, Antigone addresses the nation’s leaders and declares that they should notice th...
In Sophocles' Greek tragedy, Antigone, two characters undergo character changes. During the play the audience sees these two characters' attitudes change from close-minded to open-minded. It is their close-minded, stubborn attitudes, which lead to their decline in the play, and ultimately to a series of deaths. In the beginning Antigone is a close minded character who later becomes open minded. After the death of her brothers, Eteocles and Polyneices, Creon becomes the ruler of Thebes. He decides that Eteocles will receive a funeral with military honors because he fought for his country. However, Polyneices, who broke his exile to " spill the blood of his father and sell his own people into slavery", will have no burial. Antigone disagrees with Creon's unjust actions and says, " Creon is not strong enough to stand in my way." She vows to bury her brother so that his soul may gain the peace of the underworld. Antigone is torn between the law placed against burying her brother and her own thoughts of doing what she feels should be done for her family. Her intent is simply to give her brother, Polyneices, a proper burial so that she will follow "the laws of the gods." Antigone knows that she is in danger of being killed for her actions and she says, "I say that this crime is holy: I shall lie down with him in death, and I shall be as dear to him as he to me." Her own laws, or morals, drive her to break Creon's law placed against Polyneices burial. Even after she realizes that she will have to bury Polyneices without the help of her sister, Ismene, she says: Go away, Ismene: I shall be hating you soon, and the dead will too, For your words are hateful. Leave me my foolish plan: I am not afraid of the danger; if it means death, It will not be the worst of deaths-death without honor. Here Ismene is trying to reason with Antigone by saying that she cannot disobey the law because of the consequences. Antigone is close-minded when she immediately tells her to go away and refuses to listen to her. Later in the play, Antigone is sorrowful for her actions and the consequences yet she is not regretful for her crime. She says her crime is just, yet she does regret being forced to commit it.
In "The Thematic Paradigm", Robert Ray explains how there are two distinctly different heroes, the outlaw hero and the official hero. The official hero embraces common values and traditional beliefs, while the outlaw has a clear sense of right and wrong but operates above the law (Ray). Ray explains how the role of an outlaw hero has many traits. "The attractiveness of the outlaw hero's childishness and propensity to whims, tantrums, and emotional decisions derived from America's cult of childhood", states Ray. (309) Ray also says, "To the outlaw hero's inconsistence on private standards of right and wrong, the official hero offered the admonition, you cannot take the law into your own hands." (312) The values of these two traditional heroes contrasts clearly. Society favors the outlaw hero because we identify with that character more. We see ourselves more so in the outlaw hero than in the official hero. The outlaw hero has the "childlike" qualities that most of us wish we had as adults. To civilians it may seem that the outlaw hero lives more of a fantasy life that we all wish to have.
Although Antigone has a bad reputation with Creon, and possibly Ismene, for being insubordinate, she stays true to her values throughout the entire play by following the law of gods, not so that she could appease them, but because she admired its value of honor and respect to loved ones that have passed away. This devotion and determination to give her brother a proper burial shows the true essence of her being: that loyalty to family is in fact hold above all else.