‘John Ford shows us that there was more to pioneer life than fighting off Indian attacks.’Discuss, using evidence from three John Ford Westerns. Most Westerns have a simple plot, based on the conflict between good and evil, usually represented with cowboys and Indian attacks. John Ford, on the other hand, presents a more complex picture of the pioneer life. He includes scenes and elements that show his own vision of the Wild West. Ford adds factors that demonstrate the way people were trying to live their lives, such as the importance of women, the power of prejudice and the respect for the law. In his work John Ford gives us insights into the lives of women in the Wild West. In most cases his descriptions present ideal women, perhaps linked to the fact that his own family life was incomplete. In Stagecoach, one of Ford’s celebrated Westerns, there are two main female characters: Dallas and Lucy Mallory. Ford uses Dallas, the local prostitute and social outcast, to present an image about women. She begins with a very hard shell, protecting her from the insults and remarks of society, making her appear harsh and unable to love. With the attentions from Ringo Kid (the outlaw) and when Lucy Mallory unexpectedly gives birth, though, Ford shows us her loving and motherly personality. Through Dallas’s character, therefore, Ford demonstrates that every woman is capable of love. In My Darling Clementine, another of his Westerns, John Ford also addresses the subject of love. Here there is a more direct confrontation between the refined and elegant woman from the East (Clementine) and the wild and fun prostitute from the West (Chihuahua), both competing from a man’s (Doc Holiday) heart. In the Searchers Ford also indicates the significance of women. In this film, however, he compares the life styles of the Indian women and the white pioneers. He does this through the description of Debbie, who is captured by the Indians and raised as one of their own. When she is returned to...
