On The Deconstruction Of The Myth Of The American West In Welcome To Hard Times

Edgar Lawrence Doctorow(1931-2015)is a serious writer of neo-realism in contemporary America.His works explore the history and society of the United States in different stages with humanistic concern.As a serious Western,Welcome to Hard Times depicts a typical mining town in the Dakota territory of the United States in 1870s-80 s,providing insights into the historical reality shrouded in myths.Critics at home and abroad have studied the novel from the perspectives of demythologization,history narration,allegory,ethics,etc.It's worth noting that the studies on the novel's subversion of the myth of the American frontier have not fully demonstrated the profound implications of the particular presentation of anti-heroes and frontier violence.Roland Barthes proposes modern mythology is a type of speech which “naturalizes” the message and the ideology it contains.The myth of the American West,which shapes the historical westward movement into a unified and unambiguous process,is a metanarrative with significant cultural influence.Based on Barthes' theory of mythology and drawing from the New Western History,this thesis attempts to analyze how Doctorow deconstructs the myth of the American frontier by disclosing the more complicated alternative histories,as well as his reflections on the ideologies involved,mainly including the American exceptionalism,racism and male chauvinism.The body of this thesis consists of three chapters.Chapter one points out Doctorow subverts the belief in the West as “the Garden of the World” and “the Promised Land” of hope and dreams by presenting the pioneers' experiences of loneliness and strong fear of death in the harsh natural environment,alienation from others and nature,and disillusionment in pursuing wealth and self-actualization.Chapter two holds Doctorow demystifies the masculine heroism on the frontier through shaping two anti-heroes,revealing the frontiersmen's violence is evoked commonly by feelings of insecurities when threatened and desires for recognition,rather than heroism.Chapter three probes into Doctorow's reconsideration of frontier violence in the myth of the American West.Doctorow foregrounds the cruelty and savagery of frontier violence and criticizes the Whites' blind belief in their racial superiority and “regeneration through violence” by repudiating the dichotomy of the civilized and the savage in viewing the relationship between the whites and the Indians.In Welcome to Hard Times Doctorow critically uncovers the frontier experiences ignored or distorted by the myth of the American West,aiming to warn Americans against blind optimism and reexamine the American frontier from the perspectives of fantasy and reality,successes and failures,idealized heroic masculinity and alternative masculinities,as well as the glamorized legacy of violence.