The Old West Essay, Research Paper

The old west has been portrayed truly and falsely through art, music, and literature fromthe late 1800?s and early 1900?s up till this day when illustrated through movies. Artisticexpression and communication presented the realities and illusions of the old west, some ofwhich attracted various people there, while keeping others at home. Beginning with art, one of the main painters of these years (1860-1900) wasFrederick Remmington. He painted over 2,700 pictures of the frontier. One example is?Stamped by lighting.? He also painted the Calvary charge on the southern planes.Remmington portrayed the west truthfully. For example, He didn?t paint the Indians assavages, but as people. Another artist of this period was Charles Russell. He portrayed the?bad guy? of the west as a tall, dark colored man with black hair and a black hat. Anotherartist of this period was Thomas Cole, who specialized in portraying the beauty andgrandeur of America. Then there was the two Peale brothers, Raphaelle and Rembrandt,who also did many paintings of the west in their time. The beauty of the west was shownin artistic expression, which was a gravitation for people to go west. In the field of music, many of the musical compositions portrayed the west as asad lonely place, which was true. ?The Streets of Lorado,? was about a man who diedvery lonely. ?Oh my Darling Clemintine,? was about how miners lived in the west. ?I?ve Been Working on the Railroad was what it was like to be a railroad worker, which wasvery hard, and long work.

Similar to music, the literature of Mark Twain was about how miserable life in thewest was. One piece written by Twain was called ?Roughing it.? Twain’s writing is also hisplace where realism and place of language, memorable characters, and hatred of hypocrisy andoppression find an outlet. Brett Harte wrote ?The outcast of Poker Flat.? (1869) He wasbest known for his works of local color set in the west. A popular show back then, wasBuffalo Bill Cody?s Wild West show. All in all, the myths of the west are part of what makes the whole image moreinteresting. But knowing the difference between the truths and the myths is important.That?s why art, music, and literature are so significant.