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The themes of the Western novel

 
If it has been possible for me to provide for the other parts of my dissertation a summary of the main points or some other indications, it's difficult to do the same for my specialized thesaurus (in french language) in a clear and understandable way.
It's really a tool to attribute keywords to stories concerning the American West between 1776 to 1910. Like other thesaurus, it's not a complete work because it is in constant evolution and can be extented to a larger western subject. But I will enjoy communicating it to libraries and documentation centers which might be interested.
E-mail : christine_lipczynski@yahoo.com
However, for those who need to refresh their memory, I propose hereafter a list of some main themes. I also invite you to click on "Some suggestions" to see what can be read in Western novels.

Convoys of pioneers
in covered wagons

Scouts

Sitting Bull (1831-1890)

Gunfights

The Dalton brothers

Bounty hunters

David Crockett
(1786-1836)

Stage-coachs

Sam Bass (1851-1878)

Cattle drive

Wild Bill Hickok
(1837-1876)

Geronimo (1829-1909)

Ku Klux Klan

The first transcontinental railroad (1866-1869)

Butch Cassidy (1867-1909)

Indian Wars and massacres of
American Indians

Teachers

Wyatt Earp
(1848-1929)

Jesse James
(1847-1882)

Lynching

Fur trade

Journalism

The epic of construction of communication lines and means of transport

Discrimination against Black people

Doc Holliday
(1852-1887)

Cowboys

Feuds between ranchers and/or farmers

The growth of a little town on the prairie

Hired killer

Buffalo Bill (1846-1917)

Cochise (1824-1873)

Gold prospectors

The settling of pioneers in wild and desertic regions

Sheriffs and marshalls against outlaws

Telegraph

Kit Carson
(1809-1868)

The tenacity of the Mormons and their polygamous trends

Scalp hunter

Pony Express
(1860-1861)

Billy the Kid (1859-1881)

Jim Bowie (1795-1845)

Pat Garrett
(1850-1908)

Ghost-towns

The wide opens spaces

Ambush

Trappers

Doctor (man or woman)

Trains

Gold rush

Roy Bean (1825-1903)

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