Amanda Olagunju: Shane Discussion

I don’t think that Shane was riding around the West looking for a way to prove himself as a man. The novel suggests that he was running from a dark past and that he wanted a future free of fighting and full of the self-control and restraint that he displayed during his first meeting with Chris. It says on page 162, “Since his session with Chris he seemed to have won a kind of inner peace.” He was looking for serenity, and after his first encounter with Chris, most viewed him as weak, but he didn't care because he had found what he was looking for, and it wasn't a proof of manliness. And by the time he had learned about the dispute with Fletcher, the Starretts had become like family to Shane. He helped them, not to prove that he was a man, but to protect his loved ones. I think he would have rather kept his serenity than get involved in a dispute and loose it in order to prove that he was a man. His actions weren’t about himself, but the Starretts, people who were worth the risk of his inner peace. On page 162 it also says, "I think he did not care what anyone anywhere thought of him... But he did care what they thought of father."

Also, I know that I had an issue with seeing Unforgiven, being that it's in the library and school has been closed and covered in snow since Friday. If anybody else has run into this problem, you can watch it at http://www.novamov.com/video/4a6570cc5ca0f for free and without having to download anything.