Document Type
Book
Publication Date
1995
Abstract
Mark Medoff grew up in the East, lives in the New West, but dreams of the Old West. In his essay “Adios, Old West,” he nostalgically calls himself a “child of the Old West” (1). Medoffs protagonists likewise romanticize the Western American past because they associate it with their own youthful innocence. But they learn to live with the far less romantic realities of an increasingly eastemized West. Like Medoff, they know that cowboys can no longer be role models. While they regret the decline of the heroic tradition, they realize that they cannot emulate outdated stereotypes. In his drama, Medoff redefines the Western heroic tradition and creates new myths for the New West.
Recommended Citation
Erben, Rudolf. Mark Medoff. Boise, ID: Boise State University, 1995. Digital. Western Writers Series, 117.