Freeper Reading Club Discussion: Shane

Self | August 12, 2002 | PJ-Comix

[PJ-Comix]

Okay, today is the due date for the first book discussion of the Freeper Reading Club: Shane. I picked this book as the leadoff book for several reasons. One is that it is a great short novel. I also picked it because it was a quick easy read and would be an easy way for folks out there to get used to reading book assignments for the reading club.

The next book is longer at 400 pages, The Electric Acid Kool-Aid Test by Tom Wolfe, although it is a VERY ENTERTAINING read. Remember, The Electric Acid Kool-Aid Test discussion is due September 9.

If you want to become a member of the Freeper Reading Club, just Freepmail me or post your request here and I'll put you on the Freeper Reading Club Ping List.

[BradyLS]

I'm not in the mood to write a lengthy review of Shane, but I'll offer these notes:

The Town: I found it interesting that Bob/the author makes a point of mentioning that the town had a decently appointed general store and that the town pitched in to build a school. But no mention of a church. Or constablulary. Or City Hall!

Re: The sexual undercurrent between Shane and Marion: Marion was from New England and it's hinted that she had some refinement to her. Shane, on the other hand, was certainly a fashionable dude, given his first description in the opening pages. I think Marion recognized that he had some style and refinement about him, something no one in her adopted town even hinted at having. I think that is a subtle part of the obvious attraction she has for him. Maybe even part of the reason she goes to the effort of making the sort of bonnet he described other women wearing. I'm thinking she guessed that he would notice such things and really liked that about him.

I think the book is definitely about having and exhibiting good character and a willingness to make a stand based on moral considerations vs. monetary or social ones. I'm not so sure Shande represents a God/Jesus figure. I think that was the point of the scene between Marion and Joe at the end. After all of Shane's hard work, personal investment, and measured choices in defending Joe and the other farmers, Joe was ready and willing to up stakes and go. It was the first genuinely low act that Joe made in the entire book. Shane never let Joe down but Joe could contemplate letting Shane down. Marion wasn't going to have that.

I'm not so sure that Fletcher represented bad interests, I think Fletcher was a bad man who employed bad men when needed. Consider, Fletcher represents a way of life that brought prosperity to the plains: free-range cattle ranching. (In fact, I was reminded of the verse when first reading about Fletcher: "Give me land, lotsa land, with the starry skies above... Don't fence me in...") The smaller farmers that raised beef cattle simply found a better way to make a better product: tender beef. Neither way is (clearly) morally right or wrong, but one is economically more profitable than the other. (The other half of that equation is railroad building...)

Re: guns. Shane was spot on about guns. They're a tool. The character of the wielder will decide how they'll be used. That's one of the few lessons I actually figured out on my own as a young man.

Re: Shane's fight with Stark: I dont't think Shane was very far off his game, which is why I think he's was a bit taken aback by Bobby's remark about being able to take Stark if he'd been "in practice." I think Shane meant only to wound Stark, to give him a second chance. When Stark goes for his gun again, Shane finishes the job. If Shane had wanted to kill Stark, he easily could have the first time, even if he was slower, because he takes Fletcher down so neatly even while wounded. But Shane was slower than Stark, and I think that's the only way in which he was out of practice.

Re: Shane's fate: Shane left town on his own power and advise that he not be followed. Personally, the realist in me thinks he died of his belly wound, which (if have my facts right) are almost certainly fatal without expert medical attention. And given the year and available facilities, I think Shane's chances were very vanishly slim. (Don't you think you'd eventually hear about the stranger that recovered or sought treatment for a gut wound?) But... if anyone could make it out on sheer will, it would be Shane.

Re: Shane's long hair. I'm guessing there weren't many barber's aorund and they sometimes doubled as doctors back in those days. (Bloody bandages were the sign of the barber. That's how the barber's pole was born. What? Never mind...)

Shane as Bobby Lee? I think...Shane would have inspired and galvanized the farmers to defend themselves for that comparison to fit better. Shane took care of his own business and willingly worked for Joe. He handled the sort of trouble that was out of the farmer's league or willingness to handle.

Re: Clint Eastwood movies: High Plains Drifter was my first thought. Pale Rider is a close fit, too. Hmmm! Longer than I thought it would be! That's it for now...

[JulieRNR21]

She told Joe to try to wiggle the pole, but he couldn't. In other words, Joe could not uproot Shanes' very rigid pole planted in the fertile soil.

Parsy.....you are way too rigid in your thinking...

[PJ-Comix]

Interesting essay comparing Shane to Anglo-Saxon mythology. BTW, I think the year of the events, 1889, is significant because that is the last year before the Frontier was officially called closed in the 1890 census. Shane moving on (and possibly dying) at the end of the story represents the closing of the Frontier. At least that is the way it seemed to me. Otherwise why mention that the year was 1889 in the story?

BTW, Dwight D. Eisenhower was born in 1890 (just after the Frontier closed) and was raised in Abilene, Kansas. In his biography he said he always felt he missed out on the exciting cowboy times when Abilene was a frontier town. This might explain why Eisenhower was a big fan of Western novels. I'm sure he probably read Shane. Be interesting to find out for sure from the Eisenhower library.

[PJ-Comix]

THE MERRY FREEPERS WELCOME TOM WOLFE!

Yeah! It would be great if he were to show up on this forum when we discuss his The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test next month. I will be trying to get some of the Merry Pranksters to participate as well so this could turn into the Merry Pranksters meet the Merry Freepers. Get on the Bus for next month's book discussion!

[PJ-Comix]

The Town: I found it interesting that Bob/the author makes a point of mentioning that the town had a decently appointed general store and that the town pitched in to build a school. But no mention of a church. Or constablulary. Or City Hall!

Kind of tough to have those buildings when the population of the town and the surrounding area was probably only about a hundred people.

Pale Rider is a close fit, too.

As far as I'm concerned, Pale Rider was actually a remake of Shane, only with a girl substituting as Joey/Bobby and with lots less lighting.

[RonDog]

I see Shane as a professional warrior...

Exactly.

Beyond promoting the politically incorrect values of duty, honor and the responsibilities of being a MAN, this wonderful book proudly celebrates the righteous use of VIOLENCE to confront and defeat evil.

This is a very important lesson to remember as we fight global Islamic fascism. Already the liberal weenies are crying that "war never solved anything."

They are wrong, and Shane is right.

[fone]

RE my #98: I'm sure checking out the Electric Kool-Aid Test will raise some eyebrows at our sleepy town library.

Boy did it ever. I had to have the book transferred from another county library, and that day I couldn't find my library card so I used my son's. The librarian just called and was a bit perplexed why a kid would want this book so I explained...she is intrigued by this internet "reading club" and asked how I liked it. I told her this is only the second book assigned...she wants me to let her know how it works out, she sounds interested...

[PJ-Comix]

I know that some newspapers have Reading Clubs where their readers read the same book at the same time but I'm not sure if it's been done yet (until now) online. The advantage of having an ONLINE Reading Club is that you can post commentaries in real time and there is much more free flowing book discussions. Another advantage is that we can get folks somehow involved in the book to comment. Right now I am trying to get Tom Wolfe and some of the Merry Pranksters from Ken Kesey's bus to post here for the next book discussion.

[miss marmelstein]

I believe Shane says it himself: "There's no running away from a killing."

I always thought that Shane had been a gunfighter once hired by the evil types he ends up confronting. I don't really think he's based on a real person. Jack Shaeffer often used the character of a shady, sometimes nameless man who either redeems himself or establishes his manhood through forced violence. This, by the way, is a great read for young people.

[fone]

Yes, I've read all the posts on this thread.

You're breaking new ground, eh? My hat's off to you. Good luck!

[miss marmelstein]

I may be wrong but I believe Shane is mortally wounded in the movie as well as the book. The last scene shows him riding towards Boot Hill. In the book, it is slightly more ambigious. What a smart pick for a book club!

[PJ-Comix]

In the movie it looked like he just got some minor wound in the arm. Not the belly wound that he got in the book.

[miss marmelstein]

But am I right about the tombstones at the end of the movie?

[PJ-Comix]

But am I right about the tombstones at the end of the movie?

Don't remember. All I can remember is that ANNOYING kid screaming, "SHANE! SHANE! SHANE!.....SHANE!"

[stylin_geek]

First I have to apoligize for being so tardy about posting to this thread. My perspective is that Shane tells a story that is not often told anymore. The book tells a story where there is a strong sense of right and wrong, where a person (Shane) who is not at peace with who he is or was, tries to find redemption. Unfortunately, events happen that prevent him from being able to stay where he has found his peace, but he does find redemption.

[PJ-Comix]

No problem. There is no time limit for posting to the book discussion threads.

BTW, the next Reading Club book assignment is "The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test" by Tom Wolfe. The discusslon for this book will commence on September 9.