The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance NC

In following how Matheson's assessment of the two alpha male characters as well as Stoddard, it must be emphasized the division between the alpha males and Stoddard. The first division begins in the naming conventions of the three. Tom Doniphan's name most likely derives from Alexander Doniphan. The reasoning behind this derives from Tompkins, as she mentions that the alpha males of the west essentially attempt to push Christianity away, and the real Alexander Doniphan arrested and sent away Christian leaders and preachers including Joseph Smith. "exchanging the cross for a gun (Tompkins)." Liberty Valance's name holds its meaning from the interaction between the two names, Valance meaning 'opposing.' Though the West is characterized for its freedom due to its inherent lawlessness, Liberty's presence affects all other characters in the movie to be at his mercy, all but Tom. Matheson directly mentions the impact of his presence in that his anti-social behavior prevents others from reaching their full potential, and gives Peabody's struggle to print as an example. Ransom Stoddard's name may be based on Solomon Stoddard, a colonial Christian preacher. The duality of Tom and Ransom's name symbolizes their connection; Tom's character refuses from certain attribute's that Ransom's has such as his weaknesses, but in the same token, protects Ransom. Alexander Doniphan also protected the Christians he sent away, even under orders to execute them.

Matheson writes strongly about the hardboiled nature of John Wayne's characters, and that his potential as Tom is not limited by Liberty's presence. The steak scene illustrates this when Tom rejects Liberty's attempt to dominate and stands his ground, resulting in somewhat of a standstill. Through each one's action, the audience continues to guess who ends up on top, but the real value is not in the victor but in the struggle. Wayne in this scene is protecting the feminine Stoddard, a character dressed as a woman of the times and unable to stand up to Liberty.

Matheson's article describes Liberty as a 'disabled psychopath,' due to his negative interactions and seeming inability to hold a conscious as a normal person would. Tom, however, is not perfect either. He serves as a dark knight and lives with the consequences. Though he is undeniably the strongest character in the film, he has no happy ending. The happy ending goes to Stoddard. Stoddard ends up with the woman that Tom wanted and takes the credit for the man that Tom had slain. Most of the film's action in the beginning centers on the action between Tom and Liberty, two alpha males that were in a Cold War-like stalemate most times. The excitement came from the tension, tension that was their's and not Stoddard's. Stoddard, feminine as he may be, held a desire to make a transition from the feminine to the masculine, but as is demonstrated, the alpha male masculinity is not something that someone can simply learn. This is best exemplified when Stoddard shoots the paint cans. The cans explode and cover Stoddard with paint, which is symbolism and foreshadowing of the shooting with Liberty Valance. In addition, the masculine symbolism (phallic as Tompkins says) of the gun and the fact that Ransom refuses from one, as mentioned by Matheson, "'naked' without a gun," shows that Stoddard effectively rejects from the masculine, and in attempting to attain it, the audience continually realizes that masculinity is a state of being and, like the gun, not something that someone can one day refuse from and another day try to master it, and another day test it against true, time-hardened masculinity (Valance).

The climax of the movie is not in this scene, but in Ransom realizing the true nature of their duel. Stoddard's attempt to be alpha is almost fruitless; Liberty treats him like a woman, while Stoddard is dressed like a woman, and shoots his right hand. Among wolves, it is characteristic for an alpha wolf to place his paw on a beta's paw to show dominance, and Liberty is doing this here. Liberty takes things a step further and tells Stoddard to use his left hand, and in doing so, Stoddard appears to have killed Liberty. Tom's character, however, must protect the women. This can be interpreted as either following Hallie's wishes to protect him OR in that Stoddard himself was the main female role of the film. In the audience realizing the truth about the duel, the audience also realizes the brokenness of Tom, that by protecting Stoddard he himself may have rejected from the masculine by killing Liberty in a 'dirty' way, and Tom's reflection to Stoddard expresses his recognition that he "killed a man in cold blood, but...can live with it." Stoddard, in contrast, can never 'live with it,' his emotions further express his feminine nature and cannot live in tarnish; shown when he picks up the steak, when he hits Tom about the paint, and when he decides to fight Liberty.