SH THE SEARCHERS

The searcher contains many of the typical western elements of landscape. I am looking specifically at how the desert represents death in The Searchers. The opening scene, shot through the cabin door out to the landscape of cliffs and open desert, shows the stark contrast between closed civilization and the danger and death the open desert represents. Speaking of the butte, Tomkins writes “If the opening shot recalls the earth at creation - solids rising from a level plain bathed in a pristine light – it foreshadows the end of things as well.” (70). She says the desert here is both the beginning and the end. There are many images of death in the desert in The Searchers. The Indians come from the desert, and they cause death to those who impose on it (the Edwards family). The Indians bury their dead in the desert, as well as leave the body of Lucy in the desert. Our caucasian, alpha male, “in the prime of life…a certain build… complexion, facial type...” (Tompkins 73) hero, Ethan, rides in from the open desert. He is unafraid of death and lives in the face of danger. He knows the land and is not afraid of the elements. He will bear the land and overcome death to complete his mission in finding the girl. In his hunt, he relishes the desert because there is nowhere for his enemy to hide. In the scene where they first come across the Indians, the reverend, Ethan, and the pack of rangers can see the Indians coming from far away. However, there is also nowhere for the group to hide. Our western hero is not concerned with hiding, only with finding his enemy. Ethan says “Injun will chase a thing till he thinks he's chased it enough. Then he quits. Same way when he runs. Seems like he never learns there's such a thing as a critter that'll just keep comin' on. So we'll find 'em in the end, I promise you. We'll find 'em. Just as sure as the turnin' of the earth.” Because his will is stronger, he will survive and conquer. He will chase the Indians over five years through desert and snow, mountains and plains, to find his niece. Tompkins writes “the rhetoric of the landscape works in favor of the particular masculine ideal westerns enforce.” (77) Ethan is brave, strong, and level headed. With his medal, he gives it freely to the girl. With money, he gives it to his brother in law with no hesitation. The cowboy does not need wealth or recognition, only the dirt, hardship, and open space of the desert. This is in stark contrast to the way the men from civilized town act. Ethan’s brother quickly takes the money from him and hides it away. His own son tells him “I wish uncle Ethan were here” when the Indians attack. Ethan is not there, and they do not survive. They succumb to the Indians, a product of the desert, bringer of death. Tompkins writes on page 76, “Power, more than any other quality, is what is being celebrated and struggled with in these grandiose vistas.” We cheer for Ethan because he is not afraid of this power; we want him to conquer it, in this way to conquer death.