Ethan Edwards as a Heroic Figure? That’ll be the Day.
Usually, in film and literature, the protagonist is a heroic figure who, through the course of some sort of adventure, undergoes a change of heart, a change in his point of view. While Ethan Edwards is the protagonist in the film The Searchers, he is neither wholly heroic, nor does his character change. He is, however, a catalyst for change in the world around him.
His less than desirable personality can be seen in the way he treats Martin. Ethan rescued Martin as a baby from certain death and this act appears noble on the surface. However, this cultivates no fondness for the boy in his heart, none that is visible at least. When praised for this, he simply dismisses it as though the act, even with its clear purpose sitting alive and well before him, was meaningless. All of this indifference follows Ethan cruelly insulting Martin for being part Indian. Ethan will not even allow him to refer to him as anything as endearing as “uncle.” Furthermore, Ethan disregards any claim Martin attempts to lay on the family who adopted him; he spurns Martin’s love for Debbie, acting as though it is unwarranted because Martin is no blood relation.
Of course, Martin is not exactly the most respectable of characters. It is not that he is dishonorable, but rather that he is often quick-tempered and foolish. He rode his horse to death after being warned, accidentally bought an Indian wife, and only wrote Laurie once in five years. But he is determined to rescue Debbie, no matter what the cost, and makes conscious sacrifices- a relationship with the girl he loves, a respectable career, eight years of his life as a young man- to find her and bring her back home. While imperfect, the purity of his character seems to cast a light on Ethan’s motives.
But Ethan’s character flaws run deeper than just condescension and playful jest at Martin’s expense. Ethan is filled with hate, most noticeably towards Indians, especially the Comanche. And his vengeance cannot be sated. He does not want to allow his enemy to collect their dead and injured. When the rescue party finds the dead body of a Comanche warrior, he shoots out his eyes so that he cannot rest in the afterlife. He kills buffalo just so they cannot feed any Indians over the winter. While Martin is searching for Debbie, Ethan is searching for Scar. Perhaps the largest reflection of his hate is that he would rather see the girl dead than accept the cultures of the Comanche.
While Ethan Edwards may not be a hero, at the same time, he is not totally evil either. Above all he is brave and dedicated; “a critter that just keeps coming on.” It is just this kind of person that was needed to tame the wild frontiers of “the west” and make it safe for settlers (though at the Indians’ expense). As Mrs. Jorgensen says, “A Texican is nothing but a human man way out on a limb. This year and next, and maybe for a hundred more. But I don’t think it’ll be forever. Someday this country’s gonna be a fine, good place to be. Maybe it needs our bones in the ground before that time can come.” Right or wrong, it is Ethan that allows this change to take place.
-Jacob Karnes: Group 7-
For the most part, I agree with what you said in your post. I especially agree with the part about Martin being quick-tempered and foolish. It can also be noted that Martin seems to have no shred of decency when it comes to his interactions with women, even the ones that he apparently “loves”. This may either be an intentional addition to the story, or simply the mindset of the 1950’s when The Searchers was written. Laurie waits scared and worried for Martin for five years and as you mentioned, he only writes her one time. About every two years he returns home to her, and then leaves the next day while she pleads him to stay. Sure, his reasons for leaving may have been noble (trying to find his kidnapped sister), but the way he went about handling Laurie was all wrong.
ReplyDeleteTo further compound my low opinion of Martin’s character, you later see how he treats the Indian wife that he mistakenly bought. She was kind and loyal to him, and later crawls into his bed-roll on a cold night. He responds by kicking her down a hill out of disgust. Ethan and Martin then alienate her to the point where she wanders off in the middle of the night, only to be found dead later on. Not only do I not think Martin was a hero, but I also don’t think Ethan was. Although Debbie was eventually rescued (5 or 6 years after she was captured), she was not rescued by any heroes. In a way, it is refreshing to watch a movie that portrays humans in a realistic nature. After all, do true heroes really exist?
While you talk about how Ethan is hardly considered a hero due to all of his reckless acts and wild demeanor, I would go so far as to say that there is almost no good in him at all. The only respectable thing he does in the entirety of the movie is continue on his search for a missing family member. The longer he searches, however, the more plagued his image becomes. It is found out at the very beginning of the movie that Ethan took his time returning from the atrocities of the Civil War in order to lead a life of crime. The types of crimes he committed are never fully revealed to us, but he tries to thank the family for the use of their house with “unmarked” currency. This meant that the money was somehow stolen and was acquired through illegal actions. If the only decent thing Ethan does in this film is rescue his niece, then I don’t believe that he should be considered a hero at all. He may be seen as a hero by the rest of the Texans, but on the global scale of events his misdeeds against humanity should see him considered as a villain. Another example of a character who kind of fits this description is Darth Vader of the “Star Wars” franchise. He spends years hunting down and killing Jedi, kills hundreds of innocent beings, and even destroys a whole planet. In the end of the series, however, he manages to pull off one heroic move when he saves his only son, Luke, from the evil Emperor Palpatine. Some people try to argue that Vader is turned away from the Dark Side, but in my opinion he will always be considered one of cinema’s greatest villains.
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