Owen Wister’s 1902 novel The Virginian is the key to understanding the genre of American Western literature. Everything prior to it wasn’t truly “the Western” yet, and everything since draws on it, refers to it, was shaped by it, or defines itself against it. In this unit, we’ve read some “pre-Virginian” literature, and we’ll read […]
Posts under ‘Unit 5’
Unit 5 (11/6 – 11/27): The Western Genre in American Literature
Western films were not the first Westerns; the genre existed in literature long before film was invented. In this unit, we trace the invention and development of the Western as a form of American literature in popular culture. Start reading The Virginian as soon as you can; it’s deceptively long. Also in this unit, your […]
