The Tragedy of the Cowboy

Frontier keynotes in [Frederick Jackson] Turner's landmark essay of 1893 associate the availability of free land on the western frontier with such supposedly "American" character traits as inquisitiveness, inventiveness, practicality, independence, diligence, restlessness, and exuberance. Similarly, in post-1925 media portrayals of the frontier we find a tough, exuberant, honest, and independent character, the outlaw, who is pitted against the forces of social order. These civilizing forces represent dependence/interdependence, comfort, dishonesty, and weakness, although paradoxically or tragically they are fated to win the struggle. (161)

Adams, Paul C. 1997. "Cyberspaces and Virtual Places." Geographical Review 87(2): 155-171.