Shane (novel)

Shane is a western novel by Jack Schaefer published in 1949. It was initially published in 1946 in three parts in Argosy magazine, and originally titled Rider from Nowhere.[1] The novel has been translated into over 30 languages,[1] and was adapted into the 1953 film starring Alan Ladd.[2]

For other uses, see Shane (disambiguation).
Shane
First edition
AuthorJack Schaefer
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
GenreWestern
PublisherHoughton Mifflin
Publication date
1949
Media typePrint (hardback & paperback)
Pages214 p. (hardback first edition) & 119 p. (paperback edition)
ISBN978-0-553-27110-2 (paperback edition)
OCLC53183237

Plot

The story is set in 1889 Wyoming, when the Wyoming Territory was still open to the Homestead Act of 1862.[1] It is narrated by a homesteader's son, Bob Starrett. The original unclaimed land surrounding the Starretts' homestead had been used by a cattle driver named Luke Fletcher before being claimed by Bob's father, Joe Starrett, along with 12 other homesteaders. Fletcher had settled there first, although he could only claim 160 acres (650,000 m2) as a homestead. He wants to expand his herd; homesteads in the area would hinder its growth.[1]

The title character, Shane, is a mysterious stranger who rides into and then out of the lives of the Starrett family, "a man who seemed to come from nowhere and appeared equally determined to pass on to nowhere."[3] He is typically quiet, always silent about his past. He does not wear his gun, and yet everyone seems to understand that he is a dangerous man.[4] Joe Starrett hires Shane as a hand on his farm, and Shane puts aside his handsome Western clothes and buys dungarees. He then helps the homesteaders to avoid intimidation by Fletcher and his men, who try to get them to abandon their farms. With Joe Starrett's leadership and Shane's help, the farmers resist Fletcher. Shane is forced into a gun battle.[1][4]

Characters
  • Shane – the protagonist, a mysterious gunslinger who enters into the life of Joe Starrett and his family and carves a place for himself in their hearts. Although he tries to leave his gunslinging past behind, refusing to even carry a gun, he decides to fight Fletcher in order to save Starrett’s farm. "Shane was dangerous, but he was good."[3]
  • Bob Starrett – Joe Starrett's son. He is eleven years old. He is the narrator. In the words of author Jack Schaeffer's son Jon, the character of Bob is, "a boy who thinks [mysterious stranger Shane] is a God."[3]
  • Joe Starrett – Bob's father. A former cattle driver, now a homesteader and a farmer. He is the unofficial leader of the local homestead farmers.
  • Marian Starrett – Joe's wife. She loves her husband, but also comes to love Shane.
  • Luke Fletcher – the antagonist. He is an open range rancher, set on purchasing or stealing all the land rights from the homesteaders and farmers. When the homesteaders refuse to sell, Fletcher resorts to intimidation and deadly force.
  • Chris – one of Fletcher's cowhands, a young man who intimidates the homesteaders and takes on Shane.
  • Stark Wilson – gunslinger hired by Fletcher to intimidate the homesteaders and kill those who refuse to sell their land. He kills homesteader Ernie Wright.
  • Ernie Wright - one of Stark Wilson's victims.
  • Mr. Grafton - general store owner who witnesses the fight with Shane involved.
  • Will Atkey - the bartender at Grafton's general store.[1][4]
  • Ernie Wright - weakest homesteader. Killed by Stark Wilson near end of book.

Themes

One of the most obvious themes of Shane is the tension between the fence-favoring homesteaders and the open-range cattle man Luke Fletcher. In the book, the homesteaders are shown as the small-time operators threatened by a powerful, wealthy man with a large herd of cattle and a government beef contract. In later years, author Jack Schaefer would regret this aspect of his novel, that Shane was, "aiding the advance of settlement, giving his push to the accelerating onrush of the very civilization I find deserving contempt."[3]

Critical reception

Richard S. Wheeler has written of Shane and its author: "This was Jack Schaefer’s first novel. He preferred in later years to write stories less mythic and more attuned to the real West.... Although he is little known, and the volume of his work is small, he surely ranks as one of this nation’s greatest."[5] The novel has frequently been honored by the Western Writers of America as one of the best of the modern genre.[3]

Argosy Version

Shane was originally published by Argosy, an American pulp magazine. It was published as Rider from Nowhere, a three-part serial, beginning in July 1946. This version was also somewhat shorter. Most notably, it did not include the famous early scene in which Shane and Joe Starrett bond while working together to remove a large stump.[3]

Film and TV adaptations

Influence

References
  1. Wheeler, Richard S. (26 December 2007). "Shane by Jack Schaefer". Saddlebums Western Review. Retrieved 22 April 2012.
  2. Andrew, Geoff. "Shane", Time Out Film Guide, Time Out Guides Ltd., London, 2006.
  3. Nott, Robert. "Introduction." Shane. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico, 1949, 2017. Kindle Edition.
  4. Schaefer, Jack (2017). Shane. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico. pp. Kindle Edition.
  5. B, Gonzalo (2007-12-26). "Saddlebums Western Review: Richard S. Wheeler: SHANE by Jack Schaefer". Saddlebums Western Review. Retrieved 2019-09-16.
  6. IMDb - "Shane" (1953) Retrieved 2015-08-09
  7. TCM Movie Database - "Shane" (1953) Retrieved 2015-08-09
  8. TCM Movie Database - "Pale Rider" (1985) Retrieved 2015-08-09
  9. What was that Western Movie in Logan? at geekendgladiators.com, retrieved March 13, 2017.
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