NPR: Your Turn: Shane

Your Turn: Shane

From Shane by Jack Shaefer, movie directed by George Stevens
Nominated by James Deutsch

Shane appears in the West from the mountains of the gods. He has no family, no past, no last name. Self-reliant and independent, he is clad in buckskin, having only a horse and gun.

Shane enters a deadly conflict pitting the Holy Family (Joe/Joseph, Marian/Mary, and their son Joey/Jesus) against the evil Rykers (i.e., Third Reichers or Nazis). In the end, after defeating the Nazis and their sadistic black-clad S.S. antagonist (Jack Wilson), Shane returns to the mountains from whence he came--alone.

Like Rick Blaine in Casablanca or Han Solo in Star Wars, Shane is a reluctant hero. He fights only because it is the right thing to do, because someone must stand up to the forces of evil in the world.

Americans love a reluctant hero. It reminds us of World Wars I and II, when good and evil were more clearly defined. Shane, come back!

Tags: Literature | Movies | Reluctant Hero

3:27 PM ET | 01-28-2008 | permalink

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Your Turn: Shane

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