Some Varieties of Heroes in America
Author(s): Roger D. Abrahams
Reviewed work(s):
Source: Journal of the Folklore Institute, Vol. 3, No. 3, [Special Issue: The Yugoslav-American
Folklore Seminar] (Dec., 1966), pp. 341-362
Published by: Indiana University Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3813806 .
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ROGER D. ABRAHAMS
Some Varieties of Heroes in America
The deeds of heroes are sung throughout the world, but the concept of
heroic action is by no means universal.1 The actions we consider heroic
reflect a view of life which is based upon contest values and a social
hierarchy built on the model of a male-centered family. A hero is a man
whose deeds epitomize the masculine attributes most highly valued
within such a society. Because there are various masculine traits which
one group or another has found attractive, there are different kinds of
heroes. Heroism is the attainment of public acclaim by specific figures
(whether real or mythic or fictional) whose actions are seen as noteworthy and good, and in most cases, worthy of emulation. Legendary
heroes arise because values guiding action exist within a specificgroup and
individuals appear or are imagined who act in line with these values to a
superlative degree. Heroes become celebrated and sung because their
actions so fully embody these masculine values. More important for the
present discussion, hero stories are a depiction, a projection of values in
story form.
As projections, these stories reflect the values of the culture in two
ways: as a guide for future action in real life and as an expression of
dream-life, of wish-fulfillment. The two motives generally function
simultaneously, except in a society in which heroic action is impossible.
However, there are certain types of heroes in which one motive
obviously predominates. For instance, in many groups there is a trickster
See, for instance, Abram Kardinerand Lionel Ovesey, The Mark of Oppression
(Cleveland and New York, 1951), p. 36: "In Western society, heroism is of high
value. Beginningwith Homer, there is a long series of sagas about heroic exploits.
One would gatherfrom these that heroismis a universalvalue. Is it not. In a culture
like Alor, there are no heroes: the chief protagonist ... is anythingbut heroic. He is
generally an insignificantnobody, whose fate is not decided by courageous and
enterprisingexploits but by women and the father-in-lawto be."
342
ROGER D. ABRAHAMS
hero who expends much of his energy in anti-social or anti-authoritarian
activity. Even when this results in benefits to the group, his actions
can not be interpreted as providing a model for future conduct. He is
a projection of desires generally thwarted by society. His celebrated
deeds function as an approved steam-valve for the group; he is allowed
to perform in this basically childish way so that the group may vicariously
live his adventures without actually acting on his impulses. To encourage
such action would be to place the existence of the group in jeopardy.
On the other hand, the contest hero in a group which is constantly at
war obviously provides a model for emulation. This does not deny that
such a hero also has a dream dimension, but his normative function
predominates.
This ambience is further complicated by the relation of the narrator
to the hero story. Traditionally, in many societies which exalt heroic
action, the role of the storyteller commands great respect. The effective
use of words is widely regarded as an exhibition of strength and manliness
in itself. Furthermore, by telling hero stories the narrator identifies
himself strongly with the hero and his deeds in the eyes of the audience;
part of his power is achieved vicariously.2
The complex operation of the telling of a hero story in a group in
which heroic values exist may be outlined as follows; the performer tells
his story:
1. to increase his own prestige and sense of masculinity;
2. to give his audience a plan of action which is viable in present and
recurring situations;
3. to provide the male audience with a sense of its own manly deeds in
the past, giving the members self-confidence in the present;
4. to provide for future success by retelling past success, calling into
play the principle of sympathetic magic;
5. to provide a fulfillment of manliness by vicarious association of
both teller and audience with the hero and his actions.
This last has always been of some importance in the retelling of a story,
though it has seldom been noticed by scholars of the so-called "Heroic
Age."
The question remains, how much did this vicarious motive enter into
2
This is a complicated phenomenon and can not be fully outlined here. For a
more extended argument, plus a review of some of the scholarship, see my book,
Deep Down in the Jungle..., (Hatboro, Pa., 1964), Chapter 3, "The Man of Words."
SOMEVARIETIESOF HEROESIN AMERICA
343
such tellings? It is impossiblewith our presentdata to fully assess this.
We cantell, however,thatin manygroups,as life has becomemoreurban
and sedentary,that constantwar and the resultantcontest valueshave
been transferredto otheractivitiesor otherwisehave died. But, as in all
aspectsof culture,formspersistwhilefunctionschange. The herostories
haveremainedtremendouslypopular,but theyfulfilla differentpurpose.
The normativeaspectsof the storieshave becomeless operational;the
vicariousaspectshave assumedincreasinglygreaterimportance.
A developmentalpatternis discernableconcerningheroicfictionsand
heroesin a groupin whichheroicaction becomesless the norm in real
life. Whenan heroiccultureexistsanddisappears,heroicfictionsand the
attitudetowardheroicaction seemto go througha graduatedthree-part
development:
1. Heroic stories in a warlikeage whereheroicvalues are operative.
In such times, there is genuine regard for an antagonist,as well as
hatredfor him. He, too, has heroicvirtues,and the battle is an heroic
one. The hero and the grouphe representsare indissoluble.
2. The collapse of the possibilityof heroic action in most aspectsof
life, resultingin the exaggerationof heroismand manlinessin heroic
fictions. The hero's masculinityis precarious,incapableof being permanentlyproven. He is alwaysreadyfor a fight. He fightsfor himself;
his connectionswith a group are tenuous. He is a supermanin every
way,oftenin relationswithwomen(thoughwomenaresometimesrejected
as unmanly).Thereis a completeloss of regardfor the antagonistwho is
defeated,becausehe is either unmasculineor an emasculator,or both.
He becomesless and less manlyas the hero becomesmore so.
3. Thedetumescenceanddecayof thehero. Theprotagonistis forcedto
assumea passivepose. He may do so as an aggression,in whichcase his
passivitybecomesa masochisticpose by which he is able ultimatelyto
get the betterof the antagonist(oftenthrougha joke ratherthanthrough
action). Or, he may resignhis masculinityin favor of a clown'srole, in
self-defeatingacts, or in virtualsuicide.3
This is a schematicoutline and needs a great deal of modification
and elaborationfor it to become meaningful. It is undoubtedlymore
useful in relationto the fictions of some groups than others. It is not
3 The basis of this trichotomy comes from my discussionswith my colleague Dr.
Americo Paredes. He has developedhis ideas in relation to Mexicanfolklore in an
as-yet-unpublishedpaper, "TheAnglo-Americanin MexicanFolklore."
344
ROGERD. ABRAHAMS
irreversable;there are many situations in which, because of some historical occurrence such as revolutionary or civil war or the establishment of
pioneer communities, heroic values again become totally operative.
In this article I will look into some representative hero stories in three
American groups: (1) the Negro, in which certain truly heroic elements
exist and are reflected in his stories; (2) white rural folk communities,
in which the hero is often portrayed as being totally defeated; and (3)
urban popular culture, in which a progressively exaggerated heroism can
be discerned.
The Negro in the United States, because of historical and familial
differences, has a folklore of a very different dimension and character
than that of any other group in the country. His lore displays an attitude
toward heroism and independent action which exhibits many aspects of
the first stage of the developmental pattern, though certain aspects
of the second stage as well. The male tradition-bearers among the
Negroes, the men of words among the lower class, exist in an atmosphere
in which they are involved in constant contest situations which often
almost verge on war, and thus their values are often heroic. However,
they seldom get a chance to fight their real enemy openly, and consequently their heroism (both physically and fictionally expressed) often
is misdirected, self-defeating, and only temporarily effective in dispelling
fears of the loss of masculinity. Their expressions of manliness are
therefore often exaggerated.
Basically the Negro man of the lower class is an emasculated male
in search of his masculine identity, a virtually futile occupation. He is
born into a matrifocal family and community, one in which mother
or grandmother is the center of authority as well as affection. There
is seldom a man around on whom he can pattern his personality development. He is loved as a child, but despised as a man, for in this group the
women do not trust the men and vice versa. Consequently, when the boy
enters adolescence and begins to search for his male identity, he is either
frustrated by his mother and forced to conform to her values, or he is
rejected. This system was founded during slavery and has been perpetuated by the white community which has found that it is easier to deal with
SOMEVARIETIESOF HEROESIN AMERICA
345
the Negroif the womenarekeptin the ascendantposition,whilethe men
are kept emotionallyand economicallydeprived. Thus the situation
continuesto exist wherebythe women find it easy to obtain employment or to find some other method by which they can exist without
economicsupportfrom a man. The Negro boy is forced out onto the
streets and into a gang.4
In the gang, the youth is presentedwith his first viable image of
masculinity:the hard-man,the bully, the gang leader. This man lives
by his strengthand audacityin the midst of a totallyantagonisticworld.
He is a leaderbecausehe is the most stylishand daringof the group,and
often the strongestas well. His precarioussense of self is reflectedin a
feeling of personalhonorthat is rootedin a territory,not out of loyalty
but convenience. Like a hero of an "HeroicAge" he representsthat
areaand the groupthat lives in it, but unlikethe classicherohe doesnot
act for the group,but only for himself. His visionis not wideenoughto
think in termsof anythinglargerthan self-interest.But generally,he is
not able to fight his true enemies,the whites who have boxed him in
both physicallyand emotionally,or his mother who has created an
unseverablebond throughher rearingpractices,yet rejectinghim and
his masculinity. He channelshis aggressionagainstotherslike himself,
otherbullies. He can neverfirmlyprovehimselfas long as this deflection
occurs. He must constantlytest himselfin these minorways to provide
some kind of supportfor his self-confidence,thoughsuch effortsare all
too often self-defeating. His internal conflicts are so great that he
searchesfor waysof provinghimselfthatalsoresultin his owndestruction.
Thushe constructsthe imageof the heroichard-manwho livesin strength
and who dies in style. Becauseof this, he himselfoften winds up dead
or in jail. This is the hero of the gangs,and this is the Negro hero as he
is portrayedin recentNegro traditionalnarratives.
But this hero is openly rebellingas a man againstthe emasculating
factorsin his life. In the past,the Negrohas not evenhadthismisdirected
heroismavailableto him. In slaveryand post-slaverydays the Negro
couldnot be as overtin his aggressions.In orderto expresshis aggressive
desires in his stories, he had to assume a childish role, for children's
aggressionsare harmless, powerless. The Negro cast himself as a
somewhatmaliciousbut clever animal tricksterin the "Br'erRabbit"
4 For a fuller description of this situation with regard to one neighborhood of
Negro youths, see Deep Downin the Jungle..., Ch. 1.
346
ROGERD. ABRAHAMS
stories, or as an apparently stupid, faithful slave "John" who managed
slyly to outwit (but not defeat) "Marster." In both types of stories the
subservient or small hero managed to outmaneuver those more powerful
than he, but the victories were always short-term and never endowed
the trickster hero with a rise in status or provided him with a transforming
experience. The trickster never grew beyond childhood, in any real sense.
These pre-heroicroles are probably a real reflection of a modal personality
of the slave Negro who had learned to get along, and whose only approved
manner of expressing himself aggressivelywas by giving the impression of
inefficacy and childishness. These stories did provide the slave with a
workable pattern of aggressive action, even if it was hardly heroic.5
Though these stories are still part of the repertoire of older Negro
storytellers, they are becoming less and less apparent. Much more in
vogue are the more overtly aggressive hard-man heroes. The earliest
indications of this hero type are in a group of songs which seem to have
arisen late in the nineteenth and early in the twentieth centuries. In these,
the doings of hard-men are celebrated in songs about "Railroad Bill,"
"Stackolee," "John Henry," "The Bully of the Town," and many others.
These songs are concerned with well-known legendary characters and
seldom tell their story so much as celebrate their style of life. They sing
of the hero as if his story were known to everyone. Railroad Bill, for
instance, is remembered as much for his trait of lighting cigars with a
ten-dollar bill as for his murderous exploits. Most who sing of John
Henry take note of his numerous women and deal with his exploits with
a hammer only in passing.
John Henry is undoubtedly the most ubiquitous and interesting of the
hard-man legendary heroes, and the one most acceptable to middle-class
white audiences because he channeled his aggressions into his actions
with a hammer rather than in thieving or in killing.6 It is interesting to
note that his life story is close to that of the biographical pattern of the
hero of other ages.7 He has an unusual birth and springs to life nearly
full-grown, with a sense of doom surroundinghis very existence, knowing
5
For a more extendeddescriptionof the changingtypes of Negro heroes, see Deep
Down in the Jungle..., Ch. 2.
6
For his treatmentin the hands of popular writers,see Richard M. Dorson, "The
Career of 'John Henry'," Western Folklore, XXIV (1965), 155-163.
7 Many have taken note of this
biographicalpatternof heroes. For a recentresume
of this scholarship, see Archer Taylor, "The Biographical Pattern in Traditional
Narrative," Journal of the Folklore Institute, I (1964), 114-129.
SOMEVARIETIESOF HEROESIN AMERICA
347
that the hammeris going to resultin his death. Afterthe singingof his
immenseprowesswith the hammerand with women,his life comes to a
crisis quicklyin the confrontationwith the steamdrill,the impersonal
weaponof the enemythat would rob him of his job, his power,and his
virility. He is successfulin the epic battlewith the machine,but he dies
in the throesof victory. However,his deathis triumphant,for whenhe is
buried,all who pass his gravesing his praise,"Therelies a steel-driving
man."
John Henryis the only one of these hard-manheroes who does not
channelhis actionsinto anti-societalpatternsof behavior. Most of the
heroes of these legendarysongs are murderersand thieves, sadisticin
their motivation,badmenlooking for a fight just to prove their own
strengthand virility. This kind of hero is still prevalentin Negro lore,
especiallythat of the youthsof the big cities. But now the heroes'deeds
arerecitedratherthansung.An activetraditionof streetcorner
epicexists
todaywherevertheseyouthscongregate,in poolhalls,bars,prisons. Long
poems,oftencalled'toasts'by theirbardicimprovisers,arerecitedabout
the clash of 'Stackolee'and 'Billy Lion' or the elephantand the lion.8
The tricksteris also still found in these poems, but he is as mean and
maliciousas his badmancounterpart,as in the toast of "TheSignifying
Monkey and the Lion," in which the trickymonkeypersuadeslion to
fightan elephant,knowingthat lion will be badlybeaten.
In most of thesepoemsand songs,the hero'sbattlesend triumphantly
for him, even when he brutallymurdersinnocentbystanders.He often
dies, but alwaysin style. Sometimeshe goes to Hell and beatsthe Devil
at his own game, thus perpetuatinghis earthlystruggles. However,his
victoriesare neverreally transformingones. He is an adolescenthero
who managesto win many battles,but neverthe war, in attemptingto
securehis own maleidentity,for he seldomknowswhomhe is fightingor
why. His confusedstrugglereflectsthat of the men who tell his exploits;
it also reflectsthe virtuallyinsolubleproblemsconfrontingthesemen in
their day-to-dayexistence.
II
The badmanhero is one type that is sharedby all three of the groups
discussedhere. A natural outgrowthof the Negro's stories in which
8 For representativetexts, plus an examination of bardic techniques, see Deep
Down in the Jungle..., Ch. 4.
348
ROGER D. ABRAHAMS
badmenare heroesis that the notoriouscriminalsof the outsideworld
wereof greatinterestto them,andJesseJamesandhis gang,"Baby-Face"
Nelson, and John Dillingerall are to be foundin one toast. Thesesame
criminalshave found a place in Americanpopularliteratureas well as
some notorietyin the folklore of white rural communities. But these
last groupshaveaddedcertainimportantattributesto the storiesof these
criminals. Mody C. Boatright,drawingmaterialfrom oral biographies
of the Jamesbrothers,Billythe Kid, and otherrangeoutlaws,has pointed
out that there is a certainpatternto the recountedlives of these men.
Theyall belongto the Anglo-Americanmajorityand come fromrespectable but not wealthyfamilies,have an unfortunatechildhood,commit
their first crimesunderextremeprovocation,fight the enemiesof their
people,performactsof tenderness,andatonefor theirmisdeeds,generally
in heroicdeaths.9
This kind of hero differsconsiderablyfromthe rebelliousimagegiven
the same historicalcharacterin the popularimagination.These heroes
are attachedto a region or a cause, provokedinto action by external
pressureand not internalpsychic need, and even when forced into a
life of "crime,"retaintheiressentialvirtue. This attachmentto an area
and a cause emphasizestheir role as a leaderof men; most of the folk
badmanheroesdo commandan outlawbandwho serveas an avenging
armyfor the region.
John0. Westhas shownthatsucha comitatuspatternis not onlyfound
in the heroes of the Anglo-Americanfrontierin the United States, but
also in such "good"outlawsas GregorioCortezand JoaquinMurieta.
Theattributesof theseheroeswhichWestnotesare:(1)theirchampioning
of a partisangroupof whichtheyarea part;(2) theirmanliness,providing
a vital forcein the midstof socialupheaval;(3) theirfightingthe underdog's battle, but fightingit well; and for this, (4) getting killed, often
treacherously.10
The most popularexpressionsof the deedsof these badmenare found
in ballads, for these songs achieveda proveniencefar wider than the
9 Mody C. Boatright, "The Western Bad Man as Hero," Mesquite and Willow
(==Publicationof the Texas FolkloreSociety, XXVII) (Dallas, 1957),96-104.
10 John 0. West, "To Die Like a Man: The 'Good' OutlawTraditionin the American
Southwest," unpublishedPh. D. dissertation, The University of Texas, 1964. He
studies, in addition to Murietaand Cortez, Billy the Kid and Jesse James. He also
shows that many of these specificheroic attributeswere given to other, lesser known
badmen.
SOMEVARIETIESOF HEROESIN AMERICA
349
legendarytales which tended to be quite local. The ballad and other
types of story songs seem to be the majornarrativeexpressionof rural
white America,judging by materialscollected from tradition-oriented
communities. The attributemost emphasizedin songs of outlaws is
the mannerin whichthesecriminalseffectivelycarryout theirdangerous
jobs. This concernis found throughoutmost of the songs encountered
in this Anglo-Americancountrytraditionin whichheroicaction of any
sort is portrayed.
The most widespreadof such songs are the ones concernedwith more
legitimatemale occupations.It would seemthat whenmen get together
to do a job, their values tend to become progressivelymore heroic.
The balladsof occupationalgroupssuch as lumberjacks,cowboys,and
railroaderstell storiesin whicha man emergesas a representativeof the
group and performsa difficultoccupationaldetail valiantly,exhibiting
strengthand bravery,living a brief hero's life before dying an heroic
death. Thus Young Monroe,in the most widelysung lumberjacksong,
"The Jam on Gerry'sRocks," steps bravelyforwardand breaksup a
log jam, losing his life in the process. Many other ballads from the
lumbercampscelebratesimilarfeats. In the sameway, cowboysrecount
who die whilestopping
the doingsof manylike "LittleJoe,the Wrangler,"
a stampedeor some other dangerousactivity involved in the cattle
trade. Such heroismis also evincedin songs of the railroadengineers
who attemptedto bring their engines 'in on time' and had wrecksin
doing so.
In all these and in the songs of other occupationalgroups, one man
emergesfrom the group and becomesa temporaryleader. But this is a
shadow comitatus,for the hero does dedicatehis life to the group, but
the group never becomesidentifiedwith his name, and his men do not
followhim. Theyjust standthereadmiringhimwhilehe dies. Wecannot
overlookthe basicallysuicidalmotivationhere, for often the designated
one knowshe is goingto his deathand does so gladly,desiringhis heroic
end. In an explicit statementof these values, one railroadsong "The
Wreckon the C & O,"11states:
Thedoctorsaidto Georgie[thedyingengineer],
"My darlingboy be still.
Your life may yet be saved
1 G. Malcolm Laws, Native American Balladry, revised ed. (Philadelphia, 1964),
p. 214, G 3.
350
ROGERD. ABRAHAMS
If it is God's preciouswill."
"Ohno, oh no, that will not do,
I want to die so free.
I want to die for the engineI love
One hundredand forty-three."
This occupational hero exists only for his one representativeact. He is a
leader only insofar as he represents the group in a struggle, but his
leadership is brief and his battle impersonal. Instead of warring with
opposing forces or the hero of the other side, his adversary is a condition
of life imposed by the group making the trip on time, getting the logs
down the river, getting the cattle to the railroad, etc., or natural occurrences in the carrying out of his employment. Victory or death carries no
transforming experience with it. Death is a necessary condition of life
accepted fatalistically, and, in many cases, willingly. Heroism is not
inherent in a character; it arises out of a situation, and the individual
momentarily accepts the burden, seeing in it quick fame and death.
This sudden focus on an individual usually stresses, not his heroic
nature, but his ordinary (and often less-than-ordinary) characteristics,
such as Little Joe's small stature, unfortunate background, and relative
inexperience in the cattle trade. Joe's death, and that of others of his
kind, is therefore filled with pathos, not tragedy - an attitude almost
antithetical to true heroic feeling. Often the point is made that the dead,
sacrificed hero leaves behind a grieving mother or sweetheart,12and these
bereaved souls usually have the last word in the song. These ballads
are as much a product of a sentimental tradition as a reversion to heroic
song.
Other than dubious heroes of this sort, Anglo-American folk cultures
in the United States have produced few figures whose actions call for
heroic emulation. The idea of heroic action seems, in fact, to be antithetical to certain unstated values among rural white communities, at least
as expressed in their primary narrative form, the ballad.
The major body of ballads collected from these folk communities shows
how removed these people are from a culture of war or contest, for very
few of their songs celebrate brave actions in battle. War, in fact, has
played a small part in their lives. Rather, their song conventions are
derived from the romances and other courtly modes of literaturein which
12
As opposed to dying Negro heroes who are mourned by their many women; c.f.
"John Henry," "Casey Jones," etc.
SOMEVARIETIESOF HEROESIN AMERICA
351
heroic values had alreadybeen transmutedinto courtshipterms. The
main subject of courtly literaturewas the love-battlein which action
aroseout of the maneuveringof a man in the love-conquestof a woman;
victorywas not only in defeatinga foe but in the captureof the object
of his affection. Deeds of valor occur, but not becausea group needs
to be protectedor to havetheirgreatnessproclaimed,but becausea lady
is in need or a knightmust prove himselfto his lady. Masculinityis a
totally sex-orientedproposition;proof of manlinesslies in the winning
of a lady's allegiance,and often her hand in marriage(especiallyin the
later romances).
This love separationand reunificationpatternis also found in AngloAmerican balladry, but the attitudes and the outcomes are almost
completelyreversed. In the re-enactmentof a romancesituation,the
young lover is more often than not defeated,eitherby the girl's father
or by his own mother! Thus one finds in these songs a situationclose
to the one describedin the third level of the developmentalpattern
concernedwith attitudestoward the hero, in which heroismis totally
defeated.
I havetriedto show elsewherethat this defeatedlove patternis clearly
observablein those ballads canonizedby FrancisJames Child which
have been collectedoften in Anglo-Americanfolksingingcommunities.13
Thereare, of course,a numberof these balladsin which wrong-doing,
includingillicitlove,is punished.Butmoreimportantthanthesemorality
piecesare those whichbeginwith the traditionalseparationof loversbut
whichend, not in the reunitingof the loversand marriage,but in death
and a commongrave. Songswith this patternincludethe most popular
Childballadsfound in North America:"BarbaraAllen,""LordLovel,"
"Lord Thomas and Fair Annet," "LadyAlice," "Lady Margaretand
SweetWilliam,"and others. Thereare a few Childpiecesoften collected
here in which the lovers are joined in the end, but it is almost never
becauseof action initiatedby the male lover. In "Johnof Hazlegreen,"
the groom'sfather picks out a bride, happilyto find that it is the girl
his son loves. More commonly,success occurs because the girl conceives some ruse by whichthey can marry,as in "YoungBeichan"and
"TheBailiff'sDaughterof Islington."
The same pattern,though not so exclusively,can be observedin the
13
"Patternsof Structureand Role-Relationshipin the Child Ballad in America,"
to be published in the Journal of American Folklore (1966).
352
ROGERD. ABRAHAMS
later British "broadside" pieces collected in America. For instance,
of the thirty-nine ballads which G. Malcolm Laws lists under the title
of "Ballads of Family Opposition to Lovers," in his American Balladry
From British Broadsides,14fourteen have plots in which the lovers
successfully manage to run away and marry, or overcome parental
objections in some way. Of these, three involve a reversal of roles in
which the lady takes the initiative (usually by dressing up as a boy), eight
are of limited currency (found mostly in the Canadian Maritime Provinces) and only three are commonly found which preserve the heroromance pattern of the man overcoming the opposition: "Locks and
Bolts" (M 13), "The New River Shore" (M 26), and "The Bold Soldier"
(M 27).
Just how this pattern of the defeat of the hero reflects the values of
the communities which these songs perpetuate is difficult to tell, given
our present insufficient data concerning other aspects of their lives.
It is difficult to measure how important it is that most traditional singers
in these communities are women (men seem to be more strongly attracted
to instrumental music). Also, how much does the functional use of these
songs in actual courtships affect their subject matter? The failure of
the men in their love pursuit may simply have been used as a ploy in
the traditional courtship contest between the sexes. This aspect of song
choice may be further strengthened by the public nature of most courtship occasions in these rural communities. On the other hand, much
recent discussion concerning the economic plight of one important
American region, the Southern Mountains, has argued that the people
are tradition-bound and therefore unable to accomodate themselves
to new situations and incapable of exhibiting initiative, a description
that parallels to some extent the values discernable in these ballads.
III
A tremendous corpus of popular literaturein the United States is devoted
to the creation of heroic images and analysis of the heroic life. These
works are directed toward the huge reading public in this essentially
middle-class nation in which the ability to read assumes great importance.
Under the influence of the sentimentaland melodramaticmodes so favored
4 First edition
(Philadelphia, 1957), pp. 179-200.
SOMEVARIETIES
OF HEROES
IN AMERICA
353
by bourgeoisaudiences,the heroeswho arisein such fictionemphasize
the dreamvalues of city-dwellers:rebellion,the free life lived close to
nature,personalintegrityin spite of the corruptivedemandsof society,
and complete self-realizationthrough existenceapart from others. If
such figures seem reminiscentof the "naturalman" of Rousseau-like
thought,the relationshipis not gratuitous.Theseideas werefashionable
duringthe earlydays of the United States.15
But there was much in the early national experienceof the United
Stateswhichwas conduciveto thinkingand actingin suchheroicterms.
The newnessand vastnessof the land, plus the problemsof wrestingthe
landfromthe Indiansandlife fromthe soil, breathedthe spiritof solitary
adventureinto Americanlife, especiallyto thosewho movedinto frontier
areas, at least until the end of the nineteenthcentury. One could and
did find realmsin which braverywas demanded. Further,our history
is in a senseone of adolescentsearchfor nationalidentity.16Ourrevolutionary past, our reaction to the authoritativerestrictionsof Great
Britain,emphasizedthis fact and has allowed Americanhistory to be
seen by many as a purposivemovement,a vast Utopian plan.
Even more importantthan nationalidentitywas the problemof the
creation of an atmospherein which each individualcould find his own
space. Individual freedom was a preoccupationof thinker and doer
antedatingindependence.Thisdid not meanthat everyonehad to accept
the liberatedstate,but that anyonewho wantedto searchfor it mightdo
so withimpunity. This attitudewas productiveof heroism,for it presupposed individualworth and the possibility of certain individualsexpressingan inherentsuperiority.The everpresentfact that anyonecould
makea "newlife"for himselfon thefrontiergavetheAmericanexperience
its dominanttone of optimismand made adventurenot only possible,
but attractive.The adventurerscame to be admiredfor theiractions in
carving out new worlds which they stamped with their own names.
15 See Henry Nash Smith, Virgin Land (New York, 1950), and R. W. B. Lewis,
The AmericanAdam(Chicago, 1955), for treatmentsof the typical Americanapotheosis of the "naturalman" in Edenic terms in popular literatureand belles-lettres.
16 This concernfor national identity had a literarydemension. From Revolutionary
times on, there was a constant call for an Americanepic, and many were attempted.
Joel Barlow's Columbiadwas probably the first. Later, Timothy Flint suggested
Daniel Boone as a fit epic subject,perhapsafter readingByron's heroic treatmentof
Boone in Don Juan. The concept of national epic broadenedto that of a national literature under the proddings of many important literary figures from Emerson to
Whitmanand beyond.
354
ROGERD. ABRAHAMS
This emphasis on the efficacy of individual action had more than just
an economic rationale (though that seems to have predominated from
the beginning and become progressively more pronounced). Such
individuality was inherent in the democratic philosophy and its doctrine
of equal opportunity. Even more important was its foundation in the
dominant Protestant religious beliefs. As Weber, and later Tawney,
have shown, in the rapidly desacralized Protestant world, the idea of the
importance of works was transformed and accommodated by the spirit
of capitalism.17 The concept of divine works, which began in terms of
bringing souls onto the proper path and supporting church values and
activities, soon developed into a rationale for a materialistic attitude. To
become wealthy came to mean that one was favored in the sight of God;
thus, a religious rational arose for amassing capital and using it properly.
In this way, the heroic "Christian Soldier" soon became the captain of
commerce. As de Tocqueville exclaims as early as 1830, "Americans
show a sort of heroism in their manner of trading."18 These values have
persisted even after their sacred background has been forgotten.
It is not surprising in this atmosphere that heroes arose who fought
their battles in the marketplace, and who won their victories over adversity in the countinghouse ratherthan on the battlefield. The enemy of such
heroes is poverty, and the pattern of victory usually involves some adherence to the "rag-to-riches"theme. The primary virtues of this "Horatio
Alger"19type differlittle from any other hero; he must be firm,clever, completely dedicated, resourceful, and above all adventurous, willing to take
risks. He differs from other heroes only in his techniques, weapons, and
final intent. This hero, as with all others, tries to build his world in his
own image, glorifying his name and prowess in a virtual attempt to transcend death through his actions. It is because of this mutation of heroic
values that such names as Andrew Carnegie, J. P. Morgan, and John
D. Rockefeller command great respect and admiration long after these
men have died.
However, such men rarely have their deeds sung by more than their
own anxious coterie, a group which quickly dissolves after the death of
17
Most conveniently found in R. H. Tawney, Religion and the Rise of Capitalism
(New York, 1926).
18 Alexis de
Tocqueville,
Democracy in America (New York: Vintage Edition,
1945), p. 442.
19 So named for the author (1843-1899)who wrote a series of
popular novels con-
cernedwith economicallyresourcefulheroes.
SOMEVARIETIESOF HEROESIN AMERICA
355
its hero. Their names survive only proverbially and then not because
of their prowess or cleverness, but only for their wealth. Their demise as
popular figures probably occurs because they work within society and
toward the center of the establishment. Wealth and snobbery in democratic America seem to be characteristics not acceptable in a hero.
Business, even in the jet age, is not active enough for truly heroic movement.
Of all the leaders of commerce, only that generic figure, the Yankee
peddler, seems to have captured the public fancy for any period of time,
and he did so in both the city and country, in popular literature and
folklore.20 His bravery was a compound of mercantilistic audacity and
willingness to travel into the untamed regions to find his fit adversary,
the frontiersman. Their battle was a swapping contest, and, like all
good heroes, the Yankee valued the style more than the result, the swapping more than the winning:
One Yankee swappedall the way to the WesternReserve,wherehe took up
a claim, swapped in that region until he could swap no longer, swapped
away his claim, and moved on from one piece of wild land to another,arriving
at last on a sandyhillsidewith only the clothes on his back.2'
Jonathan, the Yankee peddler, escaping from the confines of his Puritan
upbringing,nevertheless carriedwith him in his wide travels the Protestant
ethic of the importance of works. In his drive for constant manipulation,
he was at one and the same time the very spirit of common sense and
thrift, and the complete and often amoral rebel. He was both the enemy
of the established order (founded as it was on hypocritical sophisticated
values) and the semidivine arranger who had to remake the world in
his own ingenious image:
Moving about, setting things to rights, actively using his hands, the New
Englanderconstantly observedthat the great trouble with the world is that
things are not in the right place. By simplelocomotionyou can turn a deficit
into an asset,and turnmisfortuneinto a gift fromthe gods. Takeice, for exam20
Constance Rourke in AmericanHumor (New York, 1931), Ch. 1, describes this
andshowsin whatguisesandwherethe character
Yankeemostperceptively
springs
up. For illustrativetexts of the Jonathantraderdrawnfrom popularliterarysources,
see Richard M. Dorson, JonathanDraws the Long Bow (Cambridge,Mass., 1946),
Ch. 3, passim; B. A. Botkin, A Treasuryof New EnglandFolklore(New York, 1947),
Part 1, Section 1.
21
Rourke, p. 17.
356
ROGER D. ABRAHAMS
ple. There is altogethertoo much of it in winter.... But move the ice to the
tropics... .22
Ultimately, it is this bumptious rebelliousness and insistence on recreating
the world so that it conforms to the boundaries of his personal ethos that
fascinates us most about the Jonathan hero, not his abilities in commerce.
He is the first full expression of the archetypal American popular hero,
the rustic who by living with himself and nature learns to control life.
He is gifted with a common-sense attitude which stands in bold distinction
to the hypocrisies of middle-class society. He is basically innocent, and
yet a whole man.
Jonathan was the first of many back-country heroes that arose in the
American imagination. Though his popularity persisted well into the
twentieth century in a number of mutations,23he engendered far less
interest than his successor, the backwoodsman.
Jonathan needed others around in order to exercise his wit, to assume
his proper character. The frontiersman might come into civilization
once in a while just to insist upon his superiority in any milieu, but he
was more at home in the woods than anywhereelse. There his companion
was nature, and it was from this natural life that he derived his power.
This power in great part depended upon his ability to preserve a belief
in goodness, honor, and other virtues. Life with nature allowed him to
rediscover man's primal innocence from which flowed all virtue. His
fit adversary, then, was not so much the animals which he needed to kill
- they seemed gladly to find their way in front of his rifle or into his
traps - but rather the corrupt ways of society, constantly seeking to
stain man's name.
The prototype of the frontier hero was Daniel Boone, and he owes his
fame to certain popular writers of his time: John Filson, Timothy Flint,
James Fenimore Cooper, Lyman Draper, and Dan Beard. Filson's
biography seems to have achieved tremendous popularity and spread
Boone's fame more widely than any other document. Boone's attributes
which caught the fancy of the public were not only his bravery, his
willingness to start the settlement on the other side of the Appalachians,
but his wandering nature, individualism, desire for solitude, distaste for
22
Marjorie Barstow Greenbie, American Saga (New York, 1939), p. 33, quoted in
Botkin, p. 4.
23 For
instance, "Titus Moody," one of the continuing characters on the Fred Allen
program, a classic radio show of the pre-World War II period.
SOMEVARIETIESOF HEROESIN AMERICA
357
society, strength, and guile. Though he was in fact a leader of men, his
other characteristics were the more attractive features of his image to
the American public back East. It was his very inability to live with
others for any length of time which Cooper seized and embellished in the
creation of his Leatherstocking figure, and this independence of spirit
has remained his best remembered attribute.24
The popularity of Boone, his values, and life-pattern, resulted in the
creation or elevation of a number of other frontier heroes, both comic and
serious: Mike Fink, Kit Carson, Davy Crockett, Deadwood Dick,
Buffalo Bill, and the many other trapper and cowboy heroes of pulp
fiction, radio, movies, and television.
Of these, Davy Crockett is perhaps the most widely and persistently
popular of the sons of Dan'l. Davy was an historical figure (like Horatio
Nelson or Lord Byron), who was so surrounded with adulation as a
hero in his own lifetime that he went willingly into a foolish but heroic
sacrificialdeath. His frontier background, combined with his independent
attitudes and his graphic facility with words, caused him to be exploited
by popular writers during his own lifetime, but his death in the Battle of
the Alamo seems to have insured his continuing popularity.25
Professor Richard M. Dorson has shown that in many ways Davy's
life, as reported in the almanacs and elsewhere, shows remarkable
similarities to the biographical pattern of epic heroes:
The Crockett universe portrays the customary masculine, individualistic,
relativelybarbaricsociety devotedto hunting,fighting,drinkingand sporting;
the narrativestructurefocuses on the careerof a centralhero, his conquests,
courtships, adventures, nomadic travels, [remarkable]birth and [heroic]
death.26
Crockett is a comic hero; his adventures and pranks all express adolescent
24
For a convenientsynopsis of Boone's life and image, see MarshallW. Fishwick,
American Heroes: Myth and Reality (Washington, D.C., 1954), pp. 56-72. Kent
Ladd Steckmesser,in The WesternHero in HistoryandLegend(Norman,Okla., 1965),
pp. 4-8, effectivelyargues that these attributesof Boone were almost completelythe
creation of his literaryadmirers.
25
For a good, brief description of Crockett's contemporarypopularity and its
historicalcauses,see Rourke,pp. 53-56. RichardM. Dorson has convenientlybrought
together the most important accounts of his life in Davy Crocket:AmericanComic
Legend(New York, 1939).
26 Richard M. Dorson, "Davy Crockett and the Heroic Age," SouthernFolklore
Quarterly,VI (1942), 101.
358
ROGERD. ABRAHAMS
and even occasionally childish (trickster) values. Between the wildly
hyperbolic boasts and the zany battles with animals and men, Davy has
ample opportunity to prove his bravery at the same time he is producing
laughter. His ability to fashion his own worlds and derive pleasure from
the process provides a profound thumbing-the-nose at society and its
restrictions; of course, city-dwellers loved the insult. In the wilderness
where he could construct his own heroic ethic, Crockett illustrates the
tendency of all such American heroes who follow - to be perpetual
outsiders by insisting on the basic innocence of human nature.
More than this, Davy takes his style of expression from the real-life
frontier boaster, the American apotheosis of Baron Miinchausen who tells
formidable tall stories in which he is the featured performer.27 This
humorous hero-type has his roots in American folklore, and thus Davy is
closer to a folk hero than any of his successors. It is important in this
respect that his exaggerations are usually verbal and obviously comic in
intent, and are therefore of a different quality than the creations of the
popular press which followed. Crockett, the man, lived in an area and
time in which his expression of valor was functional. He lived and died a
frontiersman, with the integrity of the values of that culture. As the frontier faded, his successors became less and less real as they were manufactured by the hack writers of the public press.28 The result is the exaggeration of now one, now another facet of his life and personality.
In comic apotheosis, the sons of Dan'l and Davy emerge as Paul
Bunyan, Joe Magarac, and any number of other regional or occupational
hyperbolic heroes. In these figures, Davy's boasting language is embroidered upon, as well as his already exaggerated adventures. But the style
degenerates from the obviously comic to the cute, folksy, and fantastic. The audience for these tales is supposed to regard them as folksy
lies, yet they are invariably written in a pseudo-fairy tale fashion in
which the narrating person assumes naively that he is being taken
seriously. The combination of this sophisticated over-exaggeration and
27
This type of folk hero, not mentionedin section II, is one which has only recently
attractedmuch attentionfrom folklorists,so it is difficultto tell how widelythey may
be encountered. See Jan Brunvand,"Len Henry, North Idaho Miinchausen,"Northwest Folklore,I (Summer,1965), 11-19. He mentions some other similar characters.
See also Percy MacKaye, Tall Tales from the Kentucky Mountains (New York, 1926).
28 For a description of how this kind of manufacturedhero now dominates our
concept of present heroism, see Daniel Boorstin, The Image, A Guide to Pseudo-Events
in America(New York, 1961), Ch. 2.
IN AMERICA
SOMEVARIETIES
OF HEROES
359
the pseudo-folkstylehas resultedin the brandingof this sort of literature
as "fakelore."29
But these pseudo-heroesare not the major branchof the CrockettBoone family tree. From Dan'l and Davy well into the present,the
major type of Americanpopular hero has been given the role of the
outsider;they exist apartfrom society becauseof the varianceof their
vision of what life shouldbe from that of the city or town dweller;they
must fabricatetheir own ethos and carryit aroundwith them wherever
and
they go. Becauseof their unboundedoptimism,clear-sightedness,
essentialegotism,wheneverthis ethos collideswith society's,that of the
hero prevails.
Such heroesare almost alwayscelibate. They live awayfrom others,
thoughthey often have a male companion(generallyan Indian,another
type of "naturalman")who sharesin theirvaluesand power. Theyfind
that powerin societybreedscorruption,but powerin isolationpurifies.
Wheneverthey enter a community,one can predictthat they will find
its wound,and cleanseit beforethey leave. For the most part, they are
never able to exist in society for very long; they never marry,though
they may occasionallykiss the prettiestgirl in town. In a real sense,
theirneedfor adolescentrebellionis neverassuaged.Theynot onlynever
marry,they never find the real heroic culminationin death. They are
permanentlystuckin the hero role.30
The offspringof the frontiersmandevelopsin threewaysas the frontier
ethic disappears. A minor strain has him persevereas he has always
been: innocent,brave,adventurous,and rigidlymoral,as in suchfigures
as "TheLoneRanger."Moresignificantin one mutation,the perpetually
adolescentloner has grownold and more experienced(and often tired).
In another,he has clungto his rebel-adolescent,outsidervaluesand his
ethic of contest,but he has lost his rigidmorality;in the roarof success
in battle he becomes completelytaken in by his own image, and can
thereforenot conceiveof doing any wrong.
Robert Byington has named the hero-grown-oldthe "Gentleman
Killer,"and has writtenan interestingdescriptionof his life-pattern.He
29
The term is an invention of Richard M. Dorson, and has been used by him in
numerousof his writings.
30
This role-continuanceis perhaps due as much to the commercialnecessities of
keeping a popular hero alive, so that future installments of his adventurescan be
purveyed,as to his adolescentfixation.
360
ROGERD. ABRAHAMS
posits five characteristics: (1) he is the killer of men ("To take human
life, and to take it violently, is his ultimate function"); (2) he is a loner
("a solitary individual, more often than not a wanderer who ... invariably
embodies a repudiation of civilized values"); (3) he has renounced what
most men hold dearest; (4) he has a deep-seated melancholy ("a man
out of love with himself and disillusioned by the world, a man gloomily
obsessed by some dreadful purpose"); and (5) he is an aristocrat of nature
("inherently king and gentle ... self-restrained ... stoical").31
These heroes are characteristic of a land in which there is no longer
any frontier. Society has so overtaken the land that autonomy, bravery,
and natural virtue are hardly possible any longer. Every place he turns,
this hero sees the corruption of power within society. Though no longer
still innocent himself, he stands in defense of the values of innocence.
He rides from one place to another cauterizing the inevitable wound of
society, never staying one place, never marrying but envying those who
can. He is weary of his fight but carries the stigma of the hero in his
mission.
An interesting mutation of the "Gentleman Killer" might be termed
the "Gary Cooper" hero (after the actor who portrayed him so often).
This is the mature, weary man of action who remains a loner but lives
within society, generally as a law officer. He is capable of both talking
and acting bravely, but will do so only when forced into it by the imposition of some false use of power, generally introduced from the outside
(the town is a reflection of his individual ethos). This hero protects innocence from within - "So that they can grow up right," he says, as he points
to a group of children clustered at his feet. In his comic apotheosis, he is
Destry in "Destry Rides Again"; in his tragic form, lheis Matt Dillon in
"Gunsmoke."
These heroes of disillusioning experience are almost the diametric
opposite of the third offspring of Davy and Dan'l, the eternally adolescent
hero in the big city. Though this avatar of the frontier hero is placed in
an urban environment, he has so adapted himself to the milieu that he
has been able to preserve his bravery, power, and egotism. He also has
preserved the frontiersman's autonomy, but he uses it to push the principle of individualism to the fullest. All heroes seem to have a license
to kill because they represent right, but this city-hero absolutely delights
31 Robert Byington, "The Frontier Hero: Refinement and Definition, Singers and
Storytellers (= Publications of the Texas Folklore Society, XXX) (Dallas, 1961), 140-155.
SOMEVARIETIES
OF HEROES
IN AMERICA
361
in the kill. He, too, has a license (often a police badgeor the card of a
privatedetective),but he uses it much less discriminatelythan frontier
heroes. The sternlymoral, primitivistic,innocenthero has becomethe
amoralegotist. No outcastfrom society, he controlsfrom within. He
is not only a fiercebattler,but a greatlover; this is just furtherproof of
his masculinepowers. Buthis Don Juanismmerelyunderlineshis adolescentvaluesandamorality.The ancestorsof thisheroincludethe criminal
inspectoras well as the frontierhero, but he has transcendedthem all,
appearingas Sam Spade,Mike Hammer,and most recentlyJamesBond
(authoredby an Englishman,Ian Fleming,but much in the American
mold and very popularin the United States).
There is only a small leap involvedin makingthe criminalhimself
into a hero, given the city-hero'samoralethos. The badman,as easily
as any other man of action, can be portrayedas a rebel, an outsider,
or one who is searchingfor identity throughfreedom of movement.
Consequently,many notoriouspublic enemieshave been describedby
the press in heroic terms. Jesse James, Dillinger,Capone, Baby Face
Nelson, and a numberof others have capturedthe publicimagination
becauseof theiraudacityand rebellionin the face of authority.If these
criminalsshouldultimatelydie at the handsof the law, they are simply
reintroducingone facet of the heroiclife into their performance:death
in heroicstyle.
These criminalsare representativeof the way in which heroic values
can and do deterioratewhen adolescentrebellionand rejectionof the
removed
constrictionsimposedby societybecomecentralpreoccupations,
fromany otherimpositionof an ethic. Americansociety,in its nostalgia
for heroicmanifestationsof the past, sows the seeds of its own potential
destruction.32
32
I don't mean to argue here that this is the only, or even the most important
direction of American hero worship. For instance, a recent trend of television in
continuingshows has been to create strongly moral heroes who lead a group in the
pursuitnot of adventure(though that invariablyhappensalong the way) but toward
stability and rational society. Thus the show Rawhidechronicles a cattle drive;
its hero, Gil Favor, has only one motivation, to get the cattle to the buyeras quickly
and profitablyas possible, while protectinghis men and the rights of those he meets
along the way. Similar nonadolescent and non-Utopian values are expressed in
The Virginian,Wagon Train, and a number of others. This impulse for the hero
to have a job within a functioning society and to do it well has been transmuted
into a city environmentin the many "problem"shows, those concernedwith professions: social work, medicine,law, etc.
362
ROGERD. ABRAHAMS
Whether in the 'cute' apotheosis of a Paul Bunyan or the serious
'escapist' transmutation of Mike Hammer, the descendants of the
frontier hero have become progressively exaggerated and dream-like.
They are real in no sense; they do not represent values which can be
acted upon except by social deviants. They are moral or physical
grotesques who fit into no imaginable society. They fulfill only a steamvalve function to the group that reads of their exploits.
The three types of American heroes discussed above differ in many
respects, but they do share one attribute - they all show the hero to be
fixed permanently at the rebellious stage. None provide for any feeling
of final transforming experience. The American hero does not emerge
from his experiences regenerated. More often, he is just tired, or dead.
Not even society is more than slightly bettered and renewed by his
activities, for the hero must returnconstantly in his adolescent apotheosis,
if he has not already been killed at the hands of family or institutional
authority.
But this may not represent the full conception of the American hero,
for it has been impossible to discuss here every type found in the United
States. For instance, there is a strong element of mock-heroism in
American life and letters that has not been discussed, which might be
of great importance in assessing the subject from a broader view. Such
a type has appeared recently in two forms: (1) as a superman who is
more bluster than action, or too naive to function effectively (as found in
comic strips, such as "Lil Abner"), and (2) as a non-hero, a schlemielwho
lives on a sub-heroic level in an heroic situation within a group that asks
for heroism (found in many recent novels).
The argument that I have been primarily maintaining in this survey
has been that heroes, when they exist, reflect something of the cultural
values and situations around them. As such, an examination of their
deeds in relation to other aspects of the life of the group will be helpful
in understandingthe culture of the group. Understanding should lead to
communication.
Universityof Texas
Austin, Texas