The American Frontier Character and His Relationship to Nature as Depicted by Thomas Bangs Thorpe

Abstract

While going unnoticed by many writers, the significance of the American frontiersman of the south did not escape the attention of Thomas Bangs Thorpe of Louisiana. This article tries to reinstate the importance that the frontiersman of the 19th century held in the eyes of this Old Southwest humorist. Thorpe humorously depicts this unique character to an almost a godly magnitude, yet at the same time, he retains his human traits, hence, remaining on a level readers could relate to. Even though the frontiersman's presence became sadly diminished as civilization advanced, Thorpe was able to revive him through his sketches. The speech, manners and lifestyle of the frontiersman, who evolves out of the American wilderness around him, all become Thorpe's means to successfully documenting one side of American history which might have gone unrecognized were it not for Thorpe's short stories..