Walker's Crossing Book

Friday, January 9, 2015

Ryan Walker has proven to be a hardly influential character throughout the novel for mainly two very important aspects. Indeed, Ryan Walker was prohibited to do certain things by his parents, despite the influence of his friends that could have majorly impacted his decision-making. Ryan was offered tobacco by hi friend Matt, however he refused as his "mom would kill him. Her dad died from cancer of the jaw," which shows how smart Ryan is as he made the right choice and respected his mom's wish (Reynolds 7). Another important aspect would that Ryan has a certain determination of pursuing his dreams, despite his surroundings constantly discouraging him. The fact that Ryan keeps pursuing his dream of being a cowboy despite the dangers and wishes of his parents demonstrates his self-confidence and determination to follow his dreams. To sum it up, Ryan has demonstrated to be self-confident and determined, despite the challenges he has encountered.

The major theme highlighted throughout this part of the novel is the importance of land. Indeed, Ryan's family have relied on the land to perform their jobs and for Brian to follow his dreams as it is the most valuable thing they posses. Ryan has spent all of his childhood in the environment of the family farm in Wyoming where his dream of being a cowboy flourished because of the surrounding areas and experience. Another important aspect would be that Ryan has somewhat protected the area he lives in as he pointed out several times the "Jew-boy (…) Dubinsky," for being a spy in the area as he was not used to foreigners and felt the need to protect his land, which shows he has not trust in foreigners (Reynolds 19). In a nutshell, the importance of land has been pretty bold throughout he novel as the Walker family was born cowboys who loved their land, as it was the most valuable thing in their possession.

The plot evolution has given hints on the future evolution of the novel highlighting the most important problem for Ryan and at the same time giving concrete background information. Ryan has shown his fear of foreigners in multiple ways so far in the novel accusing the strangers of taking over Wyoming. Indeed the "yiddie" name of Barry was not seen positively by Ryan as he would tease him for being different and fear him thinking of him as a government spy (Reynolds 23). The plot evolution has given information about Ryan's situation with his family and friends, the importance of land, and most important of all hints about his character and thinking. All in all, the plot evolution was used a foreshadowing tool and provided background information about the novel.

The setting of the novel has provided information about Ryan's decisions for his future life and portrayed the lifestyle of every character. Ryan and his family have leaved in the countryside of Wyoming all their life farming and guarding cattle, which explains their different lifestyle. Indeed, "truck stop stores," where not common throughout the regions, which showed the lack of reliance of commercial products making the people of the region less modern and more dependent on the land (Reynolds 13). Another important aspect would be that Ryan has been living in the wild and followed his dad guarding the cattle being used to the danger, which accurately explains his dream of being a cowboy. To conclude, the setting so war has accurately portrayed the situation of Ryan's family and his decision making.

Friday, January 16, 2015

Throughout this part of the novel, Ryan showed growth and became a far more mature character than before. To start off, Ryan gained knowledge and his education and understanding grew a lot. Ryan has started off school and has learned several new things about his surroundings not to mention that he indeed started paying importance to politics and the importance of his land even more. Secondly, Ryan also developed the "cow sense," which he acquired from his father that allowed him to control dangerous cattle and become a certified cowboy, which he developed throughout his process of maturation (Reynolds 47). To conclude, Ryan has evolved and matured as a character becoming more mature and starting as an apprentice cowboy.

The setting of the story has changed to very difficult conditions in a harsh environment where dangers are present for the first time. Firstly, the landscape in the mountains of Wyoming is full of rocks, which hide rattlesnakes that are potentially deadly and other animals such as big cats that could have harmed Ryan and the other cowboys. Another important factor would be that the weather that could terribly harm the exploration. Indeed, "The sky was turning from grey to blue, and crimson thickets lined the back of the river," which indicate the coming of rain that could ruin the exploration and the cattle would not be fed (Reynolds 49). In other words, the setting took place in the dangerous conditions of the mountains of Wyoming that proved to be a challenging experience for Ryan and the other cowboys.

The importance of land has proven to be even more relevant throughout the novel and has majorly affected Ryan for two main factors. To start off, the process of maturation brought Ryan to the importance of land even more for the fact that he got more educated. Taking example upon his parents, Ryan has started to pay attention to news where the real estate sales were present and "It was a way to stay connected, spread out as they were over sagebrush country," which Ryan got involved in (Reynolds 42). Secondly, the initiation of Ryan to his hobby has brought upon him the importance of land. Indeed, Ryan fell in love with the direction of cattle and the land in which he lived was the source of his happiness as he had his cattle and the nature to practice being a cowboy so his hobby brought upon him the importance of land. To summarize, the importance of land has largely affected Brian as a way for him to accomplish his dream of being a cowboy.

The plot evolution has evolved rapidly throughout this chapter for two very important events that have majorly affected he story. Primarily speaking, the land real estates have started to be taken over and more emphasized throughout the story for one specific factor. Indeed, foreigners have started to buy real estates a proximity to the land of Ryan and his parents, but most importantly they were irritated by the idea that foreigners were taking over their land. Another important aspect would be the fact that "there had never been a boy younger to go up with the saddlebow crew," which means that this is the step in for Ryan to become a cowboy, which has always been his childhood dream. All in all, the plot evolution has proved to provide the reader with very important and marking events throughout this section of the novel.