The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance

Through out the movie, there was a tug of war between the old traditional law of the gun versus the new idea of the law of the book. Represented by the three different cowboys, if you consider Rance Stoddard as the third cowboy. Rance represents the law of the book, and the new way things were done. Liberty Valance, a play on words in and of itself, is an outlaw cowboy with the attitude that he is always right and his gun is the law of the land. Tom ruled the land using his gun, but it was a common law rule; he only took a life when it was absolutely necessary.

At the beginning, we see a man from the east come to the south with a law degree. He was made fun of several times because he attached "Attorney at Law" to the end of his name. Liberty had a problem with this new lawyer for several reasons. The law of the book was now on Liberty's turf, a turf that he had run for several years. He feared no one but Tom. Rance made it his mission to take down Liberty using methods that did not require a gun.

As the movie progresses we see the protagonist, Tom make several predictable moves, such as turning down the election. But a change also progressed around this point. It was a know fact that Liberty fit Matheson's description due to Rance having to pick up a pistol to defend himself. However, by the end of the film, he realizes he “has to settle his problem with Valance like ‘a man.’ In doing so, he places himself outside the law” (Matheson 896)

I agree with a large portion of Matheson’s article, but with regards to her description of Doniphon and his similarities to Liberty Valance, I find myself questioning her claims. Matheson says, “Like Valance, Doniphon is callous, remorseless, and manipulative” (Matheson, 897). Although Doniphon may be these things when it comes to killing another man, I do not think he lives his life entirely without a care and without remorse. His feelings toward Hallie are a direct representation of care his care for another person. Tom letting Hallie be with Stoddard instead of him, just goes to show that he does care. He explains the reasons for why he kills Valance and the underlying reason is because he cares about Hallie and her well being. Matheson also explains the way Doniphon pushes Stoddard to be a better man because he knows Hallie needs a good man.