Red River-C. Phelps

Red River gives us insight into the complexity of the alpha male. Tom Dunson is clearly an alpha male. He is a "self-made man and rugged individualist" (Matheson, ProQuest, 8). The second possible alpha male would be Matthew Garth. Unfortunately he does not fit the bill. Jane Tompkins would argue he is not an alpha male because he expresses himself. The scene with Garth and his new love interest, sitting on a rock in the rain, is a great example. He explains his feelings and opens himself up about Tom Dunson. This is not a trait of the alpha male. According to Tompkins, "language is false or at best ineffectual; only actions are real" (Tompkins, West of Everything, 51). Throughout the movie he is being told he is "soft." And because of this, Sue Matheson would not allow Garth to be labeled an alpha male. He is soft not "hardboiled."