Jewel: Man of the Wild West?

The main opinion I heard about Jewel and the horse he was breaking was that there was a kind of enmity between them, and that Jewel was somewhat violent. I did not see it tis way. Instead, I considered Jewel's depiction positive; the description seems to combine the "Wild West" and the "American dream" in a way that would, at least at the time, have reflected quite well on Jewel's character and abilities.

The "Wild West" has always held great allure for Americans, ever since Lewis and Clark came back from their adventures and settlers began to move west. This allure seems to stem from the idea of the American dream that has always been present in American culture and began to be articulated clearly as "the American dream" in the 1930s. The wild west and the frontiersmen embody the rugged ideals of American ingenuity, the ability to be self-sufficient and to create the life you want, and the idea that success is achieved through hard work. In the west it is man against nature, and we see some of this in the depiction of Jewel breaking a horse.

Breaking a wild horse

Breaking a horse is very difficult and requires great skill and determination. Because horses are heavy, strong, and intelligent, they can be very dangerous. But once tamed, they also have the most potential and there is often more kinship between a horse and its owner than for other domesticated animals. Thus, the breaking of wild horses has always been one of the most mythical elements of the wild west and the American Dream. The fact that Faulkner introduces the character of Jewel by showing him breaking the horse (or by having Darl narrate how he thought the breaking of the horse must have been like) seems to make Jewel a more heroic character from the very beginning.

Many of the descriptions Faulkner uses seem to back up this idea. Jewel is calm and composed as the horse "makes another short curvetting rush and stops again, feet bunched, watching Jewel". He "walks steadily toward him, his hands at his sides. Save for Jewel's legs they are like two figures carved for a tableau savage in the sun". His courage does not abandon him when "the horse stands on his hind legs and slashes down at Jewel. Then Jewel is enclosed by a glittering maze of hooves as by an illusion of wings". Not only does Jewel face this frightening situation with steadfastness, the depiction is also somewhat mythical, using language that conjures up an idealized view of the Wild West. While he does seem somewhat violent, "shutting off the horse's wind with one hand, with the other patting the horse's neck in short strokes myriad and caressing, cursing the horse with obscene ferocity," the caressing also seems to suggest tenderness. Jewel seems to love the horse he is trying to break, even though he is difficult to deal with and extremely powerful. He also seems to understand horses deep down, as Darl knows from his comment that "Jewel's mother is a horse". Jewel is able to maove with the horse, flowing "upward in a stooping swirl like the lash of a whip, his body in midair shaped to the horse". He seems to understand it.

Overall, I would argue that while not all portrayals of Jewel have been positive, this one is. He is capable of both tenderness and ferocity, he has the ability to understand animals (a very highly respected ability in the "Wild West"), and he is graceful and courageous. Jewel seems to fit the ideal of the Wild West frontiersman/cowboy perfectly.