An average history student's depiction of the "Wild West" or frontier life during the 1870s would consist of a cowboy hero who is fighting a villain that is usually Native American. This depiction is a stereotype that resulted from such television shows like "Bonanza" during the 1950s and novels. The images portrayed in these items are passed on from generation to generation thus changing the perception of a history student today. A book that has both stereotypical qualities yet factual content is The Virginian. In Owen Wister's The Virginian, a history student can perceive the daily life, culture, and environment of the settlers in the Great Plains or "The Frontier".
The Virginian is a story about a man who is nicknamed "The Virginian". The book is written from the perspective of the Virginian's "city-boy" friend, and the two have several escapades. One of the main conflicts in the story is between the Virginian and cattle-rustler/murderer Trampas. Throughout the story the Trampas are locked in combat. Trampas also tries to make the Virginian look bad but it does not work. Miss Molly Wood, a dainty school teacher from the East with a family history and a mind of her own becomes the girl for the Virginian so the Virginian sets off on a comical wooing. The book ends with the two getting married and having a good life together.
The daily life of a person can be very different to each other do to different occupations. The different jobs you can get in the frontier are a farmer, a cowboy. The jobs are not what one expects. In The Virginian, The Virginian has to wake up early in the mornings and work up to 12 hours a day rounding up cattle. After words, he would go to sleep under the stars or outside. The job of a cowboy is to round up cattle and deliver them places. They must endure hardships like stampede, thunderstorms, and dust storms. This quote explains their condition. .
"We never passed a human being this day.