Wild Bill Kickok Essays - American Folklore, Tall Tales,

Wild Bill Kickok 1. Character vs. character Wild Bill vs. Dave McCanles - David McCanles employed Bill and always bullied other people. Dave had tried many times to get Bill to fight him. A man named Horace Wellman owed Dave some money but did not have any way of repaying McCanles. One day, after Horace had come back from trying to get some money at a larger town, McCanles and two others arrived at Wellman's house, where Bill was staying. McCanles called Wellman out, but instead, got shot by Bill. The other two fled, Bill dropping one dead, and fatally injuring another, that was later found dead on a river bank. Bill was cleared of the shootings. Solution: Fight McCanles face to face. Character vs. character Wild Bill vs. Dave Tutt - Dave Tutt was a man constantly bullying weaker men, and wanted a reputation by killing Wild Bill. Tutt stole Bill's watch that he had gotten from his father. Bill met Tutt at the town square, where Tutt was shot dead. Bill was found not guilty seeing that Tutt had antagonized him for so long. Solution: Kill Tutt for stealing his watch. Character vs. Nature Wild Bill vs. the wolves - One night, when Bill was in his early teens, Bill faced a pack of wolves attacking his livestock outside of his home. Bill killed two wolves before the rest of the pack fled. Solution: Shoot a few wolves and scare the others away. Character vs. Society Wild Bill vs. New York - Bill's old friend, Will Cody a.k.a. Buffalo Bill, asked Wild Bill to come to New York and perform in his wild west show. Bill did not like New York and hated performing because he thought he looked stupid. After a hard time given to him by the owner and Buffalo Bill, Wild Bill walked out on the show returning for the plains. Solution: Leave the show and do what you want to do. 2. Wild Bill Kickok - smart, rugged, quick, strong, adventurous, stands up for whet is right. Buffalo Bill - helpful,celebrity, loves being the center of attention. Agnes Lake - beautiful, smart, caring. I can relate to Wild Bill because he always stands up for those in need or in trouble. I'd like to meet Wild Bill and Buffalo Bill because they were big figures that helped shape the west. Wild Bill and Buffalo Bill would probably be my friends because they never really hated anyone unless they wanted them dead, and I wouldn't want to be in a duel against either of them. 3. After reading this book, I know a little bit more about how the west was settled. What I liked about it was how Bill always ended up in something famous like the Civil War, Underground Railroad, Sante Fe and Oregon Trails, and the War with the Indians. The only part I disliked was the fact Bill was shot in the back. The life of Wild Bill reminded me of Forrest Gump. He didn't go around looking to be famous and always ended up in crucial situations that had great effects on the course of history. 4. At the end of the book, Charlie Utter said, "You saved many, many more lives than those claimed by your deadly six-shooters. Yours was a job well done." To me it shows that just a few shots saved more lives and settled more land than a war would do for the same cause. I think the author means an extraordinary job was done by an extraordinary man that any other man would've failed. 5. This book relates to today in such a good way. It shows that one man can do things to change so many peoples lives by doing so little. A good lesson to learn from this book is that no matter how high the odds are against you, you should always fight to accomplish your dream. 6. This book is hard to believe because of one man doing so many things that had an affect on history. The twists that got me were when he'd move to another part of the plains and something happened to him there. I just that over the course of so many years the things he had done had been multiplied a couple times beyond what really happened. 7. This book has made me think a lot more about the individuals that helped settle the west more than the type of people that settled the west. It showed