Introduction
I heard many stories growing up, ghost stories, buried treasure stories, and stories about family members. I have even heard my share of outlaw legends. Most wouldn’t figure that a young boy in Louisiana would hear many stories of outlaw robbers or gun fights, but throughout America outlaw legends a...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Göttingen University Press
2007-12-01
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| Series: | American Studies Journal |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.asjournal.org/archive/50/78.html |
| _version_ | 1828466316850233344 |
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| author | Keagan LeJeune |
| author_facet | Keagan LeJeune |
| author_sort | Keagan LeJeune |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | I heard many stories growing up, ghost stories, buried treasure stories, and stories about family members. I have even heard my share of outlaw legends. Most wouldn’t figure that a young boy in Louisiana would hear many stories of outlaw robbers or gun fights, but throughout America outlaw legends abound, especially the “good outlaw” or heroic criminal. Most, though, do not exactly fit the pattern people are used to seeing in old western movies, but if people learn how to look, the legends are here. In Louisiana, the outlaw might not be a cowboy but a boat captain, and the loot might not be a stagecoach box but bootlegged alcohol. The outlaw may be an oilfield or sawmill worker, an old trapper, or even a computer hacker, but the core story is the same. An underdog fights some oppressive force for the benefit of the common people. That doesn’t mean people are still afraid of these people or that they embrace the life of an outlaw, but they are still fascinated by them and tell their stories. One of my students once wrote an essay about heroes, and his hero was the group of people he grew up with, “river rats,” for him people who live on Louisiana’s rivers and swamps. One of the group’s characteristics he found so appealing was their ability to evade the law, to skirt the rules and regulations that the government established but that the group did not embrace, such as hunting licenses or boat permits. One of the most detailed portions of the essay, and I must admit one of the most fascinating, explained how some of his relatives had developed a method for growing marijuana under the government’s nose by placing the plants in hollow trees trunks located in the vast marsh. He even referred to these figures as “our own Robin Hoods;” after all, in his mind they are defying the rules of an oppressive system for the benefit of the common people. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-11T03:48:34Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7387b4887db54845a161c3c9b3c53592 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1433-5239 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-11T03:48:34Z |
| publishDate | 2007-12-01 |
| publisher | Göttingen University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | American Studies Journal |
| spelling | doaj.art-7387b4887db54845a161c3c9b3c535922022-12-22T01:21:58ZengGöttingen University PressAmerican Studies Journal1433-52392007-12-01501IntroductionKeagan LeJeuneI heard many stories growing up, ghost stories, buried treasure stories, and stories about family members. I have even heard my share of outlaw legends. Most wouldn’t figure that a young boy in Louisiana would hear many stories of outlaw robbers or gun fights, but throughout America outlaw legends abound, especially the “good outlaw” or heroic criminal. Most, though, do not exactly fit the pattern people are used to seeing in old western movies, but if people learn how to look, the legends are here. In Louisiana, the outlaw might not be a cowboy but a boat captain, and the loot might not be a stagecoach box but bootlegged alcohol. The outlaw may be an oilfield or sawmill worker, an old trapper, or even a computer hacker, but the core story is the same. An underdog fights some oppressive force for the benefit of the common people. That doesn’t mean people are still afraid of these people or that they embrace the life of an outlaw, but they are still fascinated by them and tell their stories. One of my students once wrote an essay about heroes, and his hero was the group of people he grew up with, “river rats,” for him people who live on Louisiana’s rivers and swamps. One of the group’s characteristics he found so appealing was their ability to evade the law, to skirt the rules and regulations that the government established but that the group did not embrace, such as hunting licenses or boat permits. One of the most detailed portions of the essay, and I must admit one of the most fascinating, explained how some of his relatives had developed a method for growing marijuana under the government’s nose by placing the plants in hollow trees trunks located in the vast marsh. He even referred to these figures as “our own Robin Hoods;” after all, in his mind they are defying the rules of an oppressive system for the benefit of the common people.http://www.asjournal.org/archive/50/78.htmlU.S.UnitedStatesAmericacultureliteraturemoviesfilmsoutlawshistory |
| spellingShingle | Keagan LeJeune Introduction American Studies Journal U.S. United States America culture literature movies films outlaws history |
| title | Introduction |
| title_full | Introduction |
| title_fullStr | Introduction |
| title_full_unstemmed | Introduction |
| title_short | Introduction |
| title_sort | introduction |
| topic | U.S. United States America culture literature movies films outlaws history |
| url | http://www.asjournal.org/archive/50/78.html |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT keaganlejeune introduction |