by Leighton Smith

Created on: July 15, 2009

To fully understand the depths of the film The Searchers, it is critical to focus on the action surrounding the principal character, Ethan Edwards. The opening and closing moments of The Searchers are very important. Not only are they aesthetically engaging, but they also introduce us to Edwards. Several authors have found fault with The Searchers, some basing their criticism on a lack of motivation for Ethan, John Wayne's character. I have to disagree with them to a point. According to Lindsay Anderson, Ethan is a man "...devoured by an irrational hatred of Indians and half-breeds." (Henderson, 431) Most racism is irrational. In fact, what would be rational racism? Racial hatred is not a phenomenon borne of rationality.

I tend to agree more with the opinion of Vladamir Propp, who asserts that "the motivations of characters have nothing to do with the structure of narrative." (Henderson, 432.) While traditional acting doctrine mandates that a character have a motivation for every action, I have no trouble accepting an actor whose motives are more ambiguous. It allows the viewer greater freedom to think about a character's reasoning, to draw his own conclusions. Indeed, there is nothing quite so insulting to a keen viewer than a contrived performance. Director John Ford paints us a picture of Ethan Edwards but does not go overboard with his strokes. We know little about the cowboy's past, simply that he fought in the Civil War and "is shadowed by some mysterious crime." (Henderson, 431.) But in the context of the movie, I believe we know everything necessary to understand Ethan's actions. He is a rough-and-tumble cowboy, seasoned in the ways of the Old West.

To further emphasize the nomadic aspect of Ethan, The Searchers is book-ended by a song that sheds some light on what might be driving him. The song opens the movie with the lyrics, "What makes a man to wander? What makes a man to roam?" (Henderson, 432.) This line should suggest to us that Ethan is a man in search of something. What that something is, we cannot be sure. At the end of the movie, the second part of the song plays, and the lyrics "A man will search in heart and soul, go searching way out there. His peace of mind he knows he'll find, but where, O Lord, O where? Ride away, ride away, ride away." (Henderson, 432.) These lines tell us that, despite his years of trying to find "peace of mind," Ethan is unsuccessful in doing so. Instead, he will simply "ride away," continuing his search.

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