Jeremiah Johnson essays

Jeremiah Johnson essays Without a doubt the greatest western/pioneer movie ever created is Jeremiah Johnson. This movie shows hardships that American frontiersmen encountered as they traveled west into new land. Jeremiah Johnson, portrayed by Robert Redford, is a man that has been soured by society and civilization and decides to make his life as a mountain man. He sets off into the mountains with only a rifle, horse and mule, and the clothes on his back in an attempt to survive the harsh wilderness that very few live in. Jeremiah Johnson gets back to nature in a way no film has ever before or done since. The movie begins in the mid 1800s with a clean-cut, young soldier, Jeremiah Johnson, leaving military service after the Mexican American War. As he sets out into the Rocky Mountains he encounters struggles that would kill most men. His attempts to feed himself by hunting and trapping fail him and he nearly starves to death. When he tries to catch fish he falls into the river in the middle of winter and gets completely soaking wet. While he is trying to light a fire to keep himself warm and dry off his clothes a huge snowstorm suddenly appears and dumps snow all over his fire. Luckily he comes upon an old trapper named Bear Claw (Will Greer) that takes him to his cabin and gives him food and shelter. Bear Claw takes Jeremiah Johnson out in the wilderness with him over the next couple weeks and teaches him the basics on how to survive in the unforgiving mountains. He shows him how to trap and clean animals hides, salt meat, and build make-shift shelters. One of the strong points on this movie is its realness. The characters talk, act, and present themselves just as someone would at around the mid-1800s. There dialect and sayings make it very believable. For example at the beginning Jeremiah says just where is it, I could find bear, beaver, and other critters worth cash money when skinned. Eve ...