3:10 to Yuma, and the Ultimate Temptation

In Delmer Daves "310 To Yuma", Ben Wade(Glenn Ford) is dragged into a job that seems dire and risks his life in order to provide for his family. He is set out to help the capture and transfer of Dan Evans(Van Heflin), a criminal and gang member that has been alluding police for quite some time. It is during this time that Wade's ethics are tested by Evans in the ultimate moral battle. Evans is posturing for Ben to let him free by offering him double the money that he has been offered by police to capture him.

Ben Wade's sole purpose for taking this job is the money. He even states that he has nothing against Evan's the man, but he needs to provide for his family. When Evan's gang returns to the hotel ready for a shootout in order to rescue him, Evans ups the stakes to try and get free.

“Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only"(New International Bible, Matthew 4:10).

These scenes where Wade is tested are very easily related to Christ being tested by Satan in the Devil. Ben Wade is in need of money and prior to the shootout every man on his side has abandoned him in fear, so there is little to no chance he would survive a shootout by himself. Likewise, Satan drags Christ through the wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights. Christ is starving. In the bible, Satan puts Christ to the test in order to prove he is who he really says he is. While Jesus Christ was indeed perfect in every way, a direct image of God; the Bible accounts that he was tempted by Satan, and his ideals came into question. Probably the most relatable temptation to "3:10" is the kingdom temptation, in which Satan offered Christ the entire Earth if he bowed down to worship Satan.

⁹ “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” (New International Bible, Matthew 4:9). 

 In "3:10 to Yuma" - much like the Temptation of Christ, better heads prevail, and Ben Wade refuses any of Evans' attempts at bargaining for his capture. Even when the offer seems better, his ethics and morals to what is the right thing to do trump over everything else. This is a wonderful ideal to have, and it is wonderful such a story could be told even in this postmodern setting such as this film.

Works Cited:

Daves, Delmer, , dir. 3:10 To Yuma. Perf. Van Hefflin Glenn Ford. Columbia Pictures, 1957. Film. 7 Aug 2012. 

 New International Bible. Gospel of Matthew, 4:9-10.

Don't steal my Gold!

"Guess I'll take another whack at her" (London 99).

During the time of the gold rush in the United States, the rush for adventure and personal gain was highly prevalent. Those virtues are still present to this day. In Jack London's "All Gold Canyon", greed is the overarching motive behind the antagonist. Not only greed, but the total disregard and lack of care for Bill's hard work. The antagonist, who remains unnamed throughout, peers in the shadows and waits forBill to finish digging up the gold before he strikes and attempts to steal the gold for himself.

"Suddenly there came upon him a premonition of danger. It seemed a Shadow had cast upon him. But there was no shadow"(London 105.) Even before the danger struck, Bill felt a sense of paranoia that somebody was watching him. This feeling of paranoia can be directly related to most American's current feelings towards the government. Throughout the country, the economic strains have been prevalent enough to cause distress among citizens, in which they lash out at the government. Many websites have popped up, warning people on how the government likes to see your hard earned money.

Some Americans have even trained their kids on what to think about their leaders:

"All Gold Canyon" certainly portrays a good imagery of what it is like to have someone else try and steal something that they didn't work for, and while this could certainly be compared to the common criminal stealing from someone else, Jack London most certainly was attempting a satire about the government. "You would, would you?....I'll give you a decent burial...that's more than you've done for me!"(London 108).

I will certainly be watching my back the next time I pan for gold!


Works Cited:

London, Jack. All Gold Canyon. pg. 99-109. 1906.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8rWR0cSSg8
http://kevincraig.us/pockets.htm
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/07/01/article-1030860-01D0F2F300000578-357_468x569.jpg

Remember the Alamo...or not.

"Remember the Alamo", by Rafeal Castillo, is a story written to portray the blatant racism some students went through during their time in school, even from their own teachers. At their 24 year reunion, these students reminisce about the hard, but surprisingly humorous, stories.

"'The Battle of The Alamo.' She even had posters of John Wayne and Fess Parker in her classroom. It was like digging the knife into s and twisting off the handle"(Castillo 512).

In America, when racism is brought up, most people will automatically think of racism against African Americans. While that was the dominate form of racism during the birth of our country, racism in the south shows no preference. Teachers often would gloss over certain subjects to make America look like the ultimate winner at all times. "But who won the Alamo? ....The Mexicans" (Castillo 514). In this triumphant moment, the students stood up to the staunch racist of a teacher, who did nothing more than use derogatory terms towards the Mexicans even though she knew she had Mexican students.

 Although this was 24 years ago, racism is still present. Just this past spring, students were disciplined at a high school basketball game for their rampant "USA!" chants aimed at a mostly minority basketball team. Ironically enough, the students were from Alamo High School.


Why is racism so rampant in the South to this day? Why do trained and professional educators feel the need to ignore certain truths about our history?  As a future teacher(Music Education), the fact that certain facts of history are spun in a different direction with propaganda is appalling, and is quite indicative of the old way of thinking in the education world. While situations such as these still arise among teachers and students, it is up to the new generation of teachers to tell the whole truth, and change the mindset of the young students, so that they might not have to endure the same slander that students in this story had to go through.

"That gutless Santa Ana had ordered that no prisoners were to be taken"(Castillo 512).

 Works Cited:

Castillo, Rafeal. Remember the Alamo. 1992. Print.

http://media-1.web.britannica.com/eb-media/85/78385-004-4D20E900.jpg
http://www.sonofthesouth.net/texas/pictures/santa-ana.jpg
http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/03/07/10602066-racist-texas-high-school-apologizes-for-fans-usa-chant-after-basketball-game?lite