Owen Wister on the Jews

Owen Wister is one of the most important – if not well known – novelists in the history of twentieth century American literature. He is regarded as the father of Western fiction and the creator of the archetype of the cowboy hero. (1)

Thus, it is well to mention that in his sole mention of jews in the short story ‘The Promised Land’ that was featured in his collection of stories titled ‘The Jimmyjohn Boss and Other Stories’. In this story Wister states the Hebrews (read: the jews) are to be rejected like hogs (i.e., pigs) but that unlike hogs; jews cannot be saved by God because they are damned for all eternity.

In other words: Wister compared the jews to the most ritually unclean of all animals in their religious canon and stated that will burn in hell for all eternity for their sins.

The creator of the cowboy hero rather saw jews as the archetypal foe all things right and good: didn’t he?

References

(1) http://harvardmagazine.com/2002/07/owen-wister.html