Scratchy Wilson does not fit the stereotypic persona of a traditional western outlaw.
In fact, he is the opposite of everything that an outlaw is. This is shown in the second section of the story. The men in the Weary Gentleman saloon act fearful when they hear that Scratchy Wilson is drunk. The bartender locks and barred the door and closes the windows. However, the men in the bar are not afraid of Scratchy killing them.
They just do not want him hanging around with them when he is drunk. This is the opposite of what the audience sees and reads in most traditions western movies and novels. In most novels and movies, the men in the saloons do not hide from the bad guy. Certainly, they do not make fun of him nor do they think of him as a nuisance. In addition, Scratchy is shown as the opposite of an outlaw in the first paragraph of the third second. Scratchy is wearing a maroon-colored flannel shirt, which had been purchased for purposes of decoration, and made principally by some Jewish women on the East Side of New York (215).
First, an outlaw would not wear a red flannel shirt. Most outlaws usually wore off-white, solid-color shirts. Second, most outlaws would have not purchase the shirt; they would have stolen it. Lastly, if an outlaw had bought a shirt, it would not come from the East Side of New York.
Additionally, a real outlaw boots would not have red tops with gilded imprints just like the type that little boys in New England had. Further, more, a real outlaw would not have shot at a dog or shot at one of his friends windows. In that scene, Scratchy is more like a little kid with a BB gun rather than an outlaw with a real gun. Finally, in the last part of the fourth section is the most pervasive example.
A real outlaw would not have taken a second thought when he has an opportunity to kill his ancient antagonist (216) or a woman. Outlaws such as Jesse James, Harvey Logan, and William Bloody Bill Anderson killed unarmed men, women and children. Scratchy does not behave like these traditional outlaws. Bibliography:
