Legends Of The Fall Analysis

The last Novella in Jim Harrison’s “Legends of the Fall,” entitled Legends of the Fall, recounts the story of three brothers and the connections that link them together throughout their lives. Tristan seems to be the dominant subject of the accounts and plays some role in most of the events throughout the forty to fifty-year tale. Only fleeting moments make up the majority of the tale, which gives us an idea of how short-lived life is, and why we must make the most of what we have and look past the flaws. We first read about the Col. Ludlow’s three sons, Tristan, Alfred, and Samuel, who are leaving Montana to go to Canada to enlist in WW1. Telling this story takes nearly half the pages and is grim start to the book. A lot of young men were forced to grow up fast during war time. Just as often, the opportunity to grow up was taken from many young men during times of war. Both Samuel and Tristan were robbed of their youths.
Samuel was shot to death, after being affected by mustard gas on the battlefield. Upon hearing this news, Tristan and his friend go AWOL, and dash away to find Tristan’s fallen brother. “They sat still and fireless through the night and then at dawn in the fine sifting snow they crept forward in the snow and wiped it from the faces of the dozen or so dead until Tristan found Samuel, kissed him and bathed his icy face with his own tears: Samuel’s face gray and unmarked but his belly rended from its cage of ribs.” (163, Harrison) A sight that no one needs to see, especially not a brother. If he hadn’t before, then Tristan has now been exposed to the full force that life brings with it and realizes just how un-prepared we are for life. After returning from the war, life begins to move quicker and quicker, seemingly in increments of seven. Before Samuel’s funeral, Tristan marries his fiancé Susannah, but shortly departs to sail the world. This sets in motion a series of events that further tangles the web that still connects Tristan, Alfred, Col. Ludlow, Susannah, and a few other characters. I don’t believe that it was ever explained why Tristan leaves. One of the many flaws of mankind is its ability to act selfishly. Tristan acts as he wants, coming and going, writing or remaining a ghost. This sets the pace for the rest of …show more content…
Life moves quickly, and there are few things to truly cherish. Love, family, and friends being of the upmost importance. I kept coming back to two things while I read this. The first a quote from the beginning of the titled story. “Against the popular misconception, cowboys never did own ranches. They were not much more than the expert, wandering hippies of their day, Cossacks of the range who knew animals much better than each other.” (152, Harrison) I think this quote really sets this story off, the cluelessness of the men in the family, and their actions throughout the book. The second was John Fogerty’s song “Tomorrow Never Comes.” I suppose while not entirely fitting, there is no answer to the question why. There is nothing our parents can do to completely prepare us for this world, and we just stumble through it the best we