Cyber Work for Week of March 28: Lonesome
Cowboys, Freaky Bulls, and the New American West
Before completing this worksheet, VIEW OUR POWER POINT ON ANNIE PROULX.
Then answer the following questions, generally in a brief or longish paragraph each. Some of
the numbered items include multiple questions; you may answer one or all.
In all cases, SUPPORT YOUR CLAIMS with details, quotations, and examples from the text.
Type your responses directly into this document, re-save with your name in the title, then
post the file to your personal thread.
SELECT YOUR CHOICE OF 3 FROM EACH GROUP OF QUESTIONS.
General Questions
1. What kind of home is America? What complex issues are tied up in the question of
America as “home”? What does it mean to be “American” in a globalized world and
economy? (Don’t understand the word “globalized”? LOOK IT UP.)
2. What does it mean to be “American” and how does this question relate to Proulx’s
work?
3. What is the traditional view of the American West? What do we normally think of
when we think “Out west”? Do a little research?
4. What view of the American West is represented in Proulx’s work? Draw on material
from several stories.
5. What relationship do Proulx’s stories have to our usual way of thinking about “the
cowboy”? Do they affirm our usual notions? Challenge or critique our usual notions?
Redefine? Complicate? Something else?
Questions for “The Half-Skinned Steer”
1. How is the West which Mero returns to “traditional”? How not? What odd and/or
rather jarring juxtapositions do you notice in this piece?
2. Where do you see evidence of globalization in the landscape of this story? (Don’t
know what the word means? LOOK IT UP!  )
3. What view of men and women seems to emerge in this tale? What view of family?
4. What view of nature, the body, our physical and mortal selves emerges? (Consider
images of earth, landscape, people, and/or flesh which appear throughout.)
5. What’s significant about Mero’s choice of car and the way he relates to his car?
6. The image of the steer is certainly disturbing, vivid, strange. What reactions did you
otherwise have to this image? Why is it the title of the story? Why does it show up in
the end, trailing Mero’s car?
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