Eustace's Last American Manhood

Eli Pardue
4/14/08
AP Lang Comp
LaMags

Why does Gilbert believe Eustace is the Last American Man?

Gilbert believes that Eustace is the Last American Man because he represents the last person to utilize the ideals and customs of the frontier era in order to find his manhood. The idea of boys leaving society and striking out on their own in the world is an ideal that was created out of personal manifest destiny, and is inherently a very American idea. In the early years of our nation, westward expansion to create a nation that spanned the whole continent was viewed as the destiny of the nation. This was done by the venturing forth of boys to create their own homesteads in the west once they reached the age where they could provide for themselves. By providing for themselves, the boys of the frontier built their own homes, hunted for their own food, and achieved self-sufficiency. Achieving self-sufficiency granted them their manhood. Eustace is perhaps the last American man able to provide himself with all the things he needs to live. However, Eustace is not the last man to have been born into this sort of custom. That man has not lived for many, many years. Eustace came across the custom of self-sufficiency and manifest destiny through the conditions of his upbringing. His interest in Native Americans, his mothers travels to Alaska, and his fathers constant tormenting all drove him into the forest, where he found refuge away from his home life. This fact separates him from being the last genuine frontiersman versus the last American man.