Lee Scoresby and the Western

Lee Scoresby embodies the Western hero. A Western hero is in the midst of the frontier, affectionate yet removed, would sacrifice himself for something more important, and is from somewhere frontierish, but is usually far from his home. Lee is from the most cliched possible Western place: Texas. Good ol' U S of A. His daemon, of all things, is a hare, not a beautiful hare, just raggedy and regular and average, like Lee himself, like the Western hero. "Hester was no beauty; she was about as plain and scrawny as a hare could be; but her eyes were marvelously colored" (517). Like Hester, Lee appears to be very plain, but upon closer inspection, has many facets and subtleties.

He and Hester have long been gone from Texas, spending a lot of time up in the Arctic. The Arctic is very much a frontier, in that it is wild and untamed, and there is an Other to fight: the Tartars and the men at Bolvangar. The claim could even be made that they are substitute Indians, being identified with nature and savagery and barbarity, but still vastly misunderstand. Like the Western hero, Lee fights these people without rethinking or regret. And like the Western hero, Lee is recognized as a hero for killing them.

However, despite his willingness to kill others, Lee also has a little moral soft spot, deep in his interior, and as such, is willing to sacrifice himself for a greater good if necessary. Just like every single Western book or movie, Lee takes as many of the enemy down with him when he dies. He makes the observation that there were 25 men, and he had 30 bullets. Like all Western heroes, Lee is an excellent shot. With Hester valiantly by his side, they kill every single one of the men before they die.

And not surprisingly, Lee Scoresby perfectly fits Neil Young's "Western Hero."
"Frontier town, home of the western hero
Frontier justice, dealt with the iron hand
He wore a long coat to the ground
He wore big boots that made a sound
He wore a six gun on his hip"