摘  要

本文讲述西部牛仔对美国文化的影响，涉及有关牛仔的歌曲，电影，牛仔竞技会，这些都是美国西部牛仔推进美国文化的产物，时时刻刻影响着美国一代代人。本文阐述美国西部牛仔的历史与现状，而西部牛仔给美国文化带来的一种可见的影响力，反映在小说，歌曲，牛仔竞技，电影与有着牛仔形象的典型代表人，通过描写牛仔精神与牛仔在社会的地位，反射出这种西部牛仔带给美国文化的无形的一种影响力。通过大量收集信息，容易发现学者对西部牛仔小说的研究较为关注，但是对于电影，歌曲，牛仔竞技会的这些方面的研究就有所欠缺了。但是通过本文的阐释，来说明牛仔不当当是在影响着美国文学小说，也给包括在文化其他的方方面面带来影响。

关键词：牛仔；文化；影响；小说；精神
 
Abstract

 This thesis focuses on the influences of the western cowboys in American culture. It comes to cowboy songs, films, rodeo shows which are the products of western cowboys’ culture and they influence people by generations.So this article describes the cowboys’ background and their current circumstance.Also, novels,songs, rodeo shows, movies and the typical representative with cowboy image reflect visible influence of western cowboys on American culture. By describing the cowboys’spirit and their status in society, it reflects the invisible influences of western cowboys on American culture. After a large number of collecting information, it is easily found that academicians pay more attention on the western cowboy novels. However, there is a limitation that they do not focus on the western cowboy films, rodeo shows, songs and other aspects. So from this thesis, not only do western cowboys give an effect of novels in the literary, but also influences other aspects of American culture.

Key words: films; influence; novels; status

1.    Introduction
As is known to all, the golden time of American cowboys is as short as about 20 years and that is all ancient history now. However, western cowboys make a great influence on the the American culture, such as rodeo shows, cowboy novels,movies and the symbolic meanings. Actually, at the beginning, cowboy image is not like what the writer Owen Wister tells readers in his famous novel.People consider cowboys on a ranch as illiterate or ignorant workers who tend a herd of cattle.So that Owen Wister’s famous novel attracts people’s attention and at the meantime this novel changes the cowboy image in society. In China, some academicians usually focus on analyzing the western novels and the connotation about western cowboys in America. They have clarified that how popular and significant this symbol might be. Although cowboys are not born with such status, the statue of western cowboys is established with the development of cowboy novels that speak highly of western cowboys as great heroes. Nowadays, people regard American western cowboys as legendary heroes because of the American western fictions, especially The Virginia written by Owen Wister.