摘　要

美国西部牛仔指的是十八世纪到十九世纪之间，美国西部广袤无垠的土地上一群热情无畏的开拓者。美国西部牛仔在美国社会发展的历史进程中有着重要的作用，他们的身影已经深刻地印在人们的脑海中。通过查阅国内外有关美国西部牛仔的文献，本文作者详尽地分析了美国西部牛仔与美国民族性的关系。论文分为五个部分，首先，作者简要地介绍美国西部牛仔的历史，文章的写作目的、重要性和结构。第二章中主要提及西进运动及相关的研究情况，并对比了西方研究牛仔的相关资料。第三章主要介绍美国西部牛仔的性格。第四章分析美国西部牛仔对美国民族性的影响，最后作出结论。本文指出，美国西部牛仔有着坚持不懈、乐观、敢于吃苦和勇于创新的精神。同时，那些精神深深地影响着美国民族性。当今，大多数美国人对生活充满自信、活力和热情，也是独立性和首创精神的代表。他们独特的思想、性格、气质和行为方式形成了美国民族精神。

关键词：西部牛仔；美国民族性；美国精神

Abstract

American western cowboys are fearless and altruistic pioneers in American west from 18th to 19th century. Nowadays, they are well-known all over the world. People usually get knowledge of American western cowboys from books, movies and local American people. The image of American cowboys has deep impression on people’s mind as it is a significant part of American history. After reviewing domestic and overseas researches on American western cowboys, this paper makes an analysis of the connection between American cowboys and American character. This thesis includes five parts. In the first chapter, the author introduces the background and history of American western cowboys, the purpose and significance of this thesis and its structure. In the second chapter, it mainly deals with the relation between westward movement and American cowboys and the literature review on it, which includes the studies between western countries and China. Chapter three mainly introduces the character of American western cowboys. In the forth chapter, it shows the influence of American western cowboys on American character. Final part is the conclusion part. From this study, the author finds that American western cowboys have great spirits, such as perseverance, pioneering and creativity. In contemporary society, most of Americans are full of vigor and enthusiasm, being symbols of independence and initiative. Moreover, there is no doubt that most of spirits come into being from American cowboys in special western environment. The particular thoughts, temperament and behaviors take the shape of American national character.

Key words: American western cowboys; American character; American spirits

1 Introduction
1.1 American western cowboy’s background
Cowboy is generally considered to be the representative of Americans, while “cowboy spirit” the “American spirit”. It is a fact that American cowboys are accepted by people worldwide. Firstly, lots of dictionaries give a definition of the word. Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English defines cowboy like this, “In the US, a man who rides a horse and whose job is to care for cattle”. And another authoritative dictionary The Merriam – Webster Thesaurus described the cowboy as a hired hand who tends cattle or horses at a ranch or on the ranch.