Shane Summary
George Stevens

Shane Summary

Shane's enduring and widespread popularity attests to the novel's compelling and exciting plot, which pits a greedy, land-hungry range baron against an embattled but valiant family of homesteaders in a fight for control of a Wyoming valley. When Shane, a mysterious gunfighter struggling to live down his violent past, joins forces with the Starrett family, the stage is set for an inevitable showdown between good and evil or, more accurately, between a new way of life and the established codes of the Old West.

Young readers easily identify with Bob Starrett, the story's narrator, who is an adolescent at the time of the action.

Young Bob is drawn both to Shane and to his own father, Joe, and he grows toward manhood by emulating these two father figures. Although Shane is a selfsufficient loner, while Joe is committed to the valley's community of farmers, both men share common...

(read more from the Short Guide)