Cultural Perspectives in Tom Robbins Even Cowgirls Get the Blues :: Even Cowgirls Get the Blues Essays

Cultural Perspectives in Tom Robbins' Even Cowgirls Get the Blues Literary works are always affected by the times and places in which they are written. Those crafted in Western America often reflect conflicts that occurred between advancing civilization and the free spirited individual. The 1970’s was a particularly popular time for authors to introduce new ideas for living in the modern world. There are few authors who captured the essence and feeling of culture quite like Tom Robbins. Robbins comments on the differences and similarities between Western civilization and Eastern philosophies. His text offers philosophical and cultural meaning that is completely original. Certain beliefs are threaded through out the content of the story. He includes significant content reflecting the laws of physics; how motion and force affect the life process. Through the dialogue and action of his characters, Robbins illustrates how two very different ideals can coexist. Robbins intentions are to expand cultural perspectives and awareness through his novels. His use of metaphors and stylistic diction emphasizes further how thoughtful and awesome his work is. Tom Robbins writing offers an insightful perspective into cultural themes of our modern world. Robbins writing reflects different lifestyles, and philosophies. His characters are eccentric and complex; yet retain a familiar quality that allows them to be adored by the reader. His characters often possess personality traits like those he admires—women in particular. The characters, plot, and writing style all reflect Robbins thoughts about the world. In 1967, Robbins introduced Sissy Hankshaw to the world. In his novel Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, Sissy dedicates her life to hitch-hiking across the globe. She is one of many characters whose attitude and actions conflict with stereotypical Western values. She is unbiased in nature and insightful about the world around her. The Cowgirls Quest Sissy takes on hitch-hiking as her life mission mostly because she was gifted in one area imperative to successful hitching: Sissy develops abnormally large thumbs. Robbins comments on how he pondered the opposable thumb: the one small physical difference that catapulted the homo sapiens ahead of other species. Hitch-hiking becomes Sissy’s passion--her purpose in life--at a very young age. The extraordinarily large thumbs not only gave her the will, but also isolate her from the other children. She accepts the fact that she is different from everyone else, but also acknowledges the negative view of her digits is not universal.