Strangers in Their Own Land

by

Arlie Russell Hochschild

A subtype of the endurance self, Cowboys see honor and masculine pride in facing dangers, even unnecessary ones. Donny McCorquodale embodies this type of self-understanding: he resents the government for trying to eliminate risks he believes people should be free to take. Surveying Louisiana’s lax enforcement of environmental regulations and restrictions on dangerous behaviors in general, Hochschild concludes that it is a “Cowboy state.”

Cowboy Quotes in Strangers in Their Own Land

The Strangers in Their Own Land quotes below are all either spoken by Cowboy or refer to Cowboy. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Trust, Empathy, and Political Progress Theme Icon
).
Chapter 13 Quotes

“We need Mikes.” Don't be a Cowboy in enduring pollution, he seemed to say. Be a Cowboy fighting it.

Related Characters: Arlie Russell Hochschild (speaker), Russel Honoré (speaker), Mike Schaff , Donny McCorquodale
Related Symbols: The Bayou Corne Sinkhole
Page Number: 195
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Strangers in Their Own Land LitChart as a printable PDF.
Strangers in Their Own Land PDF

Cowboy Term Timeline in Strangers in Their Own Land

The timeline below shows where the term Cowboy appears in Strangers in Their Own Land. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 10 – The Team Player: Loyalty Above All
Trust, Empathy, and Political Progress Theme Icon
Personal Identity and Emotional Self-Interest Theme Icon
...“three distinct expressions of this endurance self.” She calls these three varieties the Worshipper, the Cowboy, and the Team Loyalist. Each has their own kind of heroism, but they converge in... (full context)
Chapter 12 – The Cowboy: Stoicism
Trust, Empathy, and Political Progress Theme Icon
Personal Identity and Emotional Self-Interest Theme Icon
...is a Team Loyalist and Jackie is a Worshipper, Hochschild explains, then Donny is a Cowboy: he “came to endurance […] through a celebration of daring.” (full context)
Government Regulation and Individual Freedom Theme Icon
Capitalism, Media, and Class Conflict Theme Icon
Personal Identity and Emotional Self-Interest Theme Icon
Hochschild suggests that, in terms of regulation, “Louisiana is a Cowboy kind of state” that carries Donny’s attitude toward risk: enduring risk, even when the risk... (full context)
Chapter 13 – The Rebel: A Team Loyalist with a New Cause
Personal Identity and Emotional Self-Interest Theme Icon
...a part of each type of endurance self: he is “a fighter but not a Cowboy, a man of religion but not a Worshipper, and a Team Loyalist but critical, in... (full context)