Shane is filled with familiar character types that appear again and again in movies, television shows, and books about the West. Joe Starrett is a typically stalwart farmer, for example, while his wife Marian is a supportive and "houseproud" frontier woman, a type that the reader of western lore has encountered oh many occasions. Shane himself, dressed all in black and trailing behind him a mysterious past, is a similarly familiar character, as are Fletcher and the malevolent Wilson, the land baron's hired gun.

Schaefer sparks new interest in many of these stock characters, however, by evoking their humanity through their capacity for change, growth, and full emotional lives. For example, Shane continually struggles to cast off his violent past and assume the settled life of a farmer. Therefore, Fletcher's threat to the security of the Starretts and the other farming families sparks internal...