What Kind of Cowboy Would Be Your Soulmate?

ENTERTAINMENT

By: Zoe Samuel

5 Min Quiz

Image: South_agency/E+/Getty Images

About This Quiz

The period of the Wild West is a specific part of American history that is among the most recognizable interludes in world history for one major reason: Hollywood. The Western is considered the most "generic" of genres; that is, it has the most stringently delineated rules, such as it being a movie set generally between 1830-1910, in the western frontier, during a period of enormous change as railroads, traders and "settlers" (so named because they settled down, not because they were the first people to arrive in the area) penetrated deep into territories previously inhabited by Native Americans only, and rendered them sufficiently colonized that they soon became politically stable. It is characterized by cowboys, Native Americans (typically portrayed in a rather shallow and stereotypical way), remarkably few women, beautiful shots of Monument Valley and similarly striking locations, stagecoach chases and cattle drives. From all of this, our culture gleaned the image of the cowboy, a figure who was of this landscape and ready to embrace all its complexities - and possibly to tame it.

The Western's fundamental theme is always focused on the ambivalence about this process. The Old West was lawless, glorious, dangerous and a place you could go to reinvent yourself. It became tame, modern and less exciting, but a lot safer and more prosperous. The various figures who dominated its development played a key role in helping or hindering the change. Which of them are you?

How do you feel about cows?

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Can the farmer and the cowman be friends?

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Do you want to live in town?

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How do you feel about the taming of the frontier?

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What sort of horse do you ride?

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Would you ever move to the city?

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What's the best thing about the Wild West?

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What is the worst thing about the Wild West?

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Do you plan to marry and settle down on a ranch?

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How hard do you like to work?

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How much do you respect law and order?

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Which cowboy do you admire?

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Do you resent city folks with their fine clothes and smug book-learnin'?

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What's your idea of a really good day?

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What's a really bad day for you?

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Who is your friend?

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Who is your enemy?

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How long do you expect to live?

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What is your relationship like with local Native Americans?

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What is the best thing a man can own?

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How many cows is too many?

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What animal do you own besides a horse and a cow?

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What's the most important thing your land can have?

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What kind of gun do you shoot?

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What's your regular clothing like?

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What modern convenience would you miss most on the frontier?

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How are your lasso skills?

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In a single day, how many fenceposts can you put in?

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Do you ever take a walk for fun?

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How often do you go to church?

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