http://www.jimmys-adventures.net/prairie-women-adventures/
What does this passage mean?
Here is a paragraph from SAT 2005. I couldn’t understand it (specially from line 2). Please help. Thanks in advance. Here it goes:
Myth and misunderstanding spring from the American frontier as readily as rye from sod, and-like those wiry grasses-are difficult to weed out and discard. 2) The epic Western hero was a rugged individualist seeking land, gold, opportunity, and adventure, who moved further west at the first sign of a neighbor’s smoke. Women too were of the epic sort-staunch, bonneted, etched at sunset in bold relief against prairie. Yet somewhere amongst these legends lie the real lives of real men and real women, individuals from many cultures who make themselves known to us through their own words in their letters, diaries, and journals.
It’s describing the difference between archetype/stereotype and reality.
“the first sign of a neighbor’s smoke” is a poorly written phrase meant to evoke the notion that these people wanted to be so alone that if they were within view of the smoke from the chimney of a neighbor’s house, they felt they were too close to civilization.
The last sentence is basically pointing out that the archetypes are really legendary, and the real frontierspeople and pioneers left traces of who they were in their own written words.
She’s Not Just a Pretty Face