Bradley Tucker
English 111
Essay 3
Instructor rose
25 November 2013
Becoming a hero

In the movie 3:10 to Yuma directed by James Mangold Dan Evense tells an inspiring story about a father and son’s relationship that later becomes closer as they set forth on an adventure together to save their families ranch. Dan plays the role of a man who lost his leg due to a friendly fire held during the time of the Civil War. After the Civil War Dan tried to bet his luck on ranching later became a father to his eldest son William. In the movie Dan and William did not have a close relationship like a normal father and son should have. William thought his father was a coward and he believed his father was not a role model to show him how to be a man he wanted to be. As the movie went on, Dan‘s ranch was being threaten to be taken away from him by a dangerous gang leader, Ben Wade. Dan sets off for an adventure to save his ranch by traveling to put Ben Wade on the train and trying to get the reward money. Dan’s son William took off on the quest to travel also with his father Dan. William being the know it all teen that he is thinks he can handle traveling on the dangerous trip with his father and the other men. From traveling on this thrilling adventure, Dan and William’s relationship become closer than ever and William will finally see the role model he always wanted to see in his father. It did not take much time to notice the rocky relationship between Dan and his son William. At the beginning of the movie Dan’s ranch was set on fire. The reason why Dan’s ranch was set on fire was because he did not pay his bills in order to keep the ranch. As the family watched the ranch burst into flames Dan and William rush to save the animals in the ranch and whatever valuables that was not already destroyed. The fire was started by Tucker and his men in an effort to make Dan realize how serious the consequences would be if he did not pay his bill. Dan not being able to do anything in this situation infuriated William. William wanted to react with violence and kill Tucker and his goons. William felt as if his father was acting as a coward for not standing up for himself and his family. So this scene shows how William does not respect his father or look up to him like Dan would like him to. Dan knows he has to do something to gain the respect from his son that he wants. Also the fact that Dan lost his leg only in friendly fire makes him seem weak since he was not actually fighting the war at the time he lost the leg. That is why Dan does not seem very proud when he tells that he lost his leg in friendly fire because he knows it is not noble at all and it is not the heroic story people expect to hear when they are told about fighting in the Civil War. Another thing that affects the relationship between Dan and his son is how Dan treats William. Dan treats William as a child just a young boy that he wants to protect. Dan treats William like this because he is very family oriented and he just wants to protect who ever that’s in his family so they will not get hurt. Dan feels treating William like a child is in William’s best interest because he is only a teenager. This males William very angry which is another reason why he and his father have different point of views throughout the movie. William wants to be treated as a man and try to step into the role as the man in the house. He wants to do this because he feels his own father is not doing the job right as being the man of the house. When Dan accepts the job as bringing ben wade to the train Dan is attempting to be a hero to his kids and wife. He is finally trying to prove to his son William that he indeed has courage and is not the coward William thinks he is. By taking on the job of bringing Ben Wade to contention Dan knows the reward money will be enough to save his land and give a better life to his family. Dan tells William that he must not go because he is to young and just a teenage boy. He wants William to stay with the family because he feels William will not be able to handle the possible danger that the voyage to take Ben wade to the train could have. William felt he could be more of a help than any of the men traveling with his father Dan. He felt he could ride better and faster than them. Dan completely ignored what William was saying and insisted on William staying at the house still. That only worsened the relationship between William and Dan because William felt as if he was being treated unfairly. William goes against his fathers will and follows them at a distance on the voyage to get Ben wade to contention. William remains unseen until during the voyage Ben wade escapes out of his handcuffs and holds everyone at gun point. William comes out behind Ben Wade and puts a gun on him. Dan surprised that William is even there asked William how long he could keep the gun on Ben Wade. When Dan asked William this it shows Dan treating William like a man not just a mere boy. Dan trusting William to keep the gun on a dangerous outlaw gave William the responsibility he wanted in the first place because he feels that he is a man and can handle these dangerous situations involving someone like Ben Wade. Even Ben Wade saw the look in the boy’s eyes to know he might actually shot him if he didn’t drop the gun like he was told by William. Since William held the gun on Ben Wade successfully William shows the courage he feels his dad does not have at all. Even when Dan shows trust in William by asking how long he could keep the gun on Ben William replies he is doing a whole lot better at it then Dan could. This shows William is still not completely convinced of his father being the provider he is supposed to be as the leader and the man of the household. Although William is not confident in his father Dan shows confidence in his son that he is able to handle this voyage and does not even make him turn back towards home at all. This is another positive step in the relationship of Dan and his son William. By letting William continue on this journey Dan is admitting that he feels he was wrong about his son William all along. He now feels that William might be becoming the man he was trying to be in the begging of the movie. William is convincing his father that he deserves to be on this journey and can hold his own in the face of danger at any time he is called on to do so. Throughout the movie Dan and William’s relationship get even closer. When they get Ben Wade to a hotel to hide him in striking distance of the train Dan again put trust in William to be a lookout for Ben Wade’s gang while they hide them in the hotel. Again William comes through and is able to tell his father that Ben Wade’s gang is not very far away and would be arriving any minute to rescue Ben Wade. Dan is again starting to see a man in William instead of just a boy like the beginning of the movie. Dan and his son William relationship have grown a whole lot more since the time Dan requested that William stay home from the journey to take Ben Wade to contention. Dan is starting to put more and more responsibility on his son William that at first he just looked at as a young teen that was not yet ready to be a man. William proving that he can be this man he wants to be encourages Dan even more to become the heroic figure he wants to be for his son William. When it is time to attempt to get Ben Wade to the train a one last fight occurs before Ben can get on the train. William sets a distraction for Dan to get Ben Wade to the train. It was at this time in the movie that Dan looked at William with the confidence that William has proved to be a man and not just a kid. It is when Dan gets shot and killed by one of Ben Wade’s gang that William finally notices the amount of courage his father has shown in getting Ben Wade to the Yuma. William finally looks at his father with admiration as he is dying from being shot. Dan and his son William grew closer to each other without really noticing it during the journey. Dan began to look at his son as a man not just a teenager and William began to look at his father as someone with courage not the coward he thought his dad was in the beginning of the movie.