The Narrative of the Life of David Crockett was initially released in 1834. The book is an autobiography and provides interesting descriptions of Crockett’s life. The book details many of Crockett’s youthful experiences such as his flight from home as a child followed by a joyous return several years later. The concept of poverty in the time of David Crockett seems to be considerably extreme, as he describes being deprived of even the most basic clothing necessities as a small child. “I was twelve years old, and about that time, you may guess, if you belong to Yankee land, or reckon, if you like me you belong to the back-woods, that I began to make up my acquaintance with hard times, and a plenty of them”(22). The ability to accept such impoverishment and struggle as well as understand that one must push onward seems to have been a crucial survival tool during Crockett’s time. Finding a mate early and getting married seemed to be an important characteristic of frontier life as well. As and teenager Davy aspires to do so with initial failure. His steadfast attempts at finding a wife lead one to assume that doing so was expected of young men as a quality of manhood.
poor youth, he worked for months at a time everyday in order to survive and pursue happiness. He abandoned the freedom he had lived by on the open road. He was forced to leave behind that freedom which had taken him to see the great sea ships, which his eye’s could scarcely believe. It seems that any man who was not willing to do so would not have been thought of as much of a man at all. The sacrifice of one’s life to work was indeed seen as a virtue of real men at that time. It also seems that responsibility to one’s family was an important part of manhood during the early eighteen hundreds. Although David did run away for a long time, he felt a necessity to return home. He also supported his father financially by working off his debts. Although Crockett does discuss harsh treatment he received from his father early on, he gives credit to several other people for kindness in times of need. For example, a story is told of a kindhearted traveler who was able to raise some money for Crockett so he could get home. “ A remembrance of his kindness to a little straggling boy, and a stranger to him, has however a resting place in my heart”(27). The reader is given the impression that generosity is a righteous quality of manhood. This seems to be a qu
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