Question

What are some differences between the real West and the mythic West of popular culture

Answer 1

Life in Real West was difficult.

The real west was like everywhere else in that being a mining town, it was dirty, rough and dangerous. The town was populated by workers in search of silver and gold thus cases of women abuse and child negligence was common. Some women sold their bodies for money. In addition to that, cases of diseases outbreak were also experienced where kids died of measles, chickenpox and accidents. Moreover, the houses were made out of dirt, with dirt floors thus everything was unpleasant and life was very difficult. There was no presence of running water thus taking a hot bath was a challenge and laundry took more than a day to be completed. In general life in the real West was difficult and nothing like what was on the movies that presented the mythic west were open fields, ranches and cowboys were present.