The Luck of the Irish

“He spoke enthusiastically. ‘And that’s not countin what I maybe can pick up in wolf bounties. Possible another hundred. Enough to git us started. I’m thinkin horses, raise horses. Folks always need horses. I’ll quit this feller’s ranch after a year an git back here.’” (61)

Archie and Rose are a young married couple trying to make successful lives for themselves. However, they have had a rough start as Archie was orphaned at a young age, and Rose’s mother is ill and her father has a drinking problem. Archie was born to Irish immigrants, and it is suggested that Rose is of immigrant descent as her wedding present from her mother was “a large silver spoon that had come across the Atlantic” (48,49). Archie inherits money from Mrs. Peck, a widow who raised him after his parents died. He uses this money to buy some land, and is “thrilled to be a landowner” (50). After being laid off by Bunk Peck, Archie travels to Cheyenne in search of work. He finds a good paying job, but will require him to be absent from the birth of his son. Consequently, Rose goes into labor early and is forced to give birth alone. Both the baby and Rose do not survive. Archie also faces difficulties while he is away. He comes down with pneumonia, and it is not known if he survives.

Does Archie’s (and possibly Rose’s) immigrant heritage effect their outcome? Had they not been born to immigrants would they have been better able to succeed?