Staumann, Barbara. "Rewriting American Foundational Myths in Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest." American Foundational Myths. Ed. Martin Heusser and Gudrun Grabher. Narr: Tubingin, 2002. 201-214.

Call#: Van Pelt Library BL304 .A44 2002

    In this article Barbara Straumann describes what she considers to be an Oedipal journey: escaping from an overbearing mother and two ex-wives and fleeing into the countryside. For her argument, she considers the crop-dusting scene to be of incredible significance. While waiting for clandestine meeting with Kaplan in Northern Indiana, we see Thornhill as somewhat of a lone soldier thrown into the field of battle. This is certainly observed as a crop-duster with a gun barrels down upon him. She also mentions how he is recognizable as somewhat of a cowboy, trapped alone in a dusty field. Extrapolating the belief that he represents a soldier and a cowboy, two traditionally manly jobs, our hero can be understood as a masculine element, single-handedly fighting against the two groups who are fighting against each other.  She sees Thornhill as a character that undergoes great personal growth due to the dangerous situations he is forced into.

    Another argument that she alludes to but does not expand upon in depth is the patriotic undertones embodied by the film. Many elements of the film, from the cowboy imagery in a Midwest corn field, the lone journey into the unknown, to the climactic fight literally on the faces of the U.S. founding fathers convey a sense of independence from oppressing forces and the American way. Hitchcock brought in many different pro-American elements in order to emphasize the ‘Rough Rider' nature of the protagonist, from the Frank Lloyd Wright lookalike house to the daring fight scene on Teddy Roosevelt. The imagery Hitchcock employs serves to heighten the audience's concern for Thornhill, a man who is fighting against foreign spies by embodying the American spirit.