Gilbert's idea of the Last American Man

Gilbert's idea of the last American Man. Well, we talked in class about how the american man is defined by a man of expansion, one who goes out to prove himself in the frontier. who works and builds his spirit and himself into a man by living among the frontier, and the forest, supporting himself in the wild. and to an extent i think all these things are true about the last american man, but from this reading, i took that it was more about the state of a man's spirit. of course, expanding himself to the frontier, living off the bare essentials, and "succeeding" in the wild are all essential for being the last American man, his soul must be in a certain state. his idea about life. his idea about freedom. the last american man lives off of nature - he is connected to the earth, he appreciates the nature of life. he is not filled up by society, by electronics, by inventions, industrialization, superficiality. the last american man is always striving for spiritual freedom. he yearns to live by the purest way of life. for example, the way eustace does in his tee pee, his food, his fight with the deer - he simply continues on the "circle" of life, and incorporates himself in the cycle and nature of life. with that spirit comes the physical aspect - the aspect of living on the frontier, proving his masculinity in the forest, proving his masculinity through working and fulfilling his role in the circular motion of life.