Nov 05 2008
Tyrel Sackett in The Daybreakers by Louis L’amour
As the point of view character, Tyrel Sackett comes off as a rough and tough, ready to handle any difficult or violent situation cowboy. He holds to the true tradition of living by his word and backing down from nobody. Per his usual style, Louis L’amour presents Tyrel Sackett as a larger than life hero that any young boy might aspire to emulate.
Unlike his brother Orrin, Tyrel finds himself tongue tied and uneasy around women. When Tyrel meets Drusilla he can barely admit his attraction to himself let alone confess it to her. Despite his confidence in violent situations he finds himself doubting his abilities to please her due to her situation as an heiress to a wealthy cattle empire.
Over a period of years Tyrel manages to grow into a more rounded individual. He punches cows all around the west, working to get together enough money to own his own place. In the end his marriage to Drusilla is more of a union of equals.
Louis L’amour seems unable to allow his male characters to endure a situation where they must be ultimately subordinate to a female. In some ways this is part of what attracts his books to men, though clearly this is fiction at its highest.
Tyrel Sackett is ultimately a likeable and enjoyable character though certainly more predictable than his brother Orrin.
