Jan 06 2009
The Character of Adam Stark in “Taggart” by Louis L’amour
Adam Stark is a man obsessed. He is obsessed with the woman he chose to marry. In many ways this makes him more interesting than the average cowboy who doesn’t want any trouble and moves through life until someone pushes him.
Adam Stark, though definitely not looking for trouble, has an obsession that guarantees that he will find trouble sooner or later. Most of L’amour’s other characters could just as easily have never had a story to tell. They could have settled down, raised cattle, or simply never met that outlaw, but Adam Stark is guaranteed to have a story.
He does the outlandish. He goes into the middle of hostile territory, looking for gold. If he isn’t scalped he will be robbed. If not in the wild, certainly in civilization. He’ll continue to have trouble with his wife. She’ll push him and he’ll follow her to the ends of the earth.
