Kaitlyn PersonetteAmerican Studies Research MethodsDecember 8, 2013Prof. D’Amore

Bonnie and Clyde

Bonnie and Clyde are American Legends, who swept the nation with their

ambitious crime sprees and scandalous fairy tale romance. Fact or fiction is the

question at hand when considering the two star crossed lovers. One might

question how a small group, like the Barrow Gang, would have the ability to

create such a stir in the 1920’s and while some were enemies to the group, most

idolized their courageous acts against the law. Mythologized for their conniving

deception and convincing portrayal of perfect criminals and star-crossed lovers,

Bonnie and Clyde were glorified by the media and the people.

As the general story goes, Bonnie and Clyde were becoming young adults

when the Great Depression hit America. Money was tight and times were tough,

with lack of job opportunity and prosperity, people began to go stir crazy, making

it difficult to gain control. This created a crime culture through media and

literature for those who desired to lash out. Then society had the ability to live

vicariously through their favorite criminal character, distracting them from their

depressing stunted life styles. Crime culture developed as an aftermath of the

devastating World War I. After time to settle in and grow, crime culture characters

began to directly relate to the socio-economic circumstances. This genre became

known as the, “American Hard-Boiled Crime Fiction” spanning from the, 1920’s-

1940’s, (Horsley, 2002). The Postman Always Rings Twice, Black Mask, and

Little Caesar are just three examples of the various fictional crime series of their

time. Though, John Dillinger and Pretty Boy Floyd, for example, were two real

men whose myths and repetition of stories made it into the crime culture of the

1920’s as well.

Bonnie Parker was born in Rowena, Texas, October 1, 1910. Rowena was

a low-end area that struggled, like most of America, when the depression hit. As

a teenager from this area during the 1920’s, teens found it entertaining to make

petty thefts such as taking candy from the local drug store and a soda pop from

the gas station. Bonnie did not begin to create her incriminating image and

career until a little later in life, although she was always involved with bad boys,

as legends have it. According to more than half of my resources while gathering

empirical research, including, CBS News (2013), Rich (1970), Bonnie and Clyde

(2013), and Phillips (1998), as well as the most resent source of evidence, being

the television premier on The History Channel on Bonnie and Clyde, Bonnie

Parker was married to a Mr. Roy Thornton on September 25, 1926, after

dropping out of high school at the mere age of 15, with Ms. Parkers 16th birthday

less than a week away. Mr. Thornton was a “bad boy” convict, who was thrown in

jail and frequently absent in their relationship. This created an unsettling

heartbreak with Bonnie, which made it a paralyzing thought to remove the

wedding ring from her finger for she was wearing it the day that she died

according to the autopsy reports (Rich, 1970). Interestingly enough, when Bonnie

and Clyde were documented “Wanted” people, her title was, “Wanted, Mrs. Roy

Thornton, aliases include Bonnie Barrow, Mrs. Clyde Barrow, Bonnie Parker,”

showing that she was still legally bound to Thornton (FBI).

Bonnie and Clyde may seem far from your typical teens, comparatively

looking at today, although in 1920-1940’s crime culture was booming. Pretty Boy

Floyd, formally known as Charles Arthur Floyd, was a gangster and a bank

robber from Oak Hill, Indiana. Floyd had been committing petty theft since he

was about 16, although was arrested unfortunately for the first time at age 18

after he stole coins from a local post office, approximately $3.50 (Pretty Boy

Floyd, 2009). John Dillinger, as another example was a wild and rebellious child

and teen although he grew up in a more rural section of Indiana. Dillinger had

grown up with a bewildering personality for bullying children and known for

frequently getting in trouble with the law. As a child his fighting and petty thefts

would get him in trouble by his single father, although when he was 19 he was

arrested for grand theft auto. At this point in Dillinger’s life, is where his true life of

crime began, just like Clyde (John Dillinger, 2013).

As Bonnie had a life before Clyde, Clyde had a life before Bonnie. Due to

the overpowering affects of the Great Depression, people were loosing their jobs

and homes. They did not know how they would feed their families or make their

payments. Clyde was the fifth of seven children, born into a poor farming family

in Ellis County, close Telico Texas. This is just a town south of Dallas, which is

very close to Bonnie’s hometown. Being in a large family, in the urban slums,

Clyde and his brother Buck turned to a life of crime at the early age of 16 (Bonnie

and Clyde, 2013). Clyde and Buck had stolen a car and the police chased them

down, drag racing through the streets of Texas. When the police officer finally

caught them, they were instructed to give up and go home as though they were

caught for a candy bar, not grad theft auto. Their lack of punishment was simply

due to the less rigorous law enforcement of the 1920s. When living in low-end

areas, in general, but especially during the depression there were bigger crimes

being committed that enforcement needed to stop (Schneider, 2009).

With every legend, there comes myth for when someone or something is

idolized and passed down from generation to generation, variations of that story

are created and questioned in return. Many variations of how Bonnie and Clyde

actually met are in question. For example, in the 1967 film, they first meet while

Clyde is attempting to steal Bonnie’s family car. She stares at him, down from the

window, and instead of being fearful and calling the cops, she engaged in flirty

conversation, letting him know that he has been caught red handed. Her

lackadaisical and friendly approach to stopping this crime is typical of their time

(Horsley). Bonnie said she was heading into town, just so she could get to know

the hansom devil. Some versions of their tale say that they met January 20th,

1930 at a party of a mutual friend in Texas (Bonnie and Clyde, 2013) (CBS

News, 2013). At this party they were introduced and began to talk,

instantaneously falling madly in love with each other. The History Channel

premier of Bonnie and Clyde had the most interesting approach to their first

meeting being at Bonnie Parker’s wedding to Roy Thornton. She noticed him

from afar and he gawked at her from across the room (Beatty and Dunaway,

2013).

In most, if not all, versions of Bonnie and Clyde’s story told, they were

attached to the hip from the moment they met. Bonnie was still married to the

imprisoned murderer, Thornton, and Clyde was constantly running from the law.

The couple desperately wanted to desert their mediocre lives in Texas and to run

away together. Unfortunately two weeks after their first meeting, Clyde was

throne in jail after being arrested for burglary (FBI). Bonnie could not stand the

thought of living without him and she refused to be the lover of another man in jail

so she paid him a visit. In this visit she was able to smuggle him a handgun,

which allowed him to escape; although he was recaptured shortly after. He was

thrown in jail and paroled in February 1932 (FBI).

When Clyde got out of jail he swore that he would never be in prison

again. He attempted to live a straight life for he wanted desperately to have a job

and make an honest living. He desired to have the means to buy a house and

support himself with Bonnie along with the hope to start a family. Bonnie and

Clyde were very family orientated. Whenever they had the chance, while on their

wild unlawful adventures, they would call their families to make sure everyone

was okay and doing well back at home (Guinn, Jeff, Simon, and Schuster).

This is similar to John Dillinger who had been arrested several times, for

robberies mainly. He joined the United States Navy, after knowing his fathers

grave disappointment in his rebellious acts. In attempts to straighten himself out,

Dillinger joined forces and when they eventually docked in the Boston Harbor, he

made a great escape (Dillinger, 2013). He was dishonorably discharged from the

US Navy and he proceeded to go home to his father. He eventually married his

sweetheart Beryl Hovious on April of 1924 although Dillinger, much like Clyde,

had trouble settling down. Living by the rules, finding a steady job, and keeping it

was a difficult task for those living in the Great Depression Era. Dillinger’s

marriage ended on June 20, 1929, so he did not have a partner in crime like

Clyde with his Bonnie. Feeling the emotion of failure for not being able to support

themselves or support their loved ones (in an honest way), hit Dillinger and Clyde

hard.

When the stock market bubble finally burst, on October 24, 1929, unsold

goods piled while consumer spending dropped tremendously. After millions of

shares were traded that day and a myriad of them ending up worthless, investors

were wiped out. Consumer confidence diminished, which led to a slow down in

production and employees were being let go as a result (Richardson). Since

there was such great difficulty keeping a job, finding one, created a whole new

challenge. This was a breaking point for Bonnie and Clyde, along with Dillinger

and they decided to commit to a life of crime and rebel against society. Pretty

Boy Floyd did the same as Bonnie, Clyde, and Dillinger. He did not have an

attempt to leave the dark side and become a functioning member of society but

after his release from jail, he vowed that he would never go back. He created

several connections while in the “slammer” and allied with more established

criminals in the Kansas City area (Pretty Boy Floyd, 2009). As Pretty Boy Floyd

made connections, Clyde did as well, for he recruited Ralph Fults to be the third

member of the Barrow Gang while spending time in jail together.

This was the time for these destined convicts to live out their fantasies.

They were now able to live out their Nihilistic point of views to the fullest,

rebelling against society and every person who got in their way. Nihilism was a

popular point of view in the 1920s and 30’s. It promoted an independent

construction of group programming and possibility geared toward the fact that

social organization was so horrific that people innately felt that destruction was

desirable. Bonnie, Clyde, and Ralph Hults began to travel in 1932, robbing

stores to eat and gas stations to keep moving. Buck Borrow, Clyde’s brother, was

released from the Texas State Prison on March 23, 1933 and joined the gang

with his corroborative yet unwilling wife Blanche (FBI). Clyde was the ruler of the

Borrow gang much like Roman Sionis also known as the Black Mask, in the

1930’s comic series. America loved their villians and the Black Mask was a

ruthless Gotham City mob boss who was the ruler of the False Face Society.

Like Clyde being the supreme leader of the South criminal gangland, the Black

Mask was the leader of the Gotham criminal Underworld. Clyde was fighting

against the harsh realities of society while the Black Mask was one of Batman’s

most dangerous challengers (Horsley). There was a thrill of the gray area during

this time of what was good and what was evil and who’s side was “the” side to be

on.

The Barrow Gang, now consisting of five people, were wanted by the law

but not as much as they strictly wanted Bonnie and Clyde, dead or alive. In the

History Channel’s portal of Bonnie and Clyde’s story, Bonnie wanted to be known

and held to a high degree. She drove down to the local newspaper and

threatened a women reporter who did not include her name when reporting on

the crimes Bonnie and Clyde committed (Grainger and Hirsch). Once Bonnie was

officially in the public eye she had begun to create a connection with the people

leaving her trail of photographs and letters to be found by reporters in a way that

no man would. This created a frenzy of followers and their articles were booming,

one crime after another. Bonnie showed the public the love story behind the

crimes through her Poems. For example, “The Trails End” (see Appendix A)

which portrayed them in a heroic light describing their time spent together and

the love they had to defying the law as well as love they had for each other. This

created a beacon of hope for the women who were feeding their children bread

without butter and struggling their husband’s jobless. With 13 to 15 million people

jobless in America, it made society think that if Bonnie and Clyde could survive

living on the land and love then so could they (Hunter).

The bloody trail powered by love is why society was more intrigued with

them then Dillinger or Pretty Boy Floyd. Their romance being involved was a hit,

catering to men and women during the depression era. As their nation wide crime

spree continued newspaper articles headlines stated, “WANTED for Murder and

Rape” in Arkansas (CBS, 2013). The gang embarked on a series of robberies

and murders although they were not known to be rapists. They left their trail of

evidence and law enforcements made great efforts to put a halt to their criminal

activities. In Iowa on July 29, 1933, during a shootout Buck was fatally wounded

and Blanche was captured, allowing Bonnie and Clyde to make another great

escape with their wingman Ralph Fults (FBI). Fults was eventually captured in

Huston, Texas in November of 1933, and then the two love birds were the only

ones left to be caught. All of America was watching and waiting for the infamous

Bonnie and Clyde to be captured dead or alive. It was a matter of where are they

and when will they be stopped. America was getting excited to see what was

going to happen next for they were unpredictable to the public eye. Police Texas

Ranger Frank Hamer, had been on their trail for a while and I believe that he

desired to always be linked with title of, “the man who stopped the criminal

couple of the century”. A similar thought pattern to Lee Harvey Oswald, who

assassinated JFK, and John Wilkes Booth, who was Abraham Lincoln’s

assassin. Although our presidents were not criminals, their obsessions with the

Presidents caused them to do what ever it took to have their names linked with

the others eternally (Steele, 2001).

Bonnie and Clyde committed 13 murders and several robberies and

burglaries along with suspicion on murdering two police officers at Joplin,

Missouri and kidnapping a man and a woman in rural Louisiana who they

released in Waldo, Texas (FBI). They were sighted all through out the south,

allowing links to be made, regarding bank robberies and automobile thefts and

murders from Lufkin and Dallas, Texas to Stringtown, Oklahoma. They even

kidnapped a deputy at Carlsbad, New Mexico and then made their way back into

Victoria, Texas to steal a car, then off to Wharton, Texas where they murdered

another deputy and moved onto Abilene and Sherman, Texas to rob and murder

some more. As the list goes on, their patterns became clearer and clearer to law

enforcement.

As Bonnie wrote in her poem most famous poem, The Trails End, “They

don't think they're too smart or desperate, they know that the law always wins.

They've been shot at before; but they do not ignore, that death is the wages of

sin. Some day they'll go down together they'll bury them side-by-side. To few it'll

be grief, to the law a relief but it's death for Bonnie and Clyde,” knowing that they

were never going to make it out of their adventure alive and she let the public

know that it was okay for she embraced their immanent death for it would not be

tragic but an adventurous love story indeed.

Hamer and his posse set up an ambush to catch and kill Bonnie and

Clyde on May 23, 1934 on a rural road in Bienville Parish, Louisiana. Through

FBI investigations, civilian sightings, and their bloody trail of crime it was not too

difficult of a task, with combined efforts, to pin point where they would be. Bonnie

and Clyde’s two-year crime spree was about to come to an end. Just before

dawn Bonnie and Clyde were driving approximately 85 mph in a stolen, 1934

Ford, four-door Delux with a V-8 engine. The police were hiding in the bushes

and recognized the infamous couple. The opened fire put over 100 bullets in

each of their bodies, killing them instantly. The Dallas Journal read, “KILL CLYDE

BARROW AND BONNIE PARKER, OUTLAW COUPLE DIE IN BATTLE ON

ROAD WITH SHERIFF’S POSSE” (FBI).

American responded is greif when their favorite bad-ass couple of the

century were finally stopped. The bodies were brought to Conger Furniture Sore

and Funeral Polar in downtown Arcadia, Louisiana with a population of 2,000. An

estimated 10,000 people swarmed into this small town with in hours to try and

catch a glimpse of their hero’s bodies (Schneider, 2009). People lined up for

miles down the road to pay their respects and for it was the last time their bodies

would be together. Although they wanted to be buried side by side, Mrs. Parker,

Bonnies mother, wanted Bonnie to be buried with her immediate family in Dallas,

Texas. The sudden end to Bonnie and Clyde sold 500,000 newspapers in Dallas

alone. Cards were sent to Bonnie and Clyde’s respected families from Pretty Boy

Floyd and John Dillinger (Schneider, 2009). This was the beginning of the end for

the crime culture era for Dillinger and Floyd were ambushed and killed only

months after Bonnie and Clyde. Enforcement began to lock down and become

more serious than ever.

Since Bonnie and Clyde’s death the couple lives on through the

societies love of romance and crime. Movies such as, the 1967, Bonnie and

Clyde staring Beatty and Dunaway and the 2013, History Channel Premier of the

most recent portrayal of Bonnie and Clyde, staring Grainger and Hirsch,

exemplify altering versions of the legends, keeping the excitement and story

alive. Performers such as Serge Gainsbourg and Brigitte Bardot (1968), Eminem

(1997), Jay-Z and Beyonce (2003), Haystak (2008), and Great Northern (2012),

have all wrote songs keeping the rebellious lovers that America loves, alive and

unforgotten even in todays society.

Their unruly lifestyle and passionate love affair will never be forgotten.

Although, they were cold-blooded killers, they lived off of the land and love,

giving society an adventures hope for when times are threatening. Not only were

Bonnie and Clyde idolized when alive but they managed to keep interest in the

publics eye nearly 80 years after their defeat. No matter if their tales are true their

myth will forever live on.

Works Cited

Beatty, W. (Performer), & Dunaway, F. (Performer) (1967). Bonnie and clyde[Television series episode]. In Beatty, W. (Executive Producer),Bonnie and Clyde. Warner Bros.-Seven Arts.

“Bonnie and Clyde.” The Biography Channel website. 2013.http://www.biography.com/people/groups/bonnie-and-clyde

Burnett, W. R. (1929). Little ceasar .

Cain, J., & McCoy, H. (1934). The postman always rings twice.

Cardenas, Alfredo. "My Life with Bonnie and Clyde by Blanche Caldwell Barrow;John Neal Philips."Texas State Historical Association. 110.1 (2006): 152154.Print. < 

CBS News, . N.p.. Web. 29 Oct 2013. <http://www.cbsnews.com/83013445_162-054623/love-and-bullets-the-real-bonnie-clyde/>.

Federal Bureau of Investigation, Famous Cases. (n.d.).Bonnie and clyde.Retrieved fromwebsite: http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/history/famouscases/bonnie-and-clyde

Grainger, H. (Performer), & Hirsch, E. (Performer) (2013). Bonnie and clyde[Televisionseries episode]. In Zadan, C. (Executive Producer), The historychannel . Sony Pictures Television.

Guinn, Jeff, Simon, and Schuster. Go Down Together: The True, Untold Story ofBonnie and Clyde. 1. 2010. Print.

Hammet, D., & Daly, C. (1920). Black mask.

Horsley, L. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.crimeculture.com/Contents/HardBoiled.html

Hunter, Stephen. “Clyde And Bonnie Died from Nihilism.” Commentary 127.72009:77-80. Academic Search Complete Web. 12 Nov. 2013.

“John Dillinger.” The Biography Channel website 2013.http://www.biography.com/people/john-dillinger-9274804

Phillips, John. "Running with Bonnie and Clyde: The Ten Fast Years of RalphFults." Journal of the Louisiana Historical Association . 39.1 (1998): Pg. 117-119. Print.

“Pretty Boy Floyde.” The Biography Channel website 2009.

Richardson, R. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.history.com/topics/greatdepression

Rich, Carroll. "The Autopsy of Bonnie and Clyde."Western States FolkloreSociety. 29.1(1970): 27-33. Print. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/1498682>.

Schneider, Paul. Bonnie and Clyde: the lives behind the legend. 1. Henry Holtand Co.,2009. Print.

Steele, P. W. (2001). The family story of bonnie and clyde. Louisiana History:The Journal of the Louisiana Historical Association, 42(4), 492-493.Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/4233802

Appendix A

The Trails End

A Poem By: Bonnie ParkerYou've read the story of Jesse James of how he lived and died. If you're still in need; of something to read, here's the story of Bonnie and Clyde. Now Bonnie and Clyde are the Barrow gang I'm sure you all have read. How they rob and steal; and those who squeal, are usually found dying or dead. There's lots of untruths to these write-ups; they're not as ruthless as that. Their nature is raw; they hate all the law, the stool pigeons, spotters and rats. They call them cold-blooded killers they say they are heartless and mean. But I say this with pride that I once knew Clyde, when he was honest and upright and clean. But the law fooled around; kept taking him down, and locking him up in a cell. Till he said to me; "I'll never be free, so I'll meet a few of them in hell" The road was so dimly lighted there were no highway signs to guide. But they made up their minds; if all roads were blind, they wouldn't give up till they died. The road gets dimmer and dimmer sometimes you can hardly see. But it's fight man to man and do all you can, for they know they can never be free. From heart-break some people have suffered from weariness some people have died. But take it all in all; our troubles are small, till we get like Bonnie and Clyde. If a policeman is killed in Dallas and they have no clue or guide. If they can't find a fiend, they just wipe their slate clean and hang it on Bonnie and Clyde. There's two crimes committed in America not accredited to the Barrow mob. They had no hand; in the kidnap demand, nor the Kansas City Depot job. A newsboy once said to his buddy; "I wish old Clyde would get jumped. In these awful hard times; we'd make a few dimes, if five or six cops would get bumped" The police haven't got the report yet but Clyde called me up today. He said, "Don't start any fights; we aren't working nights, we're joining the NRA." From Irving to West Dallas viaduct is known as the Great Divide. Where the women are kin; and the men are men, and they won't "stool" on Bonnie and Clyde. If they try to act like citizens and rent them a nice little flat. About the third night; they're invited to fight, by a sub-gun's rat-tat-tat. They don't think they're too smart or desperate they know that the law always wins. They've been shot at before; but they do not ignore, that death is the wages of sin. Some day they'll go down together they'll bury them side-by-side. To few it'll be grief, to the law a relief but it's death for Bonnie and Clyde.