The "Last" "American" Man

Gilbert believes that Eustice is the last American man because he is the embodiment of a lifestyle that was once common; that defined what America was per se. Eustice is your classic example frontiersman who is almost entirely self-sufficient. He's "Davey Fuckin' Crockett." In this right, he is the last American man as the tall tales have defined this character to be. There is the common conception that the man who lives on his own, dependent on no other man is American; that the freedom of providing for yourself is supposedly parallel to the entire concept of America in and of itself. In short, because Eustice is the way he is and does the things he does, he is labeled as being the "Last American Man."