Frontier Imagery in Gentrification Narratives: Andrew Windfield’s “Right of Way” (2010)

This paper investigates Andrew Wingfield’s use of the frontier myth in the short-story cycle Right of Way (2010), set in a contemporary urban neighborhood undergoing gentrification. Using Frederick Jackson Turner’s notion of the frontier and the Chicago School’s urban ecology as a theoretical backdrop, I explore the ways in which Wingfield both deploys and challenges the imagery of the frontier and the invasion-succession model of the ecological paradigm. I argue that, while the frontier myth most likely appeals to the Americans’ self-identity as a nation, Wingfield uses the myth as the warp on which to weave a nuanced picture of the new urban frontier, with a focus on micro-level interactions and attachments that produce a sense of place.