In “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance,” the use of characterization of the main character reveals the important role of fiction in life. When writing her short story, Dorothy Johnson desired to demonstrate the relation between myths, legends and fiction, and the community and characters of the story. First, the main character is very attentive to the way others think of him. Indeed, he “added vanity to his other unpleasantness and let customers discover combing his hair admiringly before a small mirror.” (Johnson 6) Additionally, he “let himself be seen reading a small black book, which…