Near the conclusion of its story, Ranse’s actions in “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance” demonstrate how keeping a myth can, in certain circumstances, be better than telling the truth. Ranse was credited at the end of the story as being the person who killed Liberty Valance, yet in reality, Bert was the one who ended up shooting Liberty in the first place. This improves the reputation of Ranse, who ends up climbing the political ladder and making a name for himself as the honorable man who “walked down a street in broad daylight to meet an enemy of society” (Johnson 415). This demonstrates…