Red Dead Redemption: The Story of Arthur Morgan

A veteran member of the Van der Linde gang, Arthur is known for his loyalty, combat skills, and pragmatic nature. Throughout the narrative, he becomes the central axis of a tale of morality, redemption, and the end of the outlaw era in the Old West.

Arthur was born in 1863 in the northern United States, the son of Beatrice and Lyle Morgan. From an early age, his life was marked by tragedy. He lost his mother when he was still a child and was separated from his father, a criminal who was arrested in 1874, when Arthur was only 11 years old. He witnessed his father's conviction and death, and despite a strained relationship between the two, the boy kept Lyle's hat and a photo.

Around 1877, Arthur was found on the streets by Dutch Van der Linde and Hosea Matthews, who adopted the boy and raised him as his foster parents. Under the tutelage of Dutch and Hosea, Arthur received both practical (such as riding, hunting, and fighting) and ideological lessons, absorbing Dutch's vision of freedom and resistance to the established order.

As a protégé of Dutch and Hosea, Arthur was one of the founders of the Van der Linde Gang and had Susan Grimshaw as a sort of foster mother. At the time, Susan was Dutch's love interest and raised Arthur with a firm hand.

In his youth, Arthur met the young Mary Gillis, with whom he had a passionate romance and almost married. However, their differing lives eventually separated the couple. Mary came from a traditional family that would never stand Arthur's lifestyle, while the gang, especially Grimshaw, disapproved of Mary as well.

In 1885, Arthur met young John Marston, who joined the gang after being saved by Dutch from a lynching. The two grew up as brothers, with Arthur always there to protect and guide John. The pair grew up sharing Dutch's vision of a world free from government and its constraints and were considered "Dutch's favorite children."

The gang's first major heist netted an exorbitant sum of money and was a success, earning the group a reputation and making Arthur a wanted man. The Van der Linde Gang became famous for sharing their stolen fortune with those in need, like the legends of Robin Hood, robbing from the rich to give to the poor.

Some time later, Arthur met a 19-year-old waitress named Eliza, with whom he had a relationship and a son named Isaac. Eliza and Isaac accepted Arthur's life, and he often visited them, sometimes spending days with them, promising to always return to ensure his son's safety and comfort. However, on one of his returns, Arthur found his family murdered by robbers. This tragic event hardened him greatly and made him believe that the outlaw life could never bring him true happiness.

In 1899, the Gang was planning major ventures in the outskirts of Blackwater, a city undergoing industrialization. However, Dutch's plans didn't go as planned, and the gang fell into the crosshairs of the Pinkertons, a government-contracted private investigation agency that was present during an attempted robbery led by Dutch.

It was during this period that the event known as the Blackwater Massacre occurred, and the gang was forced to flee.

Shortly after the Blackwater disaster, the gang fled to the mountains in the Ambarino region. The group faced great hardships at this time, in addition to facing the terrible cold that plagued the mountains.

After nearly losing John Marston and saving young Sadie Adler from a robbery committed by a rival gang, the O'driscoll Boys, the group decides to leave the mountains, but not before committing another robbery, this time on a train belonging to a man named Levictus Cornwall.

Out of the cold of the mountains, the gang set up camp on the outskirts of Valentine, but their presence there was quickly noticed by the Pinkertons, who were hot on their trail. After another shootout, the gang was forced to flee again, this time ending up in the state of Lemoyne, near the town of Rhodes.

It is during this period that Arthur, without knowing it, contracts tuberculosis, during one of the missions he carries out at the request of Leopold Strauss, the gang's accountant.

The gang ends up carrying out increasingly dangerous and daring heists, and with each new trouble that arises, Arthur becomes increasingly aware that Dutch is no longer the same man he once knew. This becomes more evident with the confrontations he and Dutch have regarding Micah Bell, a gunfighter who is one of the last to join the gang and for whom Arthur harbors a great dislike.

The gang is eventually cornered by the Pinkertons and threatened with a possible traitor among them. Arthur claims the traitor is Micah, and a major scuffle ensues, culminating in John and Arthur's escape, the Pinkertons surrounding the gang, and Dutch believing his sons have betrayed him.

Depending on the player's choices, some events may unfold differently in the ending, but regardless of their choices, Arthur Morgan will die in a fight with Micah Bell, ensuring the escape of John Marston and his family.

John, his wife Abigail, and their son Jack escape and live a good life for a time, with John fulfilling Arthur's wish that his gang brother might live with his family.

Years later, John manages to track down Micah and avenge his friend's death, but at the same time, his family is kidnapped, and the events of Red Dead Redemption begin.

Arthur Morgan is a charismatic character and arguably as beloved as John Marston, the protagonist of the previous game. Arthur possesses his own sense of justice and a desire to atone for his mistakes, representing the redemption arc proposed by the series. His death is considered one of the most tragic events in gaming history.

This concludes another article. Leave your questions, suggestions, criticisms, and/or compliments in the comments. Thanks for reading, and see you next time.