The Music (Motif)
The music in Stagecoach is always highly meaningful, signifying not only what is going on onscreen, but how the viewer ought to feel about it. This is most marked in the music that accompanies the stagecoach as it continues down the road. A jaunty tune—the score was written by a large group of people—plays as we see shots of the stagecoach making its way down the road. The major key pluck of the score shows us that we are aligned with the stagecoach, and that their journey is a wholesome one. In contrast, the music that plays when we see the Apache is in a minor key, and inspired by Native music. It exoticizes the Apaches while also signifying that they are the villains. Additionally, a dreamy and romantic music plays in the moment that Ringo and Dallas are getting to know one another, at once melancholic and beautiful, to reflect the complexity of their situations.
Stagecoach (Allegory)
The stagecoach itself, as a mode of transportation, acts as a kind of allegory for American life and society itself. It is a symbol of westward expansion, in that it literally carries passengers westward, but also in that it represents white settlers braving the elements and external violence, in order to carry civilization further westward. Inside the stagecoach is a diverse assortment of people from all different class backgrounds and professions. While they have different priorities and interests in the journey, they are brought together by their desire to reach their destination safely. This serves as a kind of allegory for empire, nationalism, and expansion itself, in that it is a coterie of different people who blend their goals into one. It serves as a microcosm of America and democracy.
Ringo's Gun (Symbol)
Throughout, guns are symbols of power, but particularly at the end, the gun that Ringo brings to the shootout against the Plummer brothers is symbolic of his ability to avenge his brother's and father's deaths and move on with his life to find peace and live happily ever after with Dallas. He has only three bullets that he can use to kill the three Plummer brothers, which means that he cannot make any mistakes and he doesn't stand much of a chance. His gun represents Ringo's only chance at freedom.
The Canteen (Symbol)
When Lucy wants some water on the trip, Hatfield gallantly fills a small cup with water and gives it to her. She drinks it daintily from the cup. Immediately afterward, Dallas asks for some water, but Hatfield doesn't give her the cup to drink out of, and Ringo must hand her the canteen to drink from directly. In this moment, the canteen symbolizes the distance between the two women—the fact that Lucy is a respectable society lady and Dallas is a woman of ill repute, and therefore each is treated differently.
Doc Boone's Drinking (Motif)
It's no secret that Doc Boone has a pretty serious love of liquor. From the moment we meet him, he is never without a bottle, and as lovable as he is, everyone agrees that he's a drunk. The image of Doc Boone taking a swig of something is a comic motif that recurs throughout the film. Indeed, he makes a toast and throws back a bottle constantly, and the only time he sobers up is when he has to deliver Lucy's baby. At the end, Curley offers to buy him a drink, to which Doc Boone uncharacteristically responds, "Just one."
