The John Wayne era of film gave the world fantastical tales of the Wild West that made it both romantic and rugged, and they created an archetype that would carry on throughout generations of cowboys riding off into the sunset. Red Dead Redemption is not those westerns. Rockstar set out to tell a much more gripping narrative the reflected the harsh realities both of frontier life and the lifestyle of outlaws. To that effect, both Arthur Morgan and John Marston provided players with a firsthand look at the beautiful and tragic experiences awaiting individuals looking to make a life in the west.
Whereas the original protagonist in the first Red Dead Redemption, John Marston, took players on a journey of his life after the Van der Linde gang, Red Dead Redemption 2 actually serves as a prequel, placing players in the shoes of Arthur Morgan and right in the thick of the gang's tragic final hours. This is a fitting juxtaposition, because for Arthur much of his life was spent with Dutch and the gang, having been brought it at a very young age.
In a sense Red Dead Redemption 2 is a modern take on Oliver Twist, with Dutch playing the role of Fagin to Arthur's and John's Oliver and Artful Dodger. Both Arthur and John were orphans brought into the family by Dutch and Hosea. As adolescents they were raised in the gang's criminal ways, and even started off as Robin Hood-like figures. For Arthur though, the tragedy of his story reaches back even further.
Who Arthur Morgan's Parents Were
Arthur was orphaned at 11, but he still keeps mementos of his parents and references key things about them in his journal, which gives the players insight into his childhood. His mother died when he was very young, and he confesses that he doesn't recall much about her. Yet he keeps her picture by his tent along with flowers, because he remembers she taught him flowers would bring good luck. His backstory is made even more heartbreaking when considering the relationship with his own son compared to Arthur's relationship with his father.
Arthur's father was a known outlaw and was abusive to Arthur. Towards the end of Arthur's story he comments that his dad didn't die soon enough, and writes in his journal that he was a "no good bastard." Despite this, he keeps the portrait of his father by his tent as well, and even wears his father's hat initially. After his father was arrested for larceny, Arthur watched him be executed; a moment that sent him down his path of crime. Though Dutch and Hosea wouldn't discover him for another few years, Arthur's relationship with, and eventual loss of, his parents would define him in a number of ways.
After his traumatic youth, once he was taken in by two criminals and the Van Der Linde family began to grow it serves to reason Arthur would take to them so strongly. Having new father figures in Dutch and Hosea, and soon after a brother in John, Arthur finally had an intact family unit where he felt he belonged. The remnants of his father and mother he keeps further serve to show how important family is to Arthur. Red Dead Redemption 2 shines brightest in this tragic tale of misfit and criminals forming a makeshift family. Later in the game Arthur states how much the gang means to him, how it's the only thing that's real, and how he would kill for it and happily die for it; words to which he stayed true to the end.