This story could have been set anywhere and in any era; however, The Ox-Bow Incident took place in a small frontier town of Nevada, 1885. The town had been plagued by a series of cattle rustlings.
The book's narrator, Art, and his partner, Gil, had just crossed over from the East into town and were mindful of their manners around the other cowboys, hopeful to be accepted by their community. Incidentally, everyone seemed to be on edge, and Art, the observant one, sensed that something was not right. Rumor had it that one of the more recent rustlings involved the murder of a well-liked member of the town's society, though many hardly knew the man personally.
Given that the sheriff was out of the area at the moment, the men were compelled to search out the "rustlers/murderers;" themselves. For them, pursuing the insurgents proved their own might, their intolerance of lawlessness, their sense of justice, and their proof to exist in the bigger surrounding world. Therefore, twenty-eight members, including Art and Gil, formed a posse and searched the harrowing night for the criminals.
Eventually, they made up their minds that they had found the culprits and held a makeshift court as judge, jury, and executioner. After a democratic vote was made by the mob, the convicted were lynched and the self-righteous returned to town.
The revelation directly following the lynching was shocking. Hence, the real trial of society's sense of right and wrong and man's conscience within himself began. The Ox-Bow Incident reveals the story about man's cowardice of physical ostracization from the group over committing a real injustice by lynching innocent men. This is man's weakness. Nobody liked killing, but it was far better than being opposite of or outside the mob. To oppose the mob would be to expose one's perceived weakness; standing morally alone for truth's sake is a very dangerous place to be.
I had everything, justice, pity, even the backing - and I knew it - and I let those three men hang because I was afraid. The lowest kind of virtue, the quality dogs have when they need it, the only thing Tetley had, guts, plain guts, and I didn't have it.
All a great, cowardly lie, all pose; empty, gutless pretense. All the time the truth was I didn't take a gun because I didn't want it to come to a showdown. The weakness that was in me all the time set up my sniveling little defense. Didn't even expect to save those men. The most I hoped was that something would do it for me.
This is also a story about man's desire for more power -- how he can be so blinded to truth because he is only bent on being right according to his own desired justice. Then it becomes personal, and he needs a scapegoat to feed his will.
You don't care for justice...you don't even care whether you've got the right men or not. You want your way, that's all. You've lost something and somebody's got to be punished; that's all you know.
The Ox-Bow Incident is on the same social plane as To Kill a Mockingbird,Lord of the Flies, or even The Great Gatsby because these stories teach a timeless ethical lesson. The lesson is not a gentle one, but it is urgent and essential to our humanity. It is timeless because man is born with a weak constitution regardless of his birthdate. It is typical of his raw nature to follow the mob and save his own hide.
SHOULD YOU READ THE OX-BOW INCIDENT?
While reading, I had forgotten that this was considered a western. If westerns are not your genre, fear not. This is a powerful journey into your own conscience. We've all been here. How difficult it is to stand alone, to stand against the crowd, the mob, our own friends or family, even. We don't want to be perceived as wrong. And you know what the mob is capable of: absolute violence unto death, just to make their point.
But reading this story reiterates how much more honorable it is to stand on principle, even if it is just to bide time to get to the facts before a final decision must be made. (See "Twelve Angry Men," the 1957 version). We all are called to do this at some point in our lives.
To answer the question - Should you read this? Anyone should and can read this. It is just over 200 pages and, while the progression is slow with a lot of dialogue, the buildup caused me to want to hurry up and find out. It was every kind of emotion you can experience. The premise calls on the reader to rise to the occasion next time. And there will be a next time.
I probably would not reread this, but only because it had that difficult part in it where you don't want to look, but you have to quickly, in case you miss anything. It reminded me of how I felt when about In Cold Blood. The point is that the premise was well taken. The lesson was well ingested. I got it. However, I will watch the film, starring Henry Fonda.
One last final note: while I was reading The Ox-Bow, I thought about the short documentary by JBS on forms of governments. There was a section on the difference between a democracy and a republic set in the Old West. Under a democracy, when a posse captured a gunman and the majority voted to hang him, he hung (or hanged). But under a republic, when the posse captured the same gunman and the majority voted to hang him, the sheriff stepped in and said they couldn't hang him. Instead, he took the gunman to court where a jury of his peers must UNANIMOUSLY vote guilty or not. That is the law.
What do you get when you combine a favorite fairy tale with a wholesome Western? You get intriguing story-telling by Rachel Kovaciny. Snow White is reimagined westward.
Seven young orphaned cousins were traveling to Kansas to meet their relatives after losing their parents, when they met another party of pioneers headed west. The pioneers somewhat reluctantly consented to take them into their care.
Soon after, fourteen-year-old Levi was captivated by the enchanting Mrs. Mallone and her claims to heal others with special secret potions. Levi wanted to know more about medicine, as one day he may like to be a doctor. Mrs. Mallone agreed to teach Levi her methods; but Hopeful, Mrs. Mallone's step-daughter, cautioned him to beware of her ways. She was not all that she seems.
Ever trustful, Levi was caught up in the middle of a scheme that would likely pin him as the obvious guilty party leading to instant hanging -- being that side of the Mississippi -- if he didn't have any witnesses to vet him.
Did Mrs. Mallone intentionally set him up? And if so, why? Without witnesses, will anyone be able to come to his rescue? Will he ever learn his lesson about trusting others based only on their outward appearances?
You'll have to read it yourself to find out what happened to innocent Levi.
One Bad Apple is engaging and absorbing, while the characters are perceptible and convincing. It kept me wondering all the time what would happen next, and at one point, I was biting my nails. LOL!
This is the third book in the Once Upon a Western Story. I've read Cloaked, Dancing and Donuts, and I've also read Blizzard at Three Bears Lake (Once Upon a Western 1.5). I've enjoyed them all! Next up is My Rock and My Refuge.
Last month I read this with my kids. It is a fun, suspenseful adventure story with a Western twist, written by Rachel, who blogs over at The Edge of the Precipice.
This is a modern retelling of the Little Red Riding Hood fairy tale, set it in the Old West. The protagonist, Mary Rose, is a sweet and sharp young lady, sent to spend part of the summer with her grandmother, whom she has never met. With two other important characters staying at her grandmother's ranch, Mary Rose spends the next few days cautiously observing and discerning what everyone's intentions are. In the beginning, even her grandmother is kind of a riddle.
But as things warm up, after a few equestrian lessons and Grandmother's kindhearted surprises, the reader begins to single out one character because of his suspicious behavior. It is best to be on guard, just as Mary Rose was guarded.
For the rest of the story, the suspense increases; my kids and I wondered what would happen next. We knew who the bad guy was, but what would he do? To what extent would he take his wickedness? I have to admit...I was caught off guard and did not expect to experience such a dramatic (even tense) ending. It was kind of exciting, too.
Rachel's writing style is whimsical and lighthearted, which makes the story warm, amicable, and fun. Of course, the antagonist is a thorn in the side of the pleasant atmosphere, which is, in other words, quite effective.
While reading, my kids never liked to stop for the night, to save the next chapter for the next day. But, when we were totally done, I asked them what they thought of the story. My 11-year old said, "It was like historical fiction turned crime story. It was really surprising." And my 9-year old said, "It was cool because [Mary Rose] got to ride a horse and live on a ranch." That's all she can focus on. I think she wished she were Mary Rose.
