The Ox-Bow Incident (1940) by Walter Van Tilburg Clark


The Ox-Bow Incident (1940) by Walter Van Tilburg Clark

I’m not usually one for Westerns, but this book ended up captivating me in spite of its slow start. A town of cattle-herders are rallied into a misguided triple-lynching over the murder of their fellow driver and the theft of his stock. The action itself is rather minimal, but where the story really takes shape is through the motivations guiding the characters' decisions. I see it largely as a commentary on mob-mentality and how social paradigms can influence one’s behavior against their better judgment. For example, the majority of the men involved in the lynching were doubtful at best concerning the “justice” of their actions - yet they urged themselves into compliance to save-face, fearing to oppose the (seemingly) popular sentiment lest they be labeled cowardly. Or worse … un-manly.

Granted - many characters did believe their vengeance was right, but the fabricated reasoning they used to justify it against their collective consciences not only led to three innocent men being hanged, but also two suicides and at least one mental breakdown after the fact. I identified heavily with Davies’ lamentations on his own guilt in the matter, despite his outward efforts against the mob - because he believed a greater conscience like his own bore greater blame in the matter. Particularly, he thought his cowardice in holding back at the pivotal hanging moment left his hands as blood-stained as the rest - reflecting on the “sin of omission” and how doing nothing can condemn as easily as it can exonerate.

The Ox-Bow Incident is full of similar, elusive ideas that have previously run through my head many times, but that I’ve never seen elaborated in words before. Like how a worry’s weight diminishes with space and sunlight, or how someone can be the target of others’ ill-will for no other reason than their own blessings. But on top of that, this novel shines through its characters. Clark populates the town with so many complex, well-painted citizens that, unfortunately, most of them remain underutilized through the book’s brevity. That being said, I appreciate the short length of The Ox-Bow Incident - not only for lending potency to its messages, but for allowing me the space to mull them over on my own, now that I’ve finished the narrative.

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