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MonkeyNotes-The Ox-Bow Incident by Walter Van Tilburg Clark
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HISTORICAL INFORMATION
The Ox-Bow Incident is a novel about the American West in the
period when it was expanding. Beginning with Mark Twain's
Roughing It, published in 1872, the Western genre of literature
became popular among American writers, including Bret Harte,
Owen Wister, Hamlin Garland, O.E. Rolvaag, and Zane Grey. In
the beginning, most of the fiction written about the West gave a
romanticized picture of frontier life, almost like a tall tale. In the
20th century, however, all types of American literature became
more realistic.
By the time that Clark wrote his novel in 1940, Western writers
were depicting the gloomier side of the frontier. The Ox-Bow
Incident is definitely a realistic presentation, with its cattle
rustlers, bar room brawls, shootings, and lynchings - a far cry
from the early romantic visions of the West. In fact, the
lawlessness portrayed by Clark is a frightening picture of the
dangers encountered by Western settlers. But the book also
reaches a depth not attempted by earlier Western writers. Clark
delves into moral issues, unlike the earlier Westerns that were
mostly written for entertainment. In the process, he creates a
psychological study of his characters that has given the novel
lasting value. Many critics consider The Ox-Bow Incident to be
the masterpiece written on the American West.
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