The Ox-Bow Incident Close Reading Questions
1.
Describe the setting (time and place).
2.
Describe Canby.
3.
What is gleaned about Gil and the narrator?
4.
Who is Rose Mapen (11)?
5.
What is a “rustling” (13-)? What does Canby say about the thieves (16)?
6.
Whose idea is it to have the sheriff in town (16)? Why?
7.
What happened to Kinkaid (31)?
8.
How do Davies and Farnley approach the situation with Kinkaid (34-35)?
9.
What is Moore’s idea (35-36)?
10.
Why did the men not want to wait for the Sheriff and Judge Tyler (36-37)?
11.
What types of appeal(s) does Bartlett use in persuading the men to action (36-38)?
12.
Describe the men whom Bartlett persuaded (38-39)?
13.
What is Osgood’s role (39)?
14.
What was Davies’ concern (40)?
15.
About what does Gil reminisce (42)?
16.
What does Davies point out to Winder in regards to “justice” and “a sin against society” (51-53)?
17.
Describe the weather at the end of page 57+. How does it relate to the plot?
18.
What is the name of the narrator (60)?
19.
“I wasn’t so sure of that. Most men are more afraid of being thought cowards than of anything else…”
(62). What is meant by this quotation?
20.
What was the problem with talking to the judge on behalf of Davies (68+)?
21.
What can be inferred if Joyce and Croft really needed Sheriff Risley but must accept dealing with the
judge (68+)?
22.
“If you men choose to act in violence, and with no more recognition of what you’re doing than this
levity implies, I wash my hands. Willful murderers are not company for a Christian” (80). What type of
appeal is Osgood making?
23.
What is the joke on Sparks (80-82)? Why? How did Sparks receive it? Why?
The Ox-Bow Incident Close Reading Questions
24.
What was Ma’s (Jenny Grier) of opinion the posse after hearing the facts (85)?
25.
Why does Ma ask young Greene questions about his story (86)?
26.
What does the word “salacious” mean (91)?
27.
What does the word “sardonic” mean (92)?
28.
What is the argument Davies makes on page 93-94? Based on what type of appeal?
29.
What information does Tetley contradict (98)?
30.
In what state is Bridger’s Pass (98)?
31.
What information does Amigo provide (99-101)?
32.
“To kill a man,” Gil said, “and still risk a drive” (100). Why is this a crazy notion?
33.
What did Tetley and Mapes do with the posse to make it “legitimate” (103-104)? How does Judge Tyler
respond?
34.
How many people set off to find the rustlers (106)?
35.
“To see him just sit and go on with his own thoughts, made me understand for the first time what we
were really going to do, so my breath and blood came quicker for a minute” (107). What does Croft
reveal in this passage?
36.
How does the description of the weather relate to the plot (107)?
37.
Whose cattle is said to be with the rustlers and what seems odd considering the amount of people in the
posse (109)?
38.
Young Tetley says, “You can’t go hunting men like coyotes after rabbits and not feel anything about it.
Not without being like any other animal. The worst animal” (110). If Young Tetley feels this way, why
would he be with the group (118)?
39.
How does Young Tetley feel about the “pack” (111)? About women (112)?
40.
“It’s not always the weak ones…They weed out the best…They band together to keep the best down”
(112). What does Young Tetley mean by this passage?
41.
What does Young Tetley say about dreams and the pack (115)?
42.
Young Tetley says, “…if we get those men and hang them, I’ll …” (118) what?
43.
What is on Gil’s mind about the task at hand (121)?
44.
What does Gil’s story about the pony foreshadow about Farnley (122-123)?
45.
For what purpose would the author have Art Croft as the narrator?
The Ox-Bow Incident Close Reading Questions
46.
Where can you stop with cattle on the pass (125)?
47.
Croft is put off by Sparks not calling him “Sir,” but uses derogatory language to describe Sparks and
other African-Americans. As neutral of a character as Croft seems, for what purpose(s) would the author
choose to have Croft speak in such a manner (130)? (Consider the time period, why Sparks treats Croft
differently, and what it says about Croft)
48.
Sparks says, “There’s some things a man don’t fohget seein.” To what is Sparks referring? What
happened (132)?
49.
What happens to Croft on page 137-138?
50.
Who was in the stage coach (141-142)? What news did it bring?
51.
How did Mr. Swanson address his wife’s interest in Gil (149)?
52.
What were the “rustlers” doing when they approached them (160)?
53.
Who was running the show? Why him?
54.
What does Farnley want on page 167?
55.
What does Donald Martin say at the beginning of page 170? What does he ask the men to do on page
171?
56.
What does Davies request on page 172?
57.
What is used as “evidence” against Martin, the old man Alva Hardwick, and his helper Juan
Martinez/Francisco Morez?
58.
“No man is going to call me yellow” (175). What is meant by yellow?
59.
“I do not propose to act prematurely, that’s all,” says Tetley (176). What is ironic about this statement?
60.
How does Tetley check to see if the old man was in the Army (182)?
61.
What delays the hangings (184)?
62.
What happened with the Mex, Juan (193-194)? What was revealed?
63.
What does Davies thinks proves the innocence of Martin and his men (199)?
64.
How is it decided whether to hang the men (200)?
65.
“You don’t care for justice,” Martin flared. “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” (203-204). What does this mean?
66.
Why was Gil afraid they were not going to tie the men’s ankles together (206)?
The Ox-Bow Incident Close Reading Questions
67.
How was Martin’s death different from old Hartwick and the Mex’s (207)?
68.
What is revealed on page 210?
69.
What is Sheriff Risley’s choice in how to deal with the matter (211)?
70.
Why does Davies need to talk to the narrator Croft (221)? What does Davies say?
71.
“No,” he said. “Most of you couldn’t help it. Most men can’t; they don’t really think They haven’t any
conception of basic justice” (221). What does this mean?
72.
Who is the fourth victim (226)?
73.
How much time would have been needed to save the men (230)?
74.
Why does Davies feel guilty (233)?
75.
What information does Gil provide on page 238?
76.
How do the men compensate for their guilt (240)?
76.
Why doesn’t Gil know how to start a fight with Rose’s husband (240-241)?
77.
Explain the relationship between Young Tetley and Tetley.
78.
The men leave in the late afternoon, catch the men at night, and hang at day break. What is the
significance of the imagery of day versus night on this event?
79.
Which characters do you consider foils for one another? Based on what?