Symbolism In Faulkner's Mean Spirit

Mean Spirit is an account of the 1920’s oil boom within Osage Territory that unfolded into numerous grim events. Early into the novel, Grace Blanket, one of the wealthiest Indians who was also young and beautiful, was murdered. Her death played a major part in the theme of the novel that corruption, violence and lack of trust that came with the greed of whites and caused great instability in the Osage community. Belle Graycloud, who was a prominent figure in the tribe, took in and protected Grace’s daughter Nola, who now has the inheritance of her mother’s wealth. As oil continued to be discovered and subsequent murders and disappearances, Belle became more personally affected. As events unfolded, Belle tends be the first to form a resistance …show more content…
What occurred at Sorrow Cave was a major implication of the cultures that provided a clear understanding of their differences. Belle with her determination and strong will stood up against the sheriff and others who were shooting at the bats within the cave as a reward was out for annihilating each of the “pests”. She knew her actions could lead to serious conflict, maybe even death. But as she stood with her pistol out, dead silent, not moving a muscle in her face, the sheriff notices how “she stood like a mountain”. The sheriff, Jess Gold, saw himself as a greater entity as he talked to Belle as if she was dull minded and did not understand the situation, “Bats are pests. They aren’t good for us” (279 ). Gold’s own incompetence of Osage culture and values fueled by submissive view of accommodation of Indians came into play when Moses arrived. From Gold’s point, Moses should side with him about the Belle being “backward” in the situation because of two reasons. First, that both of them are men and therefore the idea of men’s authority of women came into play. Secondly, Moses being Belle’s husband will result in Moses siding with the sheriff by prompting Belle to stand down. What Gold failed to realize was how Belle’s act of resistance formed. She wasn’t simply “acting out”. Belle was a respected leader within the tribe and with that title came …show more content…
As the sheriff and other whites left the cave until morning, one said, “you're setting a precedent here… now they’ll resist everything” ( 281). The culture and values of the Indians was not based on human dominance over creatures, as stated in The Bible. Instead, there was a living connection between nature, animals and Indians. The bat symbolized the past culture and history of the tribe, such as the bat medicine. To Belle it was important to keep the past alive as their bases of culture was spawned from it. Those we joined Belle in her resistance affirmed their connection to the tribe and their true values. Belle “at first glance she looked small, but in spite of her slight stature, she was a giant on the inside, and hard to reckon with” (13). She not only represented the voice of the bats and eagles, but of her own people too as the whites did not see the Indians as humans, but rather as creatures or savages