Myra Munroe
Professor Kate Oubre, Ph.D.
English 240
12 October, 2015
Mean Spirit is a novel that uses storytelling to teach us about a time in history when Native Americans were killed to satisfy the White peoples need for wealth. Linda Hogan use of fiction to relay history has created a masterpiece that stimulates the mind and teaches us lessons about our past that have all but been forgotten. The history of these atrocities should not be forgotten so that it is not repeated. I believe that the author is trying to show us just how much history and storytelling are interconnected. We have no way of deciphering how much of our historical record is fact and how much is fiction. She also shows us that we can be entertained while being educated. …show more content…
Hale. I believe that she did so in order to make clear that just because the story is told differently; the man and his atrocities should never be forgotten. At first he seems as though he has the Indians best interests at heart but as the story progresses we begin to see just how black hearted and evil a man he truly was.
History tells us that William K Hale, which is who the character is based off of, was a rancher who migrated to Oklahoma during the land rush to and orchestrated a series of events that included killing off one member of his nephews family at a time until such time as the nephew became the sole heir of the Multimillion dollar fortuned his wife stood to inherit. Had he managed this and killed his nephew he would have inherited everything as living heir. (The Osage Murders: Oil Wealth, Betrayal and the FBI’s First Big …show more content…
(Hogan) The Indian man is eventually killed and the White lawyer that he spoke to is murdered to keep him from implicating Hale who was names as accessory to the fact. It is this murder that allows an open investigation and charges by the FBI as it happened on federal land. (Hogan)
Hale is seen chatting up Mardy in the local speak-easy or bar and the author opens the conversation allowing us our first actual glimpses of corruption and plotting by the character Hale. It is mentioned throughout the text that Hale is the number one suspect but they cannot pin any of the crimes to him directly.
Much along the lines of the novel, Hale was known to take out insurance policies on his property which he had soon after ordered burned to the dirt (The Osage Murders: Oil Wealth, Betrayal and the FBI’s First Big Case) as well as people who would then disappear or be killed in mysterious ways (Hogan) so that he could obtain the monetary
Professor Kate Oubre, Ph.D.
English 240
12 October, 2015
Mean Spirit is a novel that uses storytelling to teach us about a time in history when Native Americans were killed to satisfy the White peoples need for wealth. Linda Hogan use of fiction to relay history has created a masterpiece that stimulates the mind and teaches us lessons about our past that have all but been forgotten. The history of these atrocities should not be forgotten so that it is not repeated. I believe that the author is trying to show us just how much history and storytelling are interconnected. We have no way of deciphering how much of our historical record is fact and how much is fiction. She also shows us that we can be entertained while being educated. …show more content…
Hale. I believe that she did so in order to make clear that just because the story is told differently; the man and his atrocities should never be forgotten. At first he seems as though he has the Indians best interests at heart but as the story progresses we begin to see just how black hearted and evil a man he truly was.
History tells us that William K Hale, which is who the character is based off of, was a rancher who migrated to Oklahoma during the land rush to and orchestrated a series of events that included killing off one member of his nephews family at a time until such time as the nephew became the sole heir of the Multimillion dollar fortuned his wife stood to inherit. Had he managed this and killed his nephew he would have inherited everything as living heir. (The Osage Murders: Oil Wealth, Betrayal and the FBI’s First Big …show more content…
(Hogan) The Indian man is eventually killed and the White lawyer that he spoke to is murdered to keep him from implicating Hale who was names as accessory to the fact. It is this murder that allows an open investigation and charges by the FBI as it happened on federal land. (Hogan)
Hale is seen chatting up Mardy in the local speak-easy or bar and the author opens the conversation allowing us our first actual glimpses of corruption and plotting by the character Hale. It is mentioned throughout the text that Hale is the number one suspect but they cannot pin any of the crimes to him directly.
Much along the lines of the novel, Hale was known to take out insurance policies on his property which he had soon after ordered burned to the dirt (The Osage Murders: Oil Wealth, Betrayal and the FBI’s First Big Case) as well as people who would then disappear or be killed in mysterious ways (Hogan) so that he could obtain the monetary