Theree is aalso small stamp on the upper ffep that says USS Ramona with a small ink initialed signature. the gutter channels on the front free and rear free endpapers are deeply stained (probably from the binding glue used to adhere them to the inside front and rear boards as it also trace the edges of the pastedown in a perfect shape of the boards.

The boards are bound in a wheatstraw cloth, the topstain iand foredges are clean,as is the book internally, and the spine titles are bright. This is a stated first printing of Walter Van Tilburg Clark's THE OX-BOW INCIDENT, published by Random House in 1940. Two suicides occur in the aftermath of the lynching, but we are given little input as to the reactions of the other mob participants.Hardcover.Are there situations in contemporary America that might force average people to have to make the type of ethical choice that faced the Ox-Bow lynch mob?.Is fear of being called a coward the only reason? Several times before the actual lynching occurs it seems that the mob might disperse, yet each time they come back together.Do the reactions of each character seem authentic? The victims of the lynching demonstrate a variety of emotions as they wait for dawn when they will be hanged.Major Tetley’s anger and disappointment towards his son motivates him to bully his son into participating in the lynching, but what does the major’s reaction to his son’s subsequent suicide say about his true feelings for him?.How does tension between characters build? Tension is almost a tangible character throughout the novel and is one of the catalysts that leads to the tragedy.What motivates Davies to remain the voice of reason even when he sees that his arguments are being ignored?.Would it weaken the novel to exclude use of the word “nigger”? The African American character, Sparks, is almost saintly in his unselfish attitude and actions, yet he is regularly and offensively described by other characters as “the nigger” of the town as would have been common in the 19th century West.Are the Mexican characters, Juan and Amigo, and the African American character, Sparks, genuine, three-dimensional characters or are they simply manifestations of cultural stereotypes?.What motivates each of these women in her actions towards the men in the mob? The female characters Frena, Rose and Ma Grier each represent different examples of women’s roles in the lynching.

Do any characters or situations presented in the novel alter your ideas of how life was lived in America’s “Old West”?.What does this say about Croft’s character? Is his reaction typical of human nature? From the novel’s opening, narrator Art Croft seems unsure about the rightness of joining the lynch mob, yet he does.

The ox bow incident book