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Pathos
Definition of Personification
Personification is a type of figurative language in which non-human things are described as having human attributes, as in the sentence, "The rain poured down on the wedding guests, indifferent... read full definition
Personification is a type of figurative language in which non-human things are described as having human attributes, as in the sentence, "The rain poured down... read full definition
Personification is a type of figurative language in which non-human things are described as having human attributes, as in the... read full definition
Chapter 13: A Hangman’s Son
Explanation and Analysis—Sheriff Death:
In Chapter 13, Grann describes Tom White's upbringing as the child of a prison warden. When White witnesses his first public hanging, the preacher first personifies death as a sheriff and then goes on to develop an entire allegory of justice:
“Sheriff Death is on his black steed, is but a short distance away, coming to arrest the soul of this man to meet the trial at the higher bar where God himself is supreme ruler, Jesus, his son the attorney, and the Holy Ghost the prosecutor.”
Law enforcement, criminal defense, prosecution, and judgment in a court of law are all—according to this preacher—earthly stand-ins for what will happen in the afterlife. Hanging the prisoner allows "Sheriff Death" to arrest him and bring him before the divine court. God will be the ultimate judge who will mete out his punishment. The Holy Ghost will hold the prisoner accountable for his misdeeds, while the ever-merciful Jesus will defend him as an imperfect but ultimately good person.
Hearing this religious allegory at the public execution has an indelible effect on White. He does not fully agree with everything the preacher says. For one thing, he opposes the death penalty and struggles later in life when he is asked to carry out an execution. He does not believe that it should be up to a human court of law to determine when "Sheriff Death" will take someone in for the final judgment. He makes a point not to let his own children see prisoners executed as he did when he was young. However, White does take away from this moment the notion that law enforcement is deeply intertwined with morality. Although not all of his choices are unimpeachable, he spends his life trying to do not only what is legal, but moreover what is right.
Related Themes:
Chapter 23: A Case Not Closed
Explanation and Analysis—Merciless Judge:
In Chapter 23, Grann pores over archival material that helps him see facts about the Osage murders that people like Mollie Burkhart could not see when they were alive. He uses personification and a simile to express a sense of uneasiness over his relationship to history:
History is a merciless judge. It lays bare our tragic blunders and foolish missteps and exposes our most intimate secrets, wielding the power of hindsight like an arrogant detective who seems to know the end of the mystery from the outset.
Grann personifies history as a "merciless judge." A judge metes out decisions and punishments after carefully reviewing all the facts of a case. They have the luxury of looking at these facts from a place of calm, rational detachment. Anyone who appears before a judge likely did not have that same luxury while living out the facts of the case. "Tragic blunders," "foolish missteps" and "intimate secrets" often appear obvious in the historical record, but we usually do not have a historical perspective as we are living our lives. Grann realizes that piecing together the history of the Osage killings involves "laying bare" the human failings of Mollie and other targets of the murders. He wants to honor the Osage by telling this story, but it also feels like a "merciless" act.
Grann shifts from personification into simile, comparing history now to "an arrogant detective who seems to know the end of the mystery from the outset." This comparison helps Grann further explore the goals of his own project. As a detective in his own right, Grann imagines that he is not exactly making history, but rather competing with history to solve the murders. This is difficult and frustrating work because history has secrets that have not made it into the archive Grann is using to solve the case. History will inevitably win, but Grann might guess a few things correctly before they are revealed at the end. He strives to be a kind human counterpart to merciless history, helping people understand the past a little better while they are still alive.
At the same time, there is a lingering sense that Grann hopes his work will make it into the historical record. In fact, it has: his book has brought new attention to the Osage Reign of Terror and has since inspired an Oscar-winning film.
Related Themes:
