MovieChat Forums > The Ox-Bow Incident (1943) Discussion > Reason for Major Tetley's suicide

Reason for Major Tetley's suicide

posted 17 years ago by mlraymond
23 replies | jump to latest

I'm afraid this may seem like a really obvious matter, but I have seen the film several times and read the novel once, and I still find myself puzzled as to why Tetley killed himself at the end.

Was it because he had been the self appointed leader of the mob and acted as an authority figure, giving orders to the rest, so he may have seemed more guilty than the others?

Does his conscience really bother him that much? Or is it the idea of taking his own life privately, rather than go through the possible shame of a trial and execution publicly? His " good name" having been forever tainted?

Notice how the obnoxious loafer Smith tries to shift the blame on to Tetley at the end. Perhaps Tetley couldn't live with the thought of forever being held in contempt and blamed by the whole town for what happened, as if no one else had had anything to do with it. Almost a Nuremburg type defense, that they " were only following orders". On the one hand, Tetley was in fact more responsible than anyone else, organizing the events and appointing himself the leader of the mob. But he also would be a perfect scapegoat for the rest of the towns people to try to lessen their own involvement.

And when he crossed the bridge, the phantoms came to meet him

[–] Dog112 13 years ago

Gil Carter: [Gil and Art discuss their uneasiness about certain members of the posse] Besides, I like to pick my own bosses.
Art Croft: Whether we picked 'em or not, we sure got 'em.
Gil Carter: That's what I don't like. That Smith, and Bartlett, shootin' off their mouths... Farnley... and that renegade Tetley, struttin' around in his uniform pretending he's so much. He never even *saw* the South until after the war, and then only long enough to marry that kid's mother and get run outta' the place by her folks.
Art Croft: I figured there was somethin' fishy about him, dressin' up like that.
Gil Carter: For sure. Whydya' suppose he'd be livin' in this neck 'o the woods if he didn't have something to hide?

...

Gerald Tetley: I saw your face. It was the face of a depraved, murderous beast. Only two things ever meant anything to you: power and cruelty. You can't feel pity. You can't even feel guilt. You knew they were innocent, but you were crazy to see them hanged. And to make me watch it. I could've stopped you with a gun, just as any other animal can be stopped. But I couldn't do it because I'm a coward. Aren't you glad you made me go? Weren't you proud of me? How does it feel to have begot a weakling, Major? Does it make you afraid there may be some weakness in you, too? That other men might discover and whisper about? Open the door! I want to see your face. I want to know how you feel now!

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036244/quotes

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[–] t5334 13 years ago

It was hinted at earlier that he had settled there to avoid some sort of shame from down south. Perhaps he saw that he had shamed himself yet again but now had nowhere left to go and was too old to start over. His Son was too old to bully into respecting him, he had nothing left to live for since that type of man cares most about what others think of him.

[–] sherm456 12 years ago

Major Tetley despised weakness above anything else, and the whole incident made him realize that he WAS weak, weaker than the seven who opposed the lynchings, weaker than his supposedly "sissy" son. Bullies are cowards, as they say. It was too much for him to accept.

[–] mdonln 9 years ago

t5334 says > It was hinted at earlier that he had settled there to avoid some sort of shame from down south.

It was Fonda's character who said the Major hadn't even been in the south until after the war. Apparently, his wife's family ran him off and he had plenty to hide. He expressed some disdain for the Major because he knew he was pretending to be something he wasn't.

When I heard that and saw how he treated his son I assumed the Major had been very much like his son but now he was pretending to be some big war hero. He felt his son was a poor reflection on him and a constant reminder of who he really is.

If you recall, he said he knew already knew where the men were because Pancho had seen them. He specifically waited until his son returned before he shared the information with the rest because he wanted his son to be part of it. However, he claimed he knew his son wanted to go instead of saying he wanted him to go. I mention this because Tetley saw an opportunity to have his son participate in something he thought would certainly toughen him up. It would also be a chance for him to establish himself as a leader of men; something he claimed to be in the war.

When it all backfired on him and his son stood up to him, he realized what he was saying was true. He didn't care if the men were guilty or innocent, he just wanted to make his son participate in their lynching. He wanted to seem important and in control; he wanted to appear strong but he wasn't.

Martin broke down when he realized he was going to die. Some of the men including Juan thought he was not handling it like a man. Martin didn't care because he had his family to consider; that's who his heart was breaking for; their loss; their struggle without him. The Major, on the other hand, knew if he had to stand trial his cowardice would be exposed for all to see and no one would mourn his loss. It was over for him no matter what he did.

Woman, man! That's the way it should be Tarzan. [Tarzan and his mate]