Responsibility/Authority

The degree of responsibility or authority one has in society determines the level of mental and emotional weight one carries. There are characters in this novel who have an authoritative responsibility toward large segments of the population and others with limited authority. The characters of this novel vary from the sheriff who is responsible for ensuring justice in two horrible crimes to the young boy who feels a responsibility toward himself, his friends, and his tribe.

The novel opens in 1989 when Cork has just been elected sheriff of Tamarack County, Minnesota. Cork feels that responsibility from the moment he takes office. As he sits outside the courthouse his first day on the job, he feels “the weight of a new badge on his chest, and the responsibilities that came with it resting on his shoulders” (4). Cork grew up being fully aware of those responsibilities because...