A Savage Wisdom by Norman German Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

A Savage Wisdom by Norman German - Essay Example Calloway for which she would die by the electric chair. The year between when McQuiston met and married her husband Claude â€Å"cowboy† Henry and the murder of Calloway were full of extremely rash acts of passion and desperation. Though this is factual, German is able to capably and masterfully depict McQuiston as a woman full of fire and enduring love before illustrating her as a murderess. German creates a backdrop of colorful Louisiana history while telling a story of ‘Toni Jo‘, a woman who falls in love with the very businessman that she is in real life, guilty of sleighing with a single gunshot to the back of the head. German paints a fictional view of ‘Toni Jo Henry’ as a popular girl who emerges from the depression; who finds herself in love with a man who would soon betray her. Certainly, the 25 chapter novel is quite a bit different from the actual events surrounding the life of McQuiston (Toni Jo Henry), but if nothing else, it lends a different rendition of how the story could have very well played out. The historical landmark of McQuiston’s tale is certainly, that she was the first and only woman to have ever been sentenced to die by electric chair in Louisiana, having actually served out her sentence. McQuiston was indeed a woman of beauty, based on the historical photographs which have been preserved, of her. German builds upon this feature possessed by McQuiston such that she was able to succeed with as much as she did based on the merit of her looks. If anything, this may be the downfall of the piece. Certainly, the acts of McQuiston are reprehensible and lend nothing to be dismissed or excused; but she deserves to be remembered as being intelligent; albeit deviously so, before being remembered as a fair beauty. The depiction of McQuiston is certainly meant to be fictional, and is done in a brilliant capacity; but the novel may at times, attribute much of her ability to have gotten as