The Role Of Hiram Kelsey In The Prophet Of The Great Smoky Mountains

Mary Murfree in her novel The Prophet of the Great Smoky Mountains, seeks to explain the lives of the mountain community in Tennessee and more so the life of the main protagonist, a preacher named Hiram Kelsey. Although Kelsey is the main protagonist in the novel and its title directly refers to him, he does not take the central role in the novel but is overshadowed by other characters who take up the bulk of the novel such as Dorinda Cayce and Rick Tyler a local outlaw. The novel explores many aspects of society such as issues regarding justice, law and order, ethics, animal rights, morality and romance. In summary, the story is about a mountain outlaw who is wrongly accused of murder and who is hunted by the authorities but decides to become a fugitive. In the end, the preacher sacrifices his life for the sake of the sheriff who the Cayce men seek revenge on after he insults their sister. This academic paper will aim at providing an in depth analysis of the character Hiram Kelsey and how he vividly portrays the American spirit throughout the novel.

Upon the realization that Rick has fled after the

accusations, the sheriff puts a bounty on his capture. A local blacksmith named Fletcher manages to capture Rick and justifies his act as a law abiding citizen. However, some individuals such as Kelsey are of the opinion that Rick has been wrongly accused and openly opposes the blacksmith’s act as betrayal. At some point, he uses imagery to liken Fletcher to Judas in the Bible and asks rhetorically whether Judas was a law abiding person. He portrays the American spirit by being disillusioned by the act of betrayal of fellow mountain men who are innocent for a small reward. The American spirit discourages any form of betrayal as long as those being betrayed have done nothing wrong to warrant their impending punishment. By definition, Fletcher is therefore not a believer and follower of the American spirit like the preacher.
Kelsey hopes for a community in the mountains that is able to function in a decent fashion and one that is able to directly transcend the set limits of local secular law. This hope harbored by Kelsey resonates with the American spirit that describes the existence of a thin line between morality and law. According to Kelsey, morality and law periodically move in tandem but sometimes the law could be wrong and therefore morality in most cases supersedes the law. In his view, in a case such as that one involving Rick who is falsely accused, he takes the stand to oppose his arrest regardless of what is dictated by the laws of the land. The American spirit discourages wrongful arrests and champions for justice and fairness in the treatment of suspects and thus the sheriff’s intended arrest of Rick is a direct contradiction of the true American Spirit. Kelsey also promotes decency and peace in the community.
Kelsey is an outspoken person who publicly opposes Fletcher’s participation in the capture of Rick and openly alludes to him as a traitor.

In his defense, Fletcher claims that he lives within the confines of the law, whether right or wrong and is thus indifferent on what his actions may cause to others. As a result of his open condemnation of the blacksmith and his likening him to a biblical character who was a traitor names Judas, Kelsey gets arrested on suspicion that he may have plotted the escape of the wanted fugitive Rick from the blacksmith. In the true nature of the American spirit, any activity that is contrary to morality, justice and ethics is openly criticized for all to learn from it. Kelsey demonstrated this side of the American spirit without fear or favor and thus ends up in jail on purely suspicion

grounds.
Ironically, after Kelsey’s arrest by the town sheriff on suspicion grounds, the person who he is purported to have his escape refuses to accent to the clearance of his name in his escape plan. However, Kelsey seems to expect nothing in return after openly criticizing Ricks arrest as unlawful. This is in true demonstration of the American spirit where citizens are urged to work and do the right thing without expecting anything in return. Rick, who is filled with jealousy due to the high regard Dorinda holds for Kelsey, acts contrary to the American spirit of gratitude by letting jealousy cloud his judgment and refusing to be grateful after Kelsey advocates publicly for the end of his pursuit. Rick portrays typical human nature where emotions and feelings can make people very unreliable and irrational in their decisions. From the act, the reader learns that human nature can also be very unrewarding on the flip side. The American spirit discourages emotions during decision making. Even though the relationship between Rick and Kelsey is not clear, Kelsey opposes Rick’s arrest because it is wrong.
The American spirit tends to hold martyrdom in high regard as demonstrated by soldiers who sacrifice their lives during times of war. When Kelsey is released from jail, he sacrifices himself to be drowned in a pond by the Cayce men in place of the sheriff perhaps because he feels disappointed by the nature of the mountain people or perhaps because he feels that the sheriff does not deserve to die (Murfree, 308). The Cayce men seek to kill the sheriff in retaliation for the insult he conducted against Dorinda Cayce in the past. Although Dorinda Cayce is openly against the sheriff’s actions, she does not support the plan hatched to murder him. Majority of the American population is Christian and Christianity also values martyrdom highly with examples being evident in its Holy Bible.
Kelsey is revealed to be a preacher who is burdened with guilt after the death of his baby and his lover. In an explanation in the novel, Kelsey is revealed as an illiterate person. On one occasion, both his wife and child become very ill and the doctor attends to them when he is absent but leaves a prescription for him to use in administering medicine to his family. Due to his illiteracy, he administers his wife’s medicine to the child who dies of an overdose and although his wife recuperates, she commits suicide due to sorrow. This reveals that Kelsey is a responsible man in the true nature of the American spirit albeit faced by various challenges such as illiteracy which make him conduct a mistake that costs the lives of both his daughter and his wife. In this context, it would be unjust to blame Kelsey entirely for the deaths of his family members more so the wife but it serves as a turning point in his life as a character where he thenceforth devotes his life to religion.
Kelsey comes out as uniquely American due to his superstitious nature. At one point, the author reveals that Kelsey believes that the devil hunts him. It is written that “like a partridge on the mounting” (Murfree, 79), which is a simile used to describe the extent to which Kelsey believes he is being hunted. American culture leaves room for superstition just like most cultures in the world setting. In addition, his point of view is that one of a religious personality who has the tendency of blaming every mistake to satan. His superstition and guild combined make him to seek solace in religion as a way of atoning for the death of his family. He eventually sacrifices his life into martyrdom when the Cayce men drown him in a pond instead of the sheriff which is a rather disheartening experience for the reader. He pays the ultimate price for his guilt and his beliefs as a believer in the American spirit.
By stopping proceedings at the gander pull, Kelsey advocates for animal rights and is openly against cruelty to animals. This is a unique trait harbored by those who believe in the American spirit that involves liberty and freedom. In addition, he shows compassion to animals and is a naturalist in nature which resonates with the American spirit and American Dream (Murfree, 110). He is said to occasionally ride the ridge in admiration of nature preferably on a horseback (Murfree, 81). Finally, he is shown as a person who has a preference for justice and holds morality in very high regard (Murfree, 67).
Hiram Kelsey, a preacher in the novel, represents the true American spirit as revealed in the academic paper. Together with Dorinda Cayce, they demonstrate the traits of true Americans in their beliefs, culture, thoughts and actions throughout the novel such as self sacrifice, compassion, belief in liberty and justice among others. The American spirit comes out as a quality that distinguishes Americans from other nationalities around the world and it should therefore be the mandate of every American citizen to at least possess some of the distinguishing factors that make them uniquely American.