Caleb Gare: The Struggle for Power
In Martha Ostenso's novel "Wild Geese", it is made obvious to the reader that the antagonist, Caleb Gare, is a master at controlling others. In the beginning of the novel, we learn that Caleb was " below medium height, with tremendous shoulders and a massive head but a dwindling lower body" (P. 10) which causes the reader to believe that Caleb Gare probably doesn't control his family physically, but emotionally or through blackmail. Caleb has a lot of enemies in town, yet because he has knowledge that he can hold against them, no one does anything to help out Amelia and the children. Caleb uses his knowledge of other peoples' lives to blackmail them and blame things on the other characters throughout the novel, so that he stays in control. He is very hypocritical and because he doesn't care how something will hurt someone, he does whatever he can to get what he wants. However, at the end of the novel, all this blackmailing and torture he is placing on the community catches up to him, and Caleb dies in an attempt to protect the only thing that he has ever truly loved: his flax field. Caleb Gare believes that he is so powerful, that if he wishes something wont happen, or if he simply ignores it, that it will just go
" ' Hail,' said Caleb almost under his breath as he came out of the barn. Caleb thinks that he is so powerful, that he controls not only human beings, but weather and life as well. Martin came home with no fish and Caleb was furious. Because Bart Nugent, his spy, has died, he is left to figure out secrets about Mark on his own, in order to keep Amelia and the rest of the family under his wrath. He argued with Martin for quite some time, and then stormed out to his beloved flax field where we realize that Caleb's anger was not just because he didn't have any fish from Bjarnasson, but that he needed to "quell any rising independence in Martin. " Mark, I'm nervous tonight, I guess. or else there will be no holding him" (P. By keeping the axe in place, he uses it as both evidence in case Judith tries to escape, and as an example to show how determined he is that the family stay under his roof. Caleb also controls his family by making them feel guilty. Caleb also tries to interfere between Mark and Lind's relationship by talking about them at Yellow Post.
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