Next

True justice is about accountability and not vengeance.

Bob Moons and Paul Scallen’s different means of securing justice for Jim Kidd’s crimes shows that real justice is about accountability and not vengeance. Bob Moons is aggrieved over the murder of his brother and is determined to kill Jim Kidd in reprisal. However, Moons’ emotional response to his brother’s death clouds his judgment. He does not have any proof whatsoever that Jim Kidd was responsible for his brother’s murder, and there is some indication that Kidd didn’t do it. Moons may claim to seek justice, but if he succeeds in killing Kidd, this would not constitute justice. If Kidd didn’t do it, and Moons kills him anyway, the wrong man would be dead, a clear injustice. If Kidd did do it, his death may satisfy a desire for revenge, but it would also mean he wouldn’t be forced to account for what happened in a court of law, and it is possible the truth of what really happened during the heist would never emerge. This would likewise be an injustice. These factors illustrate that Moons’ lust for vengeance is about appeasing his own anger and frustration, not bringing accountability to Jim Kidd. Though Scallen is selfishly motivated by the steady salary his job provides him, he is nevertheless the vehicle through which true justice can be achieved. Scallen could easily let Moons kill Kidd, thereby releasing Scallen from the peril he is in from Kidd’s posse. But Scallen is determined to protect Kidd from Moons. By doing so, Scallen upholds a higher ideal—that justice by rule of law brings real accountability and not merely payback.

Taking the easiest path is often dishonorable and can lead to worse outcomes.

Scallen’s task is extremely difficult, but in sticking to it and refusing to take the easy way out, he shows that the easiest path is not always the best one. Scallen passes up on multiple opportunities to take an easy way out of the dangerous situation he is in. Before he even arrives in Contention, Scallen could make the choice to kill Jim Kidd himself. As a marshal, Scallen could easily shoot Kidd and claim that he did it in self-defense. He wouldn’t have to escort Kidd through the minefield of dangers he knows he will face in Contention and the world would have one less criminal in it. He could also simply allow Bob Moons to kill Kidd. People would likely have sympathy for Moons and probably wouldn’t blame Scallen for failing to protect Kidd anyway. Kidd himself offers Scallen an easy way out multiple times during the story. He hints that he’d be willing to pay Scallen to release him and repeatedly emphasizes the level of risk Scallen is taking by not simply letting him go. Each of these opportunities Scallen refuses; instead he doggedly pursues his goal of bringing Kidd to Yuma. 

Scallen knows that should he take the easy way and kill Kidd or allow him to be killed, it could potentially cost him his job or his reputation, or both. It would also be dishonorable. He has promised to do a job and to provide for his family, and bringing Kidd to justice before the law ensures both his salary and his long-term reputation. Moreover, Kidd’s life choices serve as an example of what can happen to someone who chooses the easy way. As a criminal, Kidd takes what he wants when he wants it. But Kidd’s actions lack honor and, more importantly, have ultimately landed him in custody of police. The actions of Kidd’s foil Scallen show that sometimes the harder choice avoids trouble down the road, and so he earns Kidd’s admiration.

A stable society depends on the rule of law and the people who work to uphold it.

The lengths to which Scallen goes in bringing his charge to justice shows that a stable society depends upon people who are committed to the rule of law. Kidd and his posse make their living through crime, and in a place like Contention in the American West of the late 19th century, the United States justice system has little influence. As a result, men like Kidd take what they want and kill anyone who gets in their way. Without the rule of law, this kind of behavior goes unpunished and if someone seeks justice, they must take the law into their own hands, as Bob Moons tries to do. The result of all of this is a dysfunctional, violent, and chaotic society. Even though at the time of this story there are theoretically laws against robbery and vigilante justice, these laws mean little if no one is there to execute them. As Paul Scallen’s day in Contention shows, executing the law amidst a heavily armed gang of criminals that is used to getting its way is no easy task. Yet Scallen, though determination and great skill, is able to impose the law upon these criminals. His success hints at a way forward in making the Wild West a more lawful place, where actions have consequences. If people are to live in a stable society, where violence and lawlessness is met with accountability, it will be up to people like Scallen to uphold the law and carry it out.

Next section Themes

Take a Study Break