Broken Lance by Michele Sorensen
"Broken Lance" by Michele Sorensen is a historical fiction novel set in 1857 that centers on the struggles of Angus and Callie McCracken, a family of Mormon emigrants journeying to Salt Lake City. The story begins with a tragic encounter as the family is attacked by a group of Cheyenne Indians, resulting in Angus's death while Callie and their children hide for safety. Following this event, Callie must navigate the wilderness of Wyoming alone with her children, facing both physical and emotional challenges in the aftermath of her husband's loss.
As Callie grapples with her grief and prejudices, she crosses paths with a wounded Cheyenne man named Three Elk. Initially filled with anger and a desire for revenge, Callie’s perspective begins to shift as she recognizes Three Elk's humanity and the shared struggles they face. Their evolving relationship highlights themes of understanding, connection, and the rejection of violence, culminating in a poignant farewell when Three Elk leads Callie and her children to safety at Fort Bridger.
The narrative delves into significant Christian themes, such as alienation from God and the nuances of faith, as Callie questions her circumstances yet ultimately finds strength through her beliefs and gratitude. The interplay between Callie and Three Elk illustrates a journey from animosity to friendship, emphasizing the universal human experience and the potential for compassion beyond cultural divides.
Broken Lance by Michele Sorensen
First published: Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book, 1997
Genre(s): Novel
Subgenre(s): Adventure; historical fiction (nineteenth century); Western
Core issue(s): Alienation from God; connectedness; faith; Mormons and Mormonism; Native Americans
Principal characters
Callie McCracken , the protagonistAngus McCracken , Callie’s husbandJamie McCracken , Callie’s oldest sonDuncan McCracken , Callie’s middle childSusa McCracken , Callie’s youngest and only daughterThree Elk , an Indian who guides the McCracken family to Fort Bridger
Overview
Set in 1857, Broken Lance follows Angus and Callie McCracken, emigres to the United States who have converted to the Mormon faith, as they trek west to join other Mormons in Salt Lake City. The novel opens with the McCracken family—Angus, Callie, and their three children—along with other individuals encountering a group of Cheyenne Indians who are attacking their wagon party. While Callie and her children remain hidden, Angus and the other men attempt to fight off the Indians. In the process, Angus is killed. In the meantime, Callie and her children have hidden in a secret compartment in the wagon, safe from harm. Once the Indians have left, Callie emerges to discover her husband’s body. Determined that her children not see her bury their father, she demands that they stay in the wagon. Callie must then determine how she and her children, stranded in Wyoming, are to make their way to the closest fort, which is Fort Bridger.
Thus, Callie and her children, along with what small provisions they have, trek through the wilderness of Wyoming. At first, she is alone in protecting her children and making sure they have enough food. However, at one point, Callie comes across a wounded Indian. When she sees him, “Callie’s first impulse was victorious revenge. Something sweetly exuberant rose inside of her at the sight of a red savage devastated and defenseless.” Even though this particular Indian has done no harm to her, she still feels hatred toward him. Since her husband was killed by Indians, she views all Indians negatively. When Jamie, her oldest son, asks her what she is going to do with him, she answers, “’Turn him over to the authorities, as soon as we find some. He’s a brutal murderer.’” Callie, though, does not know that the Indian is a murderer; she is making an assumption based on what happened to her husband.
When the Indian wakes up, Callie learns that his name is Three Elk. At first, their interaction does not encourage Callie to change her views on him. She becomes angry when she realizes, “That contemptible, illiterate savage thought no more of her than she did of him!” There is a obvious irony in the fact that she does not see the inconsistency of her moral stand: She disdains Three Elk, but when she comes to the conclusion that Three Elk does not think much of her, either, she is upset.
Despite this rocky beginning, Callie slowly starts to see Three Elk differently. It is winter, and when Callie is adamant about continuing their journey, Three Elk decides to stay at their campsite. Once Callie and her children have been out on foot for a while, a snowstorm develops. Callie realizes that it would be best for them to head back to the campsite. As they are returning, they come across Three Elk, who seems happy that they have come back. Another breakthrough moment is when Callie is out hunting:
Callie breathed deeply and lifted her right foot, and then her left, then her right again. Her mind saw the faces of Jamie and Duncan and Susa—not hunger-pinched, in her memory, but jolly and round. She caressed them, kissed them, showed them what she’d brought. Then she saw Three Elk, and gratitude rushed up inside her, for he had been there with them while she was gone. That was when Callie realized, as she approached the door of their shelter, that she would be glad to see Three Elk, too.
As a result, Callie starts to see Three Elk as a person who can help her and someone whom she can trust.
Three Elk also starts to see Callie differently. Three Elk promises Callie that he will help protect her and her children against those Indians who “hunt his friend.” This promise is a breakthrough moment in the novel: Not only is Three Elk committing to help Callie, but he also has revealed that he considers her his friend. No longer do they have disregard for one another; they value each other and have developed a friendship full of compassion and respect.
When Three Elk has finally led Callie and her children to Fort Bridger, they have to say good-bye to one another, which is difficult for Callie. As a parting gift, she gives Three Elk Angus’s copy of the Book of Mormon. Even though Three Elk is not a Mormon himself, he very much values the book and handles it gently. Following this, Three Elk takes the lance Callie had used many times to hunt food and breaks it. Callie is confused at first in regard to why Three Elk would break the lance. However, she realizes that the lance is a symbol for violence, and it is violence that caused her to lose a husband and a father for her children. By destroying the lance, Three Elk is showing that violence should not exist in a person’s life and people should be more peaceful toward one another.
Christian Themes
One major Christian theme in Broken Lance is alienation from God. There are times within the novel when Callie feels abandoned by God and does not understand why she has been placed in various difficult situations. At one point, she reflects: “How could God have let this happen? Once again she felt deserted, frustrated even beyond what her own thoughts could define.” Her thoughts insinuate that God is responsible for the obstacles people encounter. However, throughout the course of the novel, Callie faces difficulties and is able to overcome them. For example, by overcoming the obstacle of judging Three Elk, she not only becomes a better person but also is able to see all people as individuals and avoid prejudging them as typical of a certain group of people.
What makes it possible for Callie to survive the difficult situations she faces is her continual faith in God. Even though she questions God, she does not lose her faith. For example, when Callie hunts and is able to secure food for her and her children, she “fell on her knees among the bright sun-washed rocks and thanked Heaven.” When any good event happens, Callie thanks God. Her gratitude reveals that she firmly believes that every blessing she receives is from God and therefore that she has not lost her faith.
Finally, a significant Christian theme in Broken Lance is connectedness. Even though Three Elk is not Christian, Callie learns that she can still connect with him because he is a human being. As human beings, they share similar experiences and similar emotions. At one point in the novel, Callie “felt a sudden unsettling certainty, a startling sure conviction that, like her supplications, his prayers were also heard.” Even if they do not practice the same religion, they both have religious beliefs and they both pray to a higher power to help them get through hard times.
Sources for Further Study
Anderson, Lavina F., and Maureen U. Beecher, eds. Sisters in Spirit: Mormon Women in Historical and Cultural Perspective. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1987. This group of essays, dealing with issues of women and Mormonism within a historical framework, sets the novel in perspective.
Davies, Douglas J. An Introduction to Mormonism. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 2003. A guide and overview of Mormonism, which includes its historical and theological development over the years.
Hudak, Melissa. Review of Broken Lance. Library Journal 122, no. 14 (September 1, 1997). Brief, positive review of the novel which “highly recommends” it.
Shipps, Jan. “Difference and Otherness: Mormonism and the American Religious Mainstream.” In Minority Faiths and the American Protestant Mainstream, edited by Jonathan D. Sarna. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1998. Discusses early Mormonism in the United States and how it is separate from other mainstream faiths.