THEMES & IDEAS INTRODUCED

 Importance of family  Abusing power  Family feuds/disagreements  Loyalty  Racism  Prejudice/discrimination  Guilt  Truth/lies/secrecy  Justice/injustice  Sexual harassment  Bravery  Innocence  Growing up/adolescence  Murder  Suicide  Deceit  Trust  Oppression  Favouritism  Opinions  Law and order  Responsibility

 pick out an idea/theme  Find the visual starter that you think BEST relates to your idea/theme.  Find the quote page that relates to your theme/idea.  Write a brief summary of HOW each quote (or as many as you can understand!) relates to “Montana 1948”. Be specific. Think about characters and events in the text.  On an A2 piece of paper collate all your ideas. Also include a brief summary of your theme/idea:  WHY is this idea important to our understanding of the text?  Is there a particular character that embodies/represents this idea?  Find a quote from the text that relates in some way to your chosen idea/theme.  Think of another object/symbol/illustration that depicts your chosen idea/theme.  Putting it all together: present all your information on the page. Try to include as much as possible.

 Characters in the novel find themselves torn between finding and accepting the truth, and then doing what is right.  Truth and justice, and acting with moral integrity, present choices for the characters in Montana Each deals with his/her own conscience in making these decisions.

 At first it is difficult for Wes to believe that Marie is telling the truth about his brother.  However, when Marie explains what has happened to him. He decides to look further to see what damage has been done by his brother. His worst fears are confirmed, and, even though he would like to do nothing, Gail urges him on – for justice sake.

 Julian sees the truth differently again. Truth is what you make it and how you interpret it for your own use. It is not truth if the most powerful man in the County says that it is not. And, where the Indians are concerned, there is no truth in what they say if it concerns a white man. How could it be the truth for his war-hero, respected doctor son?

 Wes wonders when Marie accuses Frank of assault, whether she is telling the truth or simply misinterpreting what happened. When Wes learns the truth of Frank’s activities and discusses it with him, Frank agrees to stop. Story closed. But when Marie is murdered, then the truth of Frank’s actions must be dealt with. Wes is in a quandary at first and takes not action, but when the law is definitely broken, he cannot ignore the truth and must take action. All along Gail insists that Wes acts on the truth of the situation.

 Wes finds it very difficult to choose between family and justice, however, knows that justice must be served if he is to live with himself.

 Julian does not hesitate in choosing between justice and his favourite son. He feels that he has the power to decide what is just and what is not. He does not see the law the way Wes sees it.

Indians are discriminated against:  Marie has a room by the kitchen instead of the empty bedroom upstairs  Ronnie isn’t good enough to get a college sport scholarship, but good enough for the army and war  Frank has a liking for ‘red meat’, and this is seen as a joke rather than as offensive or racist.

Gail is the one person in the novel who maintains the moral ground throughout.  She doesn’t let go and take the wasy way out when she learns of Frank’s crimes.  She is the moral fibre that holds Wes together when he begins to waiver.  She is willing to protect her family and justice when she waves a shotgun at Julian’s men as they come to get Frank.

 We wonder whether justice is served at the end of the story with the family feud.  Frank committed suicide to save his reputation, however, Wes and his family are left behind to deal with the reality of Frank’s actions. They are ostracised by the rest of the family, forced to leave their home and Wes’ job as sheriff.  The real culprit has died and has been buried with all the honour that a hero would command.

 Is it better to keep your mouth shut when you know the truth will hurt?  When do you have to speak out against evil?  Does justice mean jeopardising your family and future?  Does power and influence wash you of your crime?  Should we ignore our moral obligation for a more convenient and easier life?  Is doing ‘the right thing’ the right thing after all?  How much does what other people think matter?  Is it worth it?  Look at history – are people who stand up for what they believe in rewarded for their efforts, or crucified by the crowd?

 There are the weak and there are the strong. There are the victims and there are the perpetrators. There are the oppressed and the oppressors. There are always going to be people who wield power over those who are powerless.

 Julian is a very powerful man in the text. People do what he says. No one opposes him. That’s how he established the Hayden dynasty.  Many people became his victims, even his own family. His son Wes wouldn’t even consider saying no when offered the job of sheriff.  Julian is the epitome of the tough, wild west cowboy. He is rude, coarse and physically overbearing. He treats the Indians with complete bigotry and thinks nothing of it.  He sees himself as superior to most other people. He sees women as the weaker sex, and believes that they need to be protected and told what to do.

 Frank sees himself as superior and takes advantage of others.  He molests and abuses Indian women because there is no one there to stop him, and he believes that he is above the law.  He exploits the powerless – Indians, women and children.

 Watson uses the story to create a picture of the poor underclass in the American Indians, they were confined to a Reservation and had little or no power. They were ruled by the white man who told them what they could and couldn’t do. Even Wes didn’t like them because they were ‘ignorant, lazy, superstitious and irresponsible’. He wouldn’t let his son wear moccasins. They were poorly educated and easily made the victims by anyone with even the smallest amount of power.

 Women are also an oppressed group. In 1948 women were only beginning to develop their status in society and take control.  Gail is a person who is on the cutting edge. She works (very few women/mothers did), and takes positive and protective action for her family. She tries to protect Marie and the other women who Frank has hurt by insisting that Frank be brought to account. But she is only one.  Grandma Hayden is weak – she does not stand up to her husband (but she does keep in touch with her son when the rest of her family will have nothing to do with him).

 Gloria takes a background role, even when Frank is accused of sexual abuse and then murder. Her only response to this is to run to Julian for help.  Finally, there are all the Indian women Frank abused. Frank’s preference for Indian women is well known and accepted as an idiosyncrasy. Who cares? They are only Indians and women. They are powerless to do anything about it and suffer as a result.

 This novel gives us this view of power and oppression, however unpalatable it is. Our world is not perfect, and this story is just a reminder to us that the strong can dominate the weak and the powerful can rule over the powerless. It speaks of the reality of life, and the decisions and choices people make when in control.

This novel is built around the Hayden family, a strong, powerful family, both in the community, and in the family unit.  Julian rules the family like he rules Mercer County, selfishly and with a firm hand.  Wes would have never thought to say no to the position of sheriff when his father offered it to him.  The Hayden family worded well as a family unit – as long as everyone did what Julian wanted. He was tough and rugged, a true patriarch.

 He held the family together, allowing his sons to be wild in their youth and figures of responsibility as adults.  He tries to protect his hero son (Frank) from his obviously deranged brother (Wes), whose badge and uniform has taken his sense of loyalty to his family.  He doesn’t demonstrate responsibility to his family, he controls it, expecting his children to obey and succumb to his wishes.

 This family unit is strong.  Wes and gail as a separate unit work together to do what is right and teach David right from wrong.  Wes lets David be the little cowboy and allows him space to be a boy, while Gasil protects him from all diseases and tries to have a civilising effect on him to keep him from going wild.  David grows up to be a good person (even after the trauma of his twelfth summer) because he had the support and love of his parents and family.

 Wes is torn between doing the right thing and being loyal to his family.  At several times in the novel he is willing to ‘let things go’. E.g. when Frank agrees to stop molesting the Indian women. This will maintain the family peace and give him peace of mind. He owes a lot to his brother and doesn’t want to hurt anyone. He would like to be his father – tough and a cowboy as we say in Minneapolis in the restaurant with ‘the Hayden boys and their old man’, yet his conscience will not let him. He knows right from wrong and even his loyalty to his family cannot change that. We have to respect Wes in his fight for justice because he suffers in losing his family as he follows the law and his conscience.

 David was allowed to be a child, given space to start the difficult road to adulthood.  He learns most of the story about his Uncle Frank from eavesdropping. He longs to be brought into the picture by his parents, and, when he finally is, behaves more like a child.  Sees things the way a twelve-year-old see things. He wants to kill Uncle Frank by the river, he thinks all the families problems are solved when Uncle Frank commits suicide, he regrets leaving Bentrock, not because he will miss it, but because he has to go with his parents. He lacks the understanding of an adult.

 David was forced to leave his childhood behind as he found out about Uncle Frank’s actions. He was thrust into adulthood by having the information about Uncle Frank, not fully understanding what it meant, and not being able to discuss it or relieve any of his own pain with others because they didn’t know that he knew. Even though David was in a loving, protective family environment, his rite of passage was lonely and almost self-destroying.

 Len knew “when to look and when to look away”. Why is it so difficult for Wes Hayden to do this?  David says “now I could unburden myself”. Does David ever let go of his burdens?  David states “I wanted to be included…I wanted adult status”. Was he really ready to be considered an adult?

 Julian states that “Frank’s always been partial to red meat”. How is this statement indicative to people’s feelings towards the Indians?  Julian says to Wes “Ever since Frank came home in a uniform and you stayed here, you’ve been jealous”. Was Wes really jealous of Frank?  After Frank confesses, Wes states to Gail, “I can’t let him loose. Not and live with myself”. At this point in the novel, there can only be tragedy for the Haydens. Discuss.

 David believes “that Uncle Frank’s suicide had solved all our problems”. How wrong was he?  Marie says to David in speaking about Ollie Young Bear “He won’t be happy until he’s white”. What did she mean?