Montana 1948 Analysis Essay Example

to please his father.

It is not until too late that Wes really discovers that he will never meet his father's expectations. When Julian scoffs, ‘You – investigating? ’ Wes is made fully aware of his father’s opinion. Yet it is the latitude given to Frank that encourages the real abuse of power. Grandpa Hayden’s dismissal of Frank’s early behavior, ‘the Indian girl down on her knees, really sets the pattern for Frank’s ongoing abuse. ‘Witty and charming’, Frank Hayden callously takes advantage of his roles as the trustworthy doctor, the eldest Hayden boy and the war hero.

When we first meet Frank he is described by David as a man to be admired. David draws comparisons to his father Wes when he says ‘nothing glittered in my father’s wake the way it did in Uncle Frank’s. ’ However, as the story progresses, we see that Frank’s charm does indeed ‘conceal personal deficits’ in his character. When Wes confronts his brother about his wrongdoings, Frank agrees to ‘cut it out however the death of Marie Little Soldier the next day reveals the lie behind the words.

His obvious amusement at Wes’ discomfit in putting him in the cellar also shows that Frank believes he will never have to account for his crimes. It is only when we see Wes’ horror at Frank’s callous disregard for Marie’s life, that Frank realizes Wes is prepared to reveal his crimes to the town. At last, he fails to keep that ‘smiling ease’ he has ‘with life and everything in it’ and commits suicide. It is the ‘prosaic’ Wes who is the real hero of the

story. He, like his brother, has a role to play in the town as both sheriff and a Hayden.

Although Wes has taken on the role of sheriff because it would ‘never have occurred to him to refuse’ his father, he takes his job seriously. He has not learned, as Len points out, ‘when to look, and when to look away and each chore, from dealing with drunks to telling families of the death of a loved one, is treated with the respect it deserves. Faced with Frank’s allegations, Wes is compromised between his position as the sheriff and as a son and a brother. For much of the story, he is a man ‘who tried to turn two ways at once.

He was essentially an honest and law-abiding man who had declared 'fealty to his earthly’ father who believed he was above the law. Wes tried to please all those he cared for; Gail who expected him not to let a crime go unpunished, Julian who loved his ‘son’, Frank who he admired and looked up to and Marie, to whom he owed justice. Wes tries, again and again, to rein in Frank and protect him from the law; the quiet word on the ranch, the basement doubling as jail are all evidence of Wes’ need to protect his brother and ultimately his father.

In the end he realizes that he couldn’t ‘cut him loose. Not and live’ with himself. The greatest courage, in the end, was to stand up to Julian and Frank and to side with the law. In doing so Wes loses his first family and this is

also his greatest loss. Larry Watson’s Montana 1948 focuses on the struggles of a son and his stronger, more powerful father Julian, in his quest to arrest his brother Frank. For too long the powerful Haydens was ‘the law’, however, Wes shows that true strength and courage do not come from power and abuse but from a belief in standing up for what is right.