Montana 1948 Essay

Write a formal essay (1-2 pages) on one of the questions below:

1. What does Montana 1948 tell us about growing up?
2. Montana 1948 is a story about the difference between law and justice. Do you agree?
3. What do we learn about power and justice in Montana 1948?
4. In Montana 1948, the Hayden men are torn between justice and family loyalty. How do different men handle this tension?
5. How is racism evident in the behavior of characters in Montana 1948?
Your answers should be written in Standard English and in the style of a formal essay. They could have a clear introduction and conclusion and have three full ideas in paragraphs in between. At the very least your points should be supported by example from this book. Even better, they should be supported by actual quotations from this book.

Montana, part II

Study Guide, Part II
Montana, 1948, chapter two, pages 57-102
1. As the second chapter begins, we see David Hayden begin to reconstruct his father's investigation. We are reminded that, in large measure, the story of what happened that summer in Montana is hearsay and deduction. How
accurate do you suppose are David's conclusions? Do the three deductions presented on the following pages give us confidence in his ability to ferret out the truth? Why or why not?
2. Ollie Young Bear His role in the story is slight. In fact, he virtuallydisappears after this one scene. Why is he in the story? What is thesignificance of the fact that he has a white wife?
3. What's important about the scene in the bowling alley on page 59? What does it show about David, about his father?
4. What's the significance of the weather in the scene on page 63, when David and his mother are temporarily banished from the house?
5. On page 65, David's mother delivers a short soliloquy on the geography of Montana, and the geography of her youth. David interprets this as her way of saying "she wanted a few moments of purity." He also ads that he is "on the trail
of something that [will] lead him out of childhood." Explain.
6. On page 67, en route to the ranch, David's father makes a tentative suggestion that the family take a trip to Yellowstone, a national park in Montana and Wyoming. Is this destination arbitrary? And what do you make
of David's observation that "unfortunately, he did not often keep his promises."
7. On page 69, we get to see David's grandfather for the first time. What sort of figure is he? Does he resemble anyone else in the story, or anyone else you have seen in the literature and film of the West?
8. On the same subject, what do you make of the Hayden's house on page 68? What does it say about its occupants?
9. On page 71, the subject of Frank's and Gloria's childlessness comes up just when David, who is eavesdropping, expects his father to tell Grandpa Hayden about Frank's improper sexual relationships with Indian girls. What do
you make of this juxtaposition? Why do you think David's father is bringing up
the subject now?
10. On the same page, David thinks: "Tell Grandfather. Tell him, and he'll take care of everything. He'll grab Uncle Frank by the shoulders and shake him so hard his bones will clatter like castanets. He'll shake him up and shout in
Frank's face that he'd better straighten up and fly right or there'll be hell to pay. And because it's grandfather, that will be the end of it." What does this deep faith in his grandfather show about David? And what do you make of the
violence of this vision? Why his grandfather, and not his father?
11. David's grandfather, on the next page, lets slip that his son Frank has "always been partial to red meat." He is speaking about Indian women, of course, but the metaphor he chooses is telling. What does it show about him?
How does he seem to feel about his son's improprieties?
12. The novel then moves to flashback, returning us to a distant memory of Frank's bachelor party. Again., David relays an overheard conversation. Look to page 75here, his father delivers a drunken speech about the "Hayden
boys," describing them as a kind of fraternity of lawlessness and macho bravado. "We are the law!" he says. Then he vomits. Explain the connection between this scene and the statement on page 21 that David's father is a man
"who tried to turn two ways at once" (21).

13. On page 76 we meet David's grandmother. How is she different from the
other women in the novel, especially David's own mother? What is this meant
to show?
14. On page 77, David confesses his erotic attraction for his Aunt Gloria, and
describes a scene when, bedridden, she tended to him. He even pretends to
be asleep, in order that he may enjoy her closeness to him: "as she bent
down to feel my forehead," David confesses, "I could smell her perfume."
Does this arrangement and erotic attraction in the midst of medical care
remind you of anything else in the novel?
15. Subsequently, David overhears a whispered conversation between his
aunt and his uncle, then the squeaking of their bedsprings. What's going on
here? Does this scene change, if briefly, or sense of Uncle Frank the Indian
molester?
16. On page 79-80,
David is given an automatic pistol by his grandfather and told to go shoot coyotes. David says of handguns: "They were something not serious, not for bringing down game but for shooting as an activity in and of itself...." How is this gun different from the guns David's father has given him and trained him to use? Is it significant that it comes from his grandfather?
Does it have a symbolic meaning?
17. What is the double meaning of the two paragraphs on page 80 that begin:
"I shot up the entire box of bullets." (Consider that in the scene immediately
preceding, David has experienced powerful erotic sensations at his aunt's
perfume and disgust as well.)
18. Of the magpie that he shoots, David says on page 81, "I hadn't even
known it but I needed to kill something." What is he struggling with? Why must
his anger manifest itself in violence?
19. Continue your interpretation on page 82, with the paragraph that begins "I
felt the way I did when I woke from an especially disturbing and powerful
dream....." Pay particular attention to the lines: "I realized that these strange,
unthought of connections: sex and death, lust and violence, desire and
degradation are there, there, deep in even a good heart's chambers."
20. One last point to consider. A heart has chambers, as David says. So does
a gun. What's the symbolic connection?
21. On page 82, David sees his father and uncle talking. What's the first
strange thing he notices? What is the significance of this?
22. Why does David pantomime shooting his uncle? What would his motive
be for murder?
23. As the scene closes on page 84, David notes that "My father and Uncle
Frank walked off together, their broad shoulders almost touching." What are
we meant to think has transpired between them?

24. What's wrong or insufficient about David's father's remarks to his wife on
the return drive (page 85)?
25. What is the significance of Marie's strange remark on page 86? ("He's
hard to see when you look for him.") What's hard to see? What's David been
looking for?
26. On page 87, David says that he "knew, knew immediately what had
happened." What does he know? How does he know it?
27. What's the symbolic significance of the open medical bag on the table on
page 87?
28. On page 88, Uncle Frank suggests a couple of explanations for Marie
Little Soldier's sudden death. David also notes that as he spoke "he stood up
so straight he seemed to be at attention." What's the meaning of this body
language? A soldier is one who stands at attention. Whose orders is he
following?
29. On a related note, speaking of soldiers, what do you make of Marie's last
name?
30. On page 89, Uncle Frank says, "Pneumonia is still a serious disease. Very
serious. We mustn't lose sight of that." What is he asking his audience to do?
And is there a connection an echo between these words and Marie's last
words on page 86?
31. On page 93, Len, who has served as a deputy under both David's father
and grandfather, explains what it means "to be a peace officer in Montana."
What does it mean? Does it mean that still, in this story, in the summer of
1948?
32. Why do you suppose the author, Larry Watson, chose to make Len an
alcoholic? What does this say about the kind of life he has led? Is this a by
product of being "a peace officer in Montana"?
33. David also supposes that Len is, or has been, in love with his mother.
Nothing much comes of this in the novel thematter is simply noted here, then
dropped. Why is it in the story? What does it say about Len, his basic qualities
of character, his loyalties and allegiances?
34. Why do you suppose David chooses not to tell Len what he saw on page
94?
35. After David tells his father what he saw, he notices his father's injured
knee. Go to the paragraph on page 100 that begins "My mother turned on the
lamp beside the bed." What is the connection that David notes between his
father's injured leg and "the pain he felt over his brother"?
36. Closing the chapter, on pages 101-2,
David has a dream about all the Indians in Bentrock, on top of Circle Hill. He notes, among other details, thatin his dream, they aren't dressed as they are in the movies, but just as they appear in his daily life. How do you interpret this dream, in particular the way they are dressed? examining it for impurities"?

Montana/Parts of Speech

View Standard Deviants video on parts of speech. Take notes.

Eights parts of speech

Noun: a person, place, thing or idea (chicken, dancehall, ocean, belief)
Pronoun: replaces a noun (he, she, it, her, them, who, which)
Adjective: describes a noun or Pronoun (lovely, tattered, obese, violet)
Verb: an action word (ransack, stir, rejuvenate, are)
Adverb: modifies or describes an adjective, verb, or other adverb (gladly, helpfully, subtly, slowly)
Preposition: links nouns and pronouns to phrases (over, under, in, near)
Conjunction: links lists, phrases, and clauses (and, but, or, when)
Interjection: conveys emotion (wow, what, ouch, man)

Writing practice:
Write four sentences in which you use all eight parts of speech. The catch? You can't use any part of speech more than once in each sentence.

Montana discussion questions
19. On pages 32-33, what is the meaning of David's rhetorical question: "Was the sweat hers or mine?"

20. On pag 34, we get a glimpse into David's father's prejudice against Indians. What do you make of David's explanation? Does he defend his father? Try to rationalize his racism?

21. On page 35, David's father calls his brother on the phone. What do you make of his saying, "We've got a sick Indian girl over here, Frank"? What is strange about this?

22. Marie's objection to Frank's visit is personal; she's afraid he will molest her. But the story also raises some more general questions about the role of a white doctor treating a Native American. Is there anything strange, or wrong about this? Ambiguous perhaps? Modern medicine is, after all, a Western science. In what sense might ANY treatment by a white doctor qualify as a kind of rape, metaphorically speaking?

23. Pages 33 to 38 are devoted to discussion of David's uncle Frank. What sort of man does he appear to be? Does his personal resume make him out to be more than an ordinary man?

24. On the same subject, consider the scene in which David's grandfather calls his "son" to speak to the crowd. How are we to interpret the final moment of this scene, when David's father is seen picking up pieces of trash?

25. What happens in Marie's sick room on pages 40-41? What do you make of the shouted "NO!'s"

26. On page 42, David's father says, "They're not going to make it into the 20th Century until they give up their superstitions and old ways." What sort of thinking does this reveal?

27. On the bottom of 43, David says, "I couldn't figure out why my mother seemed so angry." Why is she angry? What are her allegiances?

28. Why are the bees mentioned on the bottom of page 45? What does this have to do with the shocking information that David has just overheard?

29. How would you summarize the debate that ensues on pages 46 to 47? Particularly, why must David's mother be so explicit in describing the "things" that David's uncle has done?

30. Is it true, as David says on the bottom of 54, that his father "knew [his uncle] was guilty"? If so, how would he know? What new wrinkle does this add to the tale?

Montana 1948 Discussion/Study guide Questions

1. Grammar Quiz/   HMWK Finish Part 1 Montana for Monday

2. Discuss Part 1 Montana 1948 to pg. 30

Study Guide, Part I
Montana, 1948, prologue (and chapter one, pages 11-54)


1. Before you even begin reading, the novel story announces in its title the importance of its setting. What expectations are established with this title? What do you know about Montana, about 1948, about Montana in 1948? What do you know about novels and stories set in the West?

2. In the prologue, the narrator, David Hayden, explains a few things: how old he was when the story took place, how old he is now, and what has happened since. List this information, and then speculate: why, perhaps, is he telling the story now? What expectations does this establish for the story to come?

3. Also in the prologue, David offers a list of images. What do these images suggest? And what do you make of his insistence, on the following page, that these images, and others like them, be viewed simultaneously, not chronologically?

4. Lastly, David describes himself at the bottom of page 12 as "a witness." What does this word mean? List all its possible meanings.

5. On page 15, David introduces the setting promised in the title. What are the important facts, figures and details of this description? What kind of place is Mercer County?

6. On page 16, he describes that time in his life as "a new, blessedly peaceful era." How so? And how is this related to David's own age? (Why is 12 more peaceful than, say 10, or 15?)

7. On the same subject, what do we already know about Mercer County that tells us to be suspicious of this idyllic description?

8. The following pages are devoted to a description of David's father, in particular his job. In what ways does he defeat our expectations of the typical Western lawman?

9. Along the same lines, a great deal of time is devoted to a description his gun and holster. How does this encapsulate his failure to conform to our image--and David's image-- of a "typical" Western sheriff? How does Dave seem to feel about this?

10. The badge, too, gets some attention, and here David comments on something he later learned about it (page 19). What is the significance of his new, adult understanding of the reason his father never wore a badge?

11. On pages 19-21, we learn that the Hayden family is something of a dynasty in law enforcement. Later, on page 21, David describes his father as a man "who tried to turn two ways at once." Describe this conflict, including in your answer some thoughts on David's reference, in the same paragraph, to his "grandfather's domain."

12. A patriarch is a father figure, one who heads a family. A patriarchy is a society that is ruled by men. If the world of Mercer County is a patriarchy, what values are its principle values? What is the LAW?

13. On page 22, David lays out a second conflict. What is it?

14. Why is it significant that David and his family live "in the middle of town"? (page 23) What does this positioning suggest?

15. Comment intelligently on David's other life--his country life--at his grandfather's ranch. Is he, like his father, a man pulled two ways?

16. What do you make of the story of the toothless Indian woman on page 25? What does it show about Bentrock, and the general attitude of whites toward Indians? And how does this foreshadow the accusations later made against David's uncle?

17. On the following pages, 25 to 29, David descibes Marie Little Soldier and his feelings for her. Comment on two details: the incident, mentioned on 29, in which he accidentally sees her naked (what else in the story does David see that is naked?); and his remark on page 25 that "her body could be ready, at a moment's notice, for sex or work."

18. Why do you think David mentions his own encounter with chicken pox on page 28? Hint: he's speaking of a childhood disease, suffered as an adult.

Tuesday, Sept. 7 Ray Bradbury/Montana Exercise

1. Share homework/View video  Subjects and Verbs
www.grammarbook.com/video/subjects_and_verbs.asp


2. Read and discuss Ray Bradbury's "How to Keep and Feed a Muse"

3. Begin Montana Exercise and short story assignment

HMWK:  Rd. to pg. 30  Montana