Montana 1948 HW

Students should have the following assignment completed for tomorrow.

Montana 1948-20pts pgs 57-72
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 virtually disappears after this one scene. Why is he in the story? What is the significance 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?