Critique on Montana 1948

Name:
Course Name:
Instructor’s Name:
Date of Submission:
Critique on Montana 1948
Montana 1948 is a novella written in 1993 by Larry Watson. It has been noted that the novella mainly addresses the life of Montanan David Hayden, a young man; it sheds light to his family in Bentrock town located in Montana (Watson National Library 3). Hayden’s family goes through hard times in dealing with justice and loyalty. The novella has been very influential to a point of winning the Milkweed National Fiction Prize. There are three themes observed in the novella namely; racism, power abuse by people in the high authority and the issues of family loyalty and community justice (“WriteWork contributors” par. 6).
Surveys indicated that Hayden’s family is extremely powerful in Mercer County, the family had respected members in the society some being war heroes and local sheriff. Critically focusing on 1948 summer season, the life of David took a different turn; this was after Marie Little Soldier fell sick, she was a housekeeper originating from the Native Americans. A doctor by the name Frank Hayden was called in to check on the conditions of Marie (“WriteWork contributors” par. 12). Frank was actually the uncle to Hayden. Marie on the other hand refused to accept any form of medication from Frank, this raised concerns on the turn of the events, and an inquiry was organized by Gail. Gail was the mother to David (Watson Montana 76).
It was discovered that Frank had unethical behaviors of preying on women who originated from the Native Americans; he used his medical status to hide his true identity. Wesley was the father to David; he got upset by the turn of events. Wesley was a local sheriff and committed to unearth the rotten medical practices, the fact that Frank was his brother did not deter him from performing his official duties, upholding justice on matters touching on the public and family was put at a strenuous test (Watson National Library 7).
Marie died in the house; Frank was distracted by the turn of events, and argued that Marie died of Pneumonia. David failed to support the theory put across by Frank, as a matter of fact, David had spotted Frank in Marie’s room, and the same time Marie passed away, meaning that Frank has had an active role in the death of Marie. David told his parents on the truth of the matter; Wesley was agitated by the news to a point of confronting Frank, although the two brothers reached to a compromise on the issue (Watson Montana 105). David, having an exposure on rifles, which his father used to hunt with, contemplated committing murder by killing Frank, at this juncture; Wesley was sandwiched between demanding issues relating to community justice and family loyalty on issues of setting Frank free or arresting him altogether (“WriteWork contributors” par. 11).
Wesley arrested Frank after a lengthy investigation, Frank confessed that he actually killed Marie, and that th...