Montana 1948
Author Isaac Asimov once wrote," Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing what's right." This saying came to mind while reading both Montana 1948 and Brokeback Mountain. The authors, Larry Watson (Montana 1948) and Annie Proulx (Brokeback Mountain) both write stories with the internal conflict of man vs. himself. In Montana 1948 Larry Watson's main characters the Hayden family cope with a situation of sexual abuse that forces them to search for their moral base and choose between right and wrong. Each member of the family begins at a different in their moral expedition, but eventually end up with the same internal resolution. Similarly, in Annie Proulx's Brokeback Mountain, the author sketches a picture of two men who live in a constant struggle with their ideas of morality. Rationalizing and avoidance exist as Jack Twist and Ennis Del Mar's main internal defense mechanisms. Proulx presents a devastating study of Jack and Ennis' subsequent struggle with both their families and their work as they try to come to terms with their sexual relationship. To begin in this examination of the moral code of the American West, we turn to the relationships and struggles brought about in Larry Watson's novel Montana 1948. In th
is novel, there exists conflicts between several of the characters, however; the main conflict lies within the characters themselves. The reader sees the Hayden family struggle with the realization that the town doctor, their relative, has been molesting young Indian girls. This situation forces Wes Hayden, the town's sheriff and the doctor's only brother, to choose his actions towards this ethical dilemma carefully. He deliberates on his situation throughout most of the novel, relying on his wife's set-in-stone morals to guide his decision in some ways. Through this interaction, the reader sees that some people who were not brought up with a strong moral code must develop one for themselves, while others who were taught their morals at an early age may alter them to fit their own perspectives as they grow. Consequently, these morals are challenged. The most interesting moral dilemma that exists in this novel is between Wesley Hayden and himself. Larry Watson declares this struggle when he writes, "Are you telling me this because I'm Frank's brother? Because I'm your husband . . .or because I'm the sheriff . . . I wish you wouldn't have told the sheriff." (48) Here the reader sees the struggle between Wes' duty to his family, his duty to his office and his duty to his morals begin to conflict. With a wife who is pressing him to do the moral thing, and a father who is threatening if he decides to do such, Wes Hayden must delve into his own psyche to determine what he believes to be the right thing to do. He must create his own moral code, and act according to it. Also, noted very plainly, the moral code of the American West did not exist as equal to today's code. The characters in this novel existed in what they believed to be a moral society, but by today's standards it was amoral, devoid of moral standards. Watson brings this idea to life when he writes through the narrator's voice, "My father did not like Indians . . . He s
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Approximate Word count = 1310
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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