Character Analysis Of David In Montana 1948

Montana 1948

In The novel Montana 1948 the main character David tells a story from when he was a young boy in 1948, the story is clear in his mind even as he gets older and changed him forever. David is the son of Wes and Gail Heyden, and he had an uncle Frank and his grandparents. During the summer of 1948 this family went through a very difficult situation and we got to see David's perspective as a young boy. I know that David is a different person because of this experience, But a question is raised and makes me wonder; who impacted David’s thoughts, feelings, and experience the most during the summer of 1948?

The first person who comes to mind is David's mother Gail Heyden. She, like his father never directly told david what was going on. But david still knew a lot by eavesdropping on his family's conversations.When David asked Gail questions she put them off most likely to protect him. But Gail's opinions on the family matter still shaped David's views because David heard what she was saying about Frank to Wes. “ “That’s not the way it works. You know that. Sins—crimes—are not supposed to go unpunished.” Even then I knew what the irony of

Marie got very sick and needed a doctor so Gail started to call Frank, David's Uncle who is also a doctor. But immediately Marie was scared and it came to Gail's attention that Frank has committed crimes against Marie and many other Native American women on the reservation. David was close to Marie and when he heard this he had many mixed feelings. “I believe I remembered the incident so fondly not only because I was with Marie, whom I loved in my way, but also because I felt, for that brief span, as though I was part of a family, a family that accepted me for myself and not my blood or birthright (Watson 173)”. This quote shows how Marie influenced David's feelings during this