Character Analysis: Montana 1948 By Larry Watson

“To be mature means to face, and not evade, every fresh crisis that comes” (Kunkel).
The book Montana 1948 by Larry Watson tells a Bildungsroman, set in a small town called Bentrock. The story is about a young boy named David Hayden, who is an innocent young boy and slowly matures into a young man. His maturing starts with finding out his war hero Uncle Frank is not the great man he once believed. Uncle Frank is accused of sexually assaulting his female Indian patients, but Wes Hayden does not put him in jail. David dives into manhood after being exposed to a whole new set of ideas that changes his perspective. David is changed by the events of 1948 because he finds out Uncle Frank isn’t the hero he thinks he is, he has to accept that Uncle Frank will not be punished and his parents finally involves him in a conversation about Uncle Frank’s wrongdoings. One of the ways David is changed by the events of 1948 was when David finds out Uncle Frank has been sexually assaulting his

David hears the sound of sobbing in the basement so he went down and sees his dad holding Uncle Frank, crying. David describes what he sees “Uncle Frank lay on the floor, his head cradled against my father’s chest. The gash across Uncle Frank’s wrist had already started its useless healing” (154). After witnessing this, David does not squeal or act like any child would when they see a dead body. Wesley tells David to go up and act like nothing happened. David did exactly so and he did it because he knew the situation and didn’t want anyone to panic. He said to himself “You see, I knew-I knew! I knew-that Uncle Frank’s suicide had solved all our problems” (155). He isn’t sad or anything, he is glad that Uncle Frank, the source of all his troubles is gone.
The last way David is changed by the events of 1948 was when his parents decided to let him in a conversation about Uncle