MONTANA 1948 – PART
ONE COMPREHENSION
QUESTIONS
A young Sioux woman lying on the bed “feverish and
delirious” coughing so hard David is afraid she will die
His mother in the kitchen on a hot and windy day, trying
desperately to load a shotgun, but fumbling. She is intending
to fire the gun.
His father, kneeling on the kitchen floor, begging and
pleading for his mother to help him
David recalls 3 significant
images from the summer of
1948…what are they?
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The death of Marie Little Soldier is
foreshadowed in the prologue. Her death and
the subsequent events which it sets into motion
are to be examined as a seamless whole by our
narrator, David.
What significant event is
being foreshadowed?
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Bent; dishonest, corrupt; a bent cop
Rock; A solid mass; used to refer to someone or
something that is extremely strong, reliable or
hard; to cause great shock or distress to
(someone or something), especially as to
weaken or destabalise.
It is in ‘Bentrock’ that scenes of
twisted morality and skewed
justice are to take place.
The town’s name is
Bentrock. What might this
symbolise?
Describe Mercer County,
Montana
How does David portray
his father, Wes Hayden,
the town sheriff?
What expectations do Gail
[his wife] and Julian [his
father] have of Wes?
What does the narrator
reveal about his twelveyear old self?
Who is Marie Little
Soldier and what is her
role in David’s life?
At the end of section 2,
Marie falls ill. What are
your thoughts on Maries
reaction to Gail’s proposal
to call upon her brotherin-law, Doctor Frank
Hayden?
In sections 3 & 4 we are
given insights into Wes
and Frank’s racist
attitudes towards the
Indians. Provide some
examples

Look at character charts.
The narrator provides
further descriptions of the
Hayden men – Describe
each member of the
Hayden family.


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Wes – honest, insecure, mild tempered, unsure,
ambivalent
Julian- arrogant, authoritarian, racist,
overbearing
Frank- charming, unfaithful, criminal
Sum up each Hayden Man
in just one word
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When Frank enters Marie’s room and shuts the
door, she immediately screams and shouts for
Gail – “Mrs. Mrs.!” “No! Mrs.!”
Gail then is invited to enter the room by Frank,
who is “shaking his head in disgust.”
What happens when
Frank enters Marie’s
room?
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When outside on the porch, David maneuvers
himself to best hear anything that happens in
Marie’s room. He hears her say ‘no’ twice more.
As his father goes to get Frank a bottle of beer,
David remarks that he wants his father to hurry
as “after what just happened to Marie, [he]
doesn’t want to be alone with Uncle Frank.”
His mother’s reaction – pp 42 -43
How do we know that
David is aware that there
is something suspicious
about Uncle Frank?
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Frank acts as if Marie’s hesitation to see a doctor is somehow
related to her being a native American –”they’re used to
being treated by the medicine man. Or some old Squaw”
Frank acts as if her defiance against seeing a doctor or getting
an x-ray is in some way related to her race, rather than the
fact that Frank has sexually assaulted his patients in the past
and Marie is aware of this.
Wes is reassured when Frank panders to his racist views,
however the reader knows Frank is lying as Marie has
already states that she usually sees the other white doctor in
town, Dr Snow
Irony that 1948 is already half way through 20th century and
Indians are surviving.
How does Frank ridicule
Marie’s illness?

Gail reveals to Wes that his brother, Frank, has
“molested Indian girls.” She tells him he takes
“indecent liberties”.
What does Gail reveal to
Wes about Frank?

When Wes tries to dismiss this information
(remember he thinks Indians are liars and Marie is
known for telling tales) Gail explicitly tells him the
indecent acts that Frank has performed with these
girls.
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Frank asks Gail why she is telling him this. He
wishes she “wouldn’t have told the sheriff” as this
means he must act to restore justice, but also must
act in a way that could destroy his family loyalty. He
is once again a main being pulled in two directions.
His allegiance to the power of his own father is set
against his allegiance to upholding the law.
What is Wes’ initial
reaction to this revelation
about his brother?
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“Charming, affable Uncle Frank” is gone
for good for David. Although not yet
entirely convinced of his guilt, his
mother’s words have frightened him.
David is beginning to think of his uncle
as a criminal.
David eavesdrops on this
conversation between his
parents regarding Uncle Frank.
How does this change his
perception of his Uncle?

Daisy McAuley’s comments, “the word is he [Frank] doesn’t
do everything on the up and up…just the squaws though”
(p.51) confirm the suspicions of Uncle Frank
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It is interesting that it seems to be a well known rumour
about Uncle Frank, yet no one in the town has done
anything about it due to a combination of the good name
and power of the Haydens as well as the well established
underlying racism of the town. The fact that it is “just the
squaws” he does this to somehow makes it less of a crime in
the eyes of some. This quote reinforces the depth of racism
and discrimination in the town of Bentrock
What do you make of
Daisy McAuley’s
comments?
He [Wes} was not only her husband, he was also a brother… (p52)
David now understands that the disclosures about Uncle Frank have inevitably
damaged both his mother’s and his own regard for his father. This marks a
significant change in David’s awareness of adult relationships.
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“I [Wes] don’t want this getting back to my father.” (p53)
It is here that David suddenly understands that it is the misplaced loyalty Wes
has towards his father which stands in the way of justice. It is this moral
dilemma which becomes the central focus of the novel. Wes knows his brother is
guilty of raping defenseless girls yet his allegiance to the power of his father is
set against his allegiance to upholding the law.
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“And my father knew he [Frank] was guilty.” (p54)
David waits breathlessly to hear his father say that he doesn’t believe that Frank
has sexually abused Indian women, yet his silence condemns him and David can
no longer ignore the truth that Frank knows his brother better than anyone, and
he knows he is guilty.
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Explain the following: