Montana 1948 2

Moccasins appear again when David sees the high school girl at the store. Throughout the book, the moccasins symbolize Indians and prejudice against Indians. In this situation, I also found it interesting that when the girl walked by in moccasins, David was curious as to whether or not she had been one of Uncle Frank’s patients. This helps the reader to realize that all Indian women were in danger and could have possibly been abused by Frank. The fact that in this situation, David was stirred sexually, also allows the reader insight into the theme of desire. Despite David’s awareness of the injustices caused by his Uncle Frank, he can not help but be intrigued and excited by them. This shows, that almost everyone is prone to sinning because of their desires.

Another prominent development in the second half of the book, was David’s corruption or debauching. David was a child up until this summer when his situation caused his mind to be corrupted by the real and adult world. Everything seemed perfect to his innocent eyes, but because of this one event, he became aware of everyone’s secrets. He saw things that he could have never anticipated and realized that Montana was not what it had seemed a few days ago. At the same time, he begins observing his surroundings, and notices secrets that he never contemplated before. For instance, David suspects that Len was in love with his mom. This supports the theme that you don’t know what goes on behind closed doors or even in anyone's mind. It also portrays the theme of secrets.

In addition, the ongoing theme of facades and the universal desire to mask reality becomes even more outstanding as the novel unfolds. Len pretends not to love David’s mom. The Hayden’s try to fulfill their perfect family reputation and even after the developments of the summer, cover up Frank’s suicide (this supports that you don’t know what goes on behind closed doors) to keep their facade in place even after death. Furthermore, when the whole scenario was at its peak, David and his family continued to do daily life activities and acted as if nothing was unusual

Finally, justice being served is a withstanding theme portrayed in many novels including Montana. Being a sheriff, Wes is faced with situations that involve justice daily. There is a point when Wes is contemplating letting his brother go, but when he realizes how guilty Frank is, there is no turning back. Therefore, he continues his quest to punish Frank, and in the end, Frank punishes himself. Throughout the entire story, David's dad's moral values and responsibilities override his family relations and take precedence even over his families happiness. This portrays the strength of the will of justice, and shows that justice is more important than even the strongest and most everlasting bond (brotherhood in Wes's and Frank's case).