Montana 1948- The Quote

“As I climbed the stairs, I felt something for my uncle in his death that I hadn't felt for him in his life. It was gratitude, yes, but it was something more. It was very close to love.” This quote from Montana 1948, written by Larry Watson seems to be able to bring the whole book together. It’s as if in these words he has forgiven everything his uncle has done and has let everything that has been building up inside him float away with his death. He sees a light now that has never been there, a light that tells him his family has been released of Frank’s grip of terror. The terror of what people would think how harshly they would be judged if they knew that they were related to a rapist and a murderer. With his death it was all lifted away, they can move on and be the only ones to have to know of his treachery.

Montana 1948- Character Sketch

This person has been with me through thick and thin all my life and will be there for the rest of it, my older brother, Cory. I have three other siblings and Cory is the only one that is fully blood related, not that it matters I still love them all even though but Cory has always been someone I could look up to. Even though he may not make the best of choices at times, or we have a little sibling spats or can seem to have come from a place some will never understand, he’s the best person to know. He has the greatest personality in the world, which means he is totally the opposite of me. He can do anything without fear of being judged, he is outgoing, kind and can crack the best jokes faster than a whip. We have the same taste in almost everything, from music to movies, from food to video games, and have an odd passion for picking on our younger brother, David, plus I could tell him everything and know it will be safe. We have been through a lot together especially when it comes to our father. It can be hard when your step dad and biological dad are both in the navy and are stationed in different parts of the country or when your brother and father just can’t get along, but we always tried to make it work. Times can be tough for everyone and at the end of the day it’s nice to know that someone will always be by your side and that person for me is the best person in the world, my bother.

Montana 1948- Essay of Place

I keep dear this beautiful memory of my childhood, a memory of a vast beach that is now miles behind me and the ones who helped me keep these recollections. To this day I still remember how the sun could make the waves look like twinkling stars, how when they reached the shore it would explode into a shower of water drops. I could smell the salt from miles away and then taste it as we neared the immense waters known as the Pacific Ocean. My love for water started at that beach, it was always a place where my family and I would be alone, where the creatures of the sea could always be found with just the lifting of a rock. That was always my favorite part about that beach, to be able to look for oceanic critters and never be disappointed. If you wanted a giant crab uproot a rock, a gull look up, or even an eel find a shallow puddle beside the shore line. My favorite things to find though was a helpless sand dollar, dig it up and throw it back to sea or a huge geoduck ready to be poked , watch it spray a fountain of water then sink down into its safe little shell. I could be at that beach for days and never tire of its odd sort of charm. One day I wish to go back but I doubt that will ever happen so all I have is a remembrance of what I t use to be.

Montana 1948- Quotes

Setting Quote:
The harshness of the land and the flattening effect of the wind and endless sky probably accounted for the relative tranquility of Mercer County.


Relationship Quote:
He had long stopped being my father. He was now my interrogator, my cross- examiner. The sheriff. My uncle's brother.


Metaphor Quote
My mother feared for my soul, a phrase that sounds to me now comically overblown, yet I remember that those were precisely the words she used.


THE Quote:
As i climbed the stairs, I felt something for my uncle in his death that I hadn't felt for him in his life. it was gratitude, yes, but it was something more. It was very close to love.

Montana 1948 - Metaphor Poem

Frank Hayden

Worshiped by many, on the outside you seemed so bright

A brook gleaming with bliss

A magician with the best of might

Don’t be fooled for this soul can’t be touched in this

A dancing shadow waiting to bite

Eyes glossy with shine, a dark abyss

Inky night feathers blend in so well with his dimming light

An unwanted pest, a screech that sends shivers for none to miss

Hidden in a tree of lies, the shadows protect tonight.