In the Prologue of the novel, David tells of "a series" of images that remain from the summer of 1948: a young Sioux woman, feverish on the bed in his house; his father kneeling on the kitchen floor, begging his mother to help him; his mother holding a 12 gauge shotgun, intending to use it; and the sound of breaking glass and the odor of rotting vegetables. By the end of Part Three, all of these images have been fully revealed and because of the "broken jars," David believes everything will go back to the way it was before. His twelve-year-old innocence fails to realize that those jars are broken forever. Select any image from the novel (you don't have to select one from the Prologue), and discuss what was revealed in the moment and what consequence comes to the Haydens via that event. (The deadline to post a response is midnight, March 27, 2013. No credit will be given to plagiarized responses.)
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Broken Jars
In the Prologue of the novel, David tells of "a series" of images that remain from the summer of 1948: a young Sioux woman, feverish on the bed in his house; his father kneeling on the kitchen floor, begging his mother to help him; his mother holding a 12 gauge shotgun, intending to use it; and the sound of breaking glass and the odor of rotting vegetables. By the end of Part Three, all of these images have been fully revealed and because of the "broken jars," David believes everything will go back to the way it was before. His twelve-year-old innocence fails to realize that those jars are broken forever. Select any image from the novel (you don't have to select one from the Prologue), and discuss what was revealed in the moment and what consequence comes to the Haydens via that event. (The deadline to post a response is midnight, March 27, 2013. No credit will be given to plagiarized responses.)
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The image of "a young Sioux woman lies on a bed in our house, she is feverish, delirious, and coughing so hard I am afraid she will die" is the most important image. This image sets this whole story in motion. If Marie would have never come sick, there would have been no need for Dr. Frank to examine her, and she would not have revealed to David's mother why Marie did not want to see Frank. With the knowledge that Frank is molesting innocent girls, David's mother must do something. This has a great effect on the family because Wesley has the inner conflict of doing what is right or being loyal to his brother which is what the whole story is about. In the end, the effect of this image is deadly and changes the Hayden's image and life forever.
The sound of "breaking jars" has the largest impact on the outcome of the whole story. It symbolizes everything being destroyed such as, Frank's life and the Hayden family. With the sound of the breaking glass Uncle Frank's life is gone. The family ties are ruined because David's grandfather blames Wes for Frank's death. The sound of breaking glass ultimately has a very negative effect on David's life because it symbolizes the end of his life as he knows it.
At the end of the of novel when David is woken from sleep by the sound of breaking glass, a strong symbol is created. This glass not only symbolizes the destruction of the Hayden family and the life that David has known, but I believe it could also symbolize the atrocities that Uncle Frank has committed. Ever glass jar that is thrown by Frank could symbolize each Indian girl's innocence and purity that he has stolen. This also could account for the putrid smells because things that are pure would not be described as having smells like rotting food. This symbol changes the life of the Hayden family and ends the life that everyone of them has become accustomed to.
The moment that David overhears Gail tell Wesley what Frank does to Indian girls has a major impact on the novel and the characters. At this point, Wesley has to decide if he wants to follow up the accusations and let justice prevail by arresting Frank or if he wants to be loyal to his brother and do nothing about the accusations. Also, David develops a whole new attitude towards his Uncle Frank. The man he once looked up to and worshiped is now a criminal. This is the moment that leads to the rest if the events in the novel. This causes the Hayden's to make difficult decisions. It cause Uncle Feank to kill himself, Wesley to move and resign as sheriff, and Julian never to speak to Wesley again. This moments cause the Hayden family to be ripped apart.
A powerful image from Montana 1948 is when Gail tells Wes to release Frank. At this moment, Gail does not believe that anything good came of Frank's arrest even though she knows he is wrong. The Hayden family is to powerful to let anything happen to their beloved son. Julian threatening Gail's family is the last straw; she decides that nothing can destroy the Hayden family. However, Wes's decision changes the lives of every Hayden forever. This one decision to make Frank pay for his wrongdoings brought the Hayden family to an end. They no longer communicate or rule Bentrock.
One of the most important images in Montana 1948 is the one that talks about "a young Sioux woman, feverish on the bed in the house. She is feverish, delirious, and coughing so hard I am afraid she will die." This image is the basis of the entire novel. Because Marie is sick, the accusation of Frank molesting sick Indian girls came to light. Marie refused to be left alone with him and David's mother and Wesley found out about the sexual assaults. Because of this, David's entire summer is consumed with his family's conflicts. Wesley is conflicted about whether to arrest Frank. Not only that, but the entire family is arguing because the grandfather wants to Frank to be released, but Gail and Wes do not agree with him. All of this happens because Marie was sick and that is why this image is one of the most important in the novel.
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