Allston Chen’s Reviews > Montana 1948 > Status Update

The book starts to feel unfinished, it seems like there are infinite questions left to ask. Nevertheless, the prologue turned out to be very reflectant on how the book would go. I think that at the end Larry Watson stopped with most of the literary devices and became more literal in what was happening and what it meant. He ends up more giving a message of what Montana 1948 is. Brutal, Unforgiving, this is Montana.

I think that Larry Watson now starts to lean into the idea of the Wild West that people already have. He uses this to flip david's perception of the world upside down. This is the anticipated moments where everything changes and Gail shooting the gun. I predict that this is not the only big moment that will happen and something will reclimax to give an overall message of change.

As I continue reading, I start to notice many changes in the behavior of the characters. I think that the author is highlighting the shift of black and white to gray even more as we enter a new section. Like we talked about in class and the representative change of the magpie. I think that the author is trying to inform the reader that the world is never right and wrong and that everything is questionable.

I feel like there is rising tension overall in the book. Larry Watson gives me a feeling that something else will happen in the book. We already know about Uncle Frank and the approval from Julian. We can see the schism forming but I think that the author intentionally shows memories and the ever daunting theme of the native american struggle to suggest something deeper and more imposing.

I thought that the author was carefully crafting the thoughts in a very different way. He seems to create a story of what life should be in montana and then he always seems to show something else that contradicts it in a small way. I think that while we gain more information to the background of just the past events that something will change drastically and there will be a large shift in the storyline.

I think the author intentionally tries to make me feel reflective upon myself through his writing. It feels as if he is suggesting for me to look at the struggles and new learnings in others' lives and reflect on people in my life or even what I could change with myself. I also saw a kind of schism in the family emerge more frequently, that maybe his parents did not fully know each other.

I enjoy how the author is able to continually develop our thoughts of the characters. He is able to make us have further preconceptions on many of the characters. He also stirs up a feeling of pity for many of the characters throughout their many experiences. You can also feel the uncertainty and the mysteriousness of the story that leaves intrigue in the plot.

I thought that the author was trying to make me feel disturbed with the words. Without directly showing the emotion, he was able to convey a certain feeling of how life is like in Montana and how disturbing it may be. Larry Watson emphasizes the struggles of life and the reflection that it has on every facet of that summer experience.