The Use of Narrative Conventions in Larry Watson’s Montana 1948

Through the use of the narrative conventions of symbolism, the key themes of keeping secrets, accepting change and the loss of innocence are presented In Larry Watson’s novella, Montana 1948. Montana 1948, written between 1992 and 1993, is a novella by American author Larry Watson, which tells the story from the perspective of a young boy, David Hayden. The story depicts the memories David encountered as a child, and his struggle with accepting change, loss of childhood innocence and the conflict of law and justice. Through the use of narrative conventions such as setting, characterisation and symbolism, the key themes of keeping secrets, accepting change and the loss of innocence are presented In Larry Watson’s novella, Montana 1948. By implementing these points in the novella, the author is able to characterise and symbolise the story in a way that complements the themes and ideas. By using the narrative convention of symbolism, the author writes about one of the poignant themes in the novella, the loss of innocence. 

David has a horse of his own, Nutty, on his grandfather’s ranch. He had grown up with Nutty ever since he was a young foul, and the author uses this horse as a symbolic object. Nutty the horse himself is a representative figure of childhood. As David learns the truth about his Uncle Frank, his father states that he can no longer visit the ranch, meaning he can no longer see Nutty. This symbolises the loss of his childhood innocence, as he cannot visit Nutty anymore, due to the learning the truth about Frank’s actions. “...these tragic events. He is crying because he is afraid he will never see his horse Nutty again, which is stabled at his grandfather’s house. He knows he should be crying...”. This quote taken from the novella, further enforces how Nutty is a symbolic figure of David’s childhood. Another instance of the loss of David’s innocence is when he shoots a magpie while roaming around on his Grandfather’s ranch. When David shot and killed a magpie on his grandfather’s ranch, it was his first experience with death. He felt terribly guilty for taking the life of an innocent animal, and after killing it, he then decided that he would never need to kill anything again. By using these symbolic examples, the author is able to blatantly convey the theme of the loss of childhood innocence, allowing the audience to sympathise for David after having his naïvety stripped off of him. 

Again, the author uses symbolism to convey the central theme of keeping secrets, and how it affects those who know the truth. In this novella, David’s father Wesley, talks about repainting their family home, and then moves to wanting to strip the house of all of its paint. The paint represents secrecy being covered up. When Wesley said he wanted a new paint job, he wanted the indecent crimes that Frank had committed to “painted over” and to remain secret. However, he makes a second remark stating that perhaps no one’s house should have any paint. This was his way of speaking about he no longer wants to live in a county built up on secrets and lies, and that he no longer wants the truth about Frank to be kept silent. “…It must be scraped and sanded and covered with two coats of white paint.” This quote symbolises how Wesley feels obliged to “paint” over and disregard the actions of Frank. Also, repainting a house would prove to be a long and strenuous task, and this symbolises the hard work associated with bringing Frank to justice urged by his wife and his duty to carry out the law. 

Another example in the novella of damage caused by secrecy is Deputy Len McAuley’s house. The Deputy’’s house in in darkness with only smidges of light. Perhaps Len’s spirit is the darkness. As he was Julian Hayden’s deputy for years, he must of known that Frank frequently visited the Indian Reservation for sex with the Native American girls. Due to Julian Hayden’s domineering personality and lack of fighting for justice, it is easy to assume that there must have been other compromises of the justice system. It is mentioned that this is why Len later became an alcoholic, which demonstrates how secrecy had impacted his life. 

Through using the narrative convention of symbolism, Watson paints a clear picture of how the keeping of secrets often goes hand in hand with the injustice of law and how these secrets negatively impact those involved. Watson uses various instances of symbolism in his novella to symbolise the theme of change and identity. David’s mother Gail, is named appropriately as she has a love for the wind. Gail can be considered as a symbolic figure in comparison to the wind, as she wished she was free in the way the wind was. When she describes the wind that rushes through Montana “…smells like the mountains. Like snow. Like stone….”, she is trying to say that she feels that she cannot experience growth and change, much like how the plants in Montana cannot grow in stone. She has lived a generic life in Mercer County, and longs for some excitement in her life, but the only emotion she experiences close to excitement is the shock that came with the accusations of her brother-in-law, Frank. In general, the wind can be viewed as symbolic as it can represent change. Wind moves soil from one area to another area, moving the secrets away from them. Wind is often associated with a change in weather, and sometimes the wind is a precursor to a storm. When the gust picks up, any seeds that may be lying on the ground are swept away and carried far off into the distance. In the example of the novella, Frank’s actions can be viewed as the seeds, and the wind “picks them up” and takes them away silently. This symbolises how the “wind” quietens all that had been said about Frank. Watson appropriately uses symbolism to correlate Gail and Frank’s secrets with the wind.

In conclusion, by using the narrative convention of symbolism, author Larry Watson was able to accurately convey the themes of accepting change, the loss of innocence and keeping secrets. With the examples of Nutty the horse, the paint on the house, Deputy Len McAuley’s house and the wind, symbolism fittingly depicts the main themes throughout the novella. The narrative convention of symbolism and the chose themes suitably complement one another, providing the audience with the ability to read further into the story.