Montana 1948 Lesson Plan

Why would Wes choose to lock Frank in the basement instead of putting him in jail? Is this decision justified?

This asks students to think more about how the pressures, conflicts, and motivations resulting from Wes’s various relationships and obligations shape his choices as the plot advances. Students should consider which, if any, of Wes’s identities—as a member of the prominent Hayden family, as the son of an imposing father, as the brother of the accused, as a sheriff who will have to run for re-election, etc.—takes precedence in this decision. Some may argue that putting Frank in the basement is a compromise between his duties as sheriff and as a brother, since he...