Sam Hunt’s Reviews > Montana 1948 > Status Update

I thought it was interesting how much tension in the town comes from people’s reputations. Even the smallest actions or rumors can have huge consequences, and it shows how quietly but powerfully the town judges everyone. The story makes it clear that appearances can matter just as much, if not more, than the truth itself.

I thought it was interesting how tense the house feels even in normal moments. The house is packed with tension. Everyone’s acting like nothing’s wrong, but you can tell the cracks are showing. The quiet moments are the loudest, and every conversation feels loaded because everyone knows more than they’re saying.

I thought it was interesting how the story shows the small ways power and reputation control the town. Even minor comments or rumors can make someone look guilty or innocent, and you can see how that pressure affects everyone’s choices. It’s crazy how much appearances and secrets shape people’s lives here, and it makes the tension feel constant.

I thought it was interesting that Wes is really starting to realize that doing the right thing isn’t simple, especially when it means going against his own family. You can tell how much it’s weighing on him that justice might destroy the people he loves. This part shows that standing up for what’s right takes real courage, even when everyone around you would rather ignore the truth.

I think Frank is the antagonist of this story because he has so much to hide. While he hasn't tried to extort the protagonist's weakness I think later in the story Wes will come out with the truth. I think Frank will claim that Wes is making it up and will say that Wes is jealous because he is not the favorite child and takes advantage of how Wes is not the favorite.

I thought it was interesting the change his mother went through from page 19 to page 32. Earlier the book told us about how his mother was very scared about sickness and I thought it was a really weird change from going from that to advocating for Marie to stay in their house even though she has pneumonia and I thought even though it was weird it was a very kind thing to do.

I thought it was interesting how scared of sickness his mother is. She talks about every sickness, common or exotic, like it's the Bubonic plague and how everyone will die if they get a cold. I thought it was ironic how his mom is so scared of disease and then he goes out into the world and has to drop a French class because of a common sickness that he would have had immunity for if he wasn't so sheltered.

I thought it was very interesting the way he talked about his father. The part that stuck out the most is when he was talking about the kind of gun his father had and describing how small it was. The way he described him sounded like he was ashamed of who his dad is. He thinks his dad is a random person who doesn’t have an actual gun and no badge while he wants him to be a gun slinging cowboy with a cowboy hat.