Montana, 1948 Key Scenes Activity

Cut out the scenes below, then rank them in order of importance, with 1 being the most important scene, to 10 being the least important scene. Discuss this with your table group and rank them together.

SCENE:
Dale Paris comes to David’s house armed and with a group of men, with the aim of rescuing Frank Hayden. Gail Hayden and Len scare them off with guns.
SCENE:
Marie Little Soldier confides in Gail Hayden about Frank’s crimes, and Gail tells Wes.
SCENE:
Wes decides, after Frank confesses that he murdered Marie Little Soldier, that Frank must face the law the following day and be formally arrested.
SCENE:
At Frank’s funeral, Wes, Gail and Frank stand on the opposite side of the grave to Julian and Enid.
SCENE:
Frank attends Marie Little Soldier when she is ill and she refuses to see him without Gail being present. David feels an element of mistrust and suspicion towards Frank.
SCENE:
Frank decides to suicide in the basement of David’s house.
SCENE:
David shoots and kills a magpie after learning of Frank’s crimes.
SCENE:
David overhears the conversation between his father and his grandfather, whereby Julian accuses Wes of being jealous of Frank. Julian also states that despite Frank’s crimes, he should not be ‘locked up’.
SCENE:
Upon his post-war return to Montana, Frank is celebrated as a war hero. Julian asks “his son” to come to the stage- everyone knows he means Frank only.
SCENE:
The Hayden family leave town after the events of 1948.

Now select your top 3 scenes, and choose3 of the 5 following questions to answer for each scene:

  1. How is one character different form another in this scene?
  2. What is a choice a character makes that could have been different in this scene?
  3. What is or might be a consequence of what a character does in this scene?
  4. What are two ways to describe what a character does in this scene?
  5. What is a question we can ask about what happened in this scene? See if you can answer it.