The American Dream In Larry Watson's Montana 1948

In 20th century America, after the Second World War, the nation emerged as a dominant figure in the dynamics of the world. The American people began to develop a certain identity that became known to all around the world. People craved to experience the American identity and have a chance at reaching the American dream. The American dream embodied the American ideals of freedom, social mobility, and ability to succeed and live a happy life. Ultimately through Montana 1948, by Larry Watson, the American identity is explored through the many facets of the emerging 20th century American idea: an American dream.
The focus and emphasis on reaching the American Dream is involved in the American Identity. When David Hayden introduces the setting of

Montana, he describes Mercer County, “Life was simply too hard, and so much of your attention and energy went into keeping not only yourself but also your family, your crops, and your cattle alive, that nothing was left over for raising hell or making trouble” (4). David Hayden’s description of life in Mercer County displays the role of the American Dream in the West because it conveys the importance of maintaining a healthy family, crops, and cattle. In the West during the post-war era, many people began to conjure an idea of the American Dream as a dream or goal to live a healthy life. The people of Mercer County were too devoted to reaching their dream to allow for any trouble. The complete attention and focus on reaching and maintaining the American Dream help encapsulate the American Dream.
The American Identity displays the ability to succeed and achieve the American Dream through hard work.

When David Hayden describes Ollie Young Bear to the reader, he mentions, “All of these accomplishments made Ollie the perfect choice for white people to point to as an example of what Indians could be. My father liked to say of Ollie Young Bear, 'He's a testimony to what hard work will get you" (48). Ollie Young Bear exemplifies the perfection in the imperfect society that humans live in because he had education, religion and a job. This perfection helped display him as the ideal Indian according to the whites. Wesley Hayden believed that Ollie Young Bear’s hard work throughout his life to be as successful as a white was proper and adequate. Wesley’s belief embodies the American ideal and myth that hard work can easily bring success. However, he is shrouded from the obstacles people face through their hard work because he inherited his existence. While Wesley Hayden praised Ollie Young Bear for his accomplishments, Ollie Young Bear also displayed to other Indians that even though he grew up in a condemned community, he was able to reach the success of the white man. The American Identity involves hard work and facing of obstacles to achieve life goals and essentially the American Dream while supporting the idea that all have the ability to

succeed.
The American identity embodies the idea of male dominance over the family, crops and cattle and his duty to protect the family. When David Hayden describes his mother with a gun, he says, “The sight of my mother loading the shotgun was frightening - yes - but also oddly touching. She was so clumsy, so obviously unsuited for what she was doing…I wanted to rush over to her, to help her, to relieve her of the awful duty she had taken up” (127). Gail Hayden’s inability to maintain the gun made David feel obligated to help her because of the American ideal that conveyed male dominance in the 1940’s. The role of women in the 1940’s was to maintain the household and the children, so when Wesley left the household, David was forced to grow up and become the man of the house. Gail tried to fulfill a “man’s” job and protect her family, however she was inadequate and David had to take over. This scene of a woman taking over and radicalizing the domestic realm was very unseen in this time period because the American Identity suggested male dominance. The American Dream displays the male with the duty to protect and support his family, but the female with the obligation to cook and clean the household.