Loyalty In Larry Watson's Montana 1948

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In our lives we are bound by the ties of family and loyalty. Every person born into this world is born into a family, which they are then connected with for the rest of their lives. Families are self sustaining mechanisms, they flourish from within each individual person, and to have such a delicately woven system, you need trust; a very fragile thing. The ties of a family are only as strong as the weakest link. To have a dysfunctional family you only need a singular weak link to break the bonds of trust and loyalty within the family. That weak link could be something as simple as a rebellious teenager or an alcoholic father or mother, but in the case of Larry Watson’s, Montana 1948, it is a lawbreaker within a law bringer family. The community …show more content…
I had to arrest him. You understand that don’t you? That I had no choice?”(110) Wesley says this moments after locking Frank in his basement. Wesley felt compelled to uphold the law, even against his brother, Wesley had put off trying to stop his brother for the sake of the family, but he couldn’t do it anymore. After Frank killed Mary to keep her quiet about the terrible things he had done to her, Wesley couldn’t put off Frank’s horrendous crimes any longer. Wesley and Frank grew up together and had no quarrels with one another. Frank had protected, helped, and been friends with his dear brother, Wesley, ever since they were children. Wesley did not want to arrest frank, but “had” to, for the sake of upholding the law and his own morality. There have been countless cases of relatives letting other relatives and friends get away with terrible acts, they made not have power and authority that a Sheriff would like Wesley Hayden, but anyone could do something about an unjust act being done by anyone, especially a family member committing the act. Another way that depicts the strength of Wesleys sense of justice over loyalty to his family is when Julian Hayden addresses Wesley with:
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