David’s journey begins “From the summer of his twelfth year”, when Frank’s crimes are first discovered. David’s mother, Gail sends David away to his room as she discusses with Wesley, his father, the severity of Frank’s assaults on the family’s beloved Native American housekeeper, Marie Little Soldier. However, the curious David hides out of the sight of his parents as he eavesdrops on their conversation. This eavesdropping is an indication of growing up as “The shock of hearing this about Uncle Frank…” is a turning point in David’s life, awakening him to the adult world, and taking from him his childhood innocence. “If I had gone back into the house… I would never have heard the conversation between my father and mother, and perhaps I would have lived out my life with an illusion about my family and perhaps even the human community.”
David realises the presence of evil in the hearts of those he least suspects, through his crumbling opinion about his grandfather, Julian and his uncle, Frank whom he idolises. Frank was thought of by David as a pond, appearing calm and serene on the surface, epitomizing the perfect Bentrock citizen. He has it all - a medical degree, an attractive wife, and also war hero status. However, David discovers what murky depths lie below through Gail’s condemnation of him. Therefore, when his sexually criminal actions are revealed, David’s high regard for his uncle takes a sudden down turn. “I was already thinking of Frank as a criminal,” reflects David.
Julian is, as David discovers, the commanding figure of evil in Bentrock. He is rich and respected. However, he is also a racist and a demeaner of those he considers “weak.” David grows to realise this through his grandfather’s actions. During the celebration of Frank’s heroic return from war, Julian stands up on a table and calls upon Frank to give a speech calling him “My son”, without paying any attention to Wesley. This callous statement shows Julian’s cruelty as he publicly rejects Wes as his son demonstrating that he believes he is a weakling for not being able to serve in the war.
The crimes that Frank commits cause tremendous tension between the Haydens. As the corrupt father Julian finds out about Frank’s imprisonment in Wes’s laundry room rather than his incarceration in the jail, neither of which he will countenance, he is appalled and orders his henchmen to free Frank from captivity. This subversive and vigilante course of action shows Julian’s evil character as he believes that Frank’s molestation of Indian women is not a serious matter, therefore he should go unpunished. This also shows his bias and corrupt nature – one which should not have ever qualified him as sheriff.
Furthermore, David realises the potential for evil within himself when he shoots and kills a magpie at Julian’s ranch. As he examines the dead bird, he feels a sense of satisfaction and he realises that such evil thoughts lay “there, deep in even a good heart’s chambers.”
The issues of parents trying to shield their children from reality, and the gaining of wisdom also feature strongly in the threads of the novel.
In later years, David recalls that his parents were people who “only wanted to do right”. Guided by loyalty to family, to the community and especially to their son, they protect him by hiring Marie to look after him while Gail works, and later after Marie’s death, they shield him from the increasing evidence against Frank. However, instead of shielding him, Gail and Wes only succeed in arousing their son’s curiosity and, in the overwhelming reaction from the senior Haydens and the townsfolk; they are powerless to protect him from this knowledge. This is evident through his desire to be included, causing him to seek information through his eavesdropping.
Perhaps the gain of wisdom about family, loyalty and law are most evident through David’s experiences of the demise of his family cohesion and the choice between law and loved ones. “After what I observed as a child in Bentrock, I could never believe in the rule of law again.”
Following Frank’s suicide, Gail Hayden’s inability to “…live with the lies concocted in the aftermath of Frank’s death” force Wesley, David and Gail to leave Bentrock to go to North Dakota, where Wesley becomes a lawyer and the three live the rest of their lives trying to ignore the smouldering family dispute of August 1948.
Through the events of 1948, David above all became aware of the potential for cruelty and evil “within all humans.” During and after his life in Bentrock, David matures and becomes conscious of the severity and impact the events of August 1948 had on the Hayden family. However, his inability to discuss this matter with his parents is a result of the events which turned him from an innocent, naïve boy into an experienced, sad and bitter man who “…could never believe in the rule of law again”.
