Edmund Burke once said, "The greater the power, the more dangerous the abuse." In today's society, power is seized and used manipulatively by people prominent in the eyes of the public. We see celebrities paying to escape punishment all the time. Julian Hayden is a powerful authority character in Larry Watson's novel, Montana 1948. He was the sheriff of Bentrock and passed his job on to his son, Wesley, who is David's father. His actions define how he abuses his power, using his authority over his family to control them and to try to cover up his son Frank's crimes. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Wesley Hayden is torn between his wife's desire for him to become a lawyer and his father's need for him to become the sheriff of Mercer County, surpassed by him. He attended law school, but eventually became the sheriff. “For a while he harbored hopes that I would follow in my father's footsteps and pursue a career in law. 'Wouldn't that be something,' she once said hopefully to me when I was a teenager, 'Hayden and Son, Law Partners?'” (Watson 176). Near the beginning of the book, he introduces his father by saying, “He was elected sheriff of Mercer County, but such was the influence of my grandfather and the weight of the Hayden name. […] It would never have occurred to my father to refuse.” Wes had no choice but to become the sheriff, or so he thinks. He was overwhelmed by his father his whole life, he never thought he would make his own decisions. Once again, we see Julian's influence on Wesley by seeing how his bias is "like father, like son." Both Wesley and Julian show their prejudices by saying racist things throughout the book and trying to cover up Frank's crimes. After the crimes take place, Len McAuley says to David, “You know what your grandfather said it was like to be a peace officer in Montana? He said it means knowing when to look and when to look away” (Watson 84). Julian is clearly biased about the kinds of crimes he was willing to report, as is Wesley. At first she doesn't want to report it, because Frank is her family. “'That's not how it works. You know it. The sins – the crimes – must not remain unpublished'”. Gail insists that Wesley betray him, and he ends up going against his father, locking Frank in his basement. Grandpa and Grandma Hayden march to Wes and Gail's house, and demand to know where Frank is. David observes all this and thinks to himself: “I suddenly felt sorry for my father, not as he was in front of me at that moment, but as a boy. What must it have been like to have a father capable of speaking to you like that?". David sees how aggressively his father is treated by his grandfather. He assumes that, as a child, Grandpa Hayden treated him this way. “You…are you investigating?” In those two words I felt how little respect my grandfather had for my father and for anything he did." Once again, Julian's words reveal that he has clearly been oppressive to Wes his entire life, and how disrespectful he is towards him. He believes that Wesley should live as he wants. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Power can be used in all the right and wrong ways. In Montana, 1948, the character Julian plays a role in this story that illustrates how power can be exploited and even family can be manipulated for terrible purposes..