Hattie Big Sky

Letters are a symbol of friendship and connection. Larson starts every chapter with an excerpt from a letter from Hattie, Uncle Holt, or Charlie. This narrative choice highlights the importance of letters in the period because they were the only form of communication with people who lived far away. It also helps give background for Hattie’s life before she came to Montana. Larson emphasizes the power of friendship and community with these letter exchanges as she shows how Hattie values receiving and writing these letters. Letters also emphasize the distance between Charlie and Hattie because their letters are vastly different from one another. Although the setting of the novel is in Vida, Montana, Larson uses letters to remind the reader of the reality of World War I, even when the life of people in Montana feels so different. However, letters allow Hattie and Charlie to stay connected even amid the turmoil of war, allowing for the possibility of a future romance together in Hattie Ever After.

The Montana sky is a motif that highlights Hattie’s resilience and her hope for the future. Hattie feels drawn to the vastness of the Montana sky several times throughout the novel.