How and why does Nathan's impression of Cameron change as he gets closer to the truth.

Nathan's impression of Cameron changes as he gets closer to the truth about Cameron's death. How and why does it change?

I think Nathan's previous feeling toward Cameron was a combination of admiration and resentment that he had a life that Nathan would have liked, successfully running a big ranch and married to the woman that Nathan loved. But as he learned Cameron's true nature, he realized that the outward trappings hid an ugly secret.

Nathan thought Cameron had it all. He admired Cameron, how he was able to run the huge ranch perfectly, and had a wonderful wife and children. All of this started to unravel as truths started surfacing. One never knows!

I think Nathan was devastated when he found out the truth about Cameron. He had been his staunchest ally.

He and Cameron had been allies as children, supporting each other through the abuse and sharing the good times too. He believed Cameron when he said he didn't rape Jenna. As the truth is revealed— such as the affair with Katy, then Isle's revelations, etc., he realizes that Cameron had become the same as his father. He'd envied Cameron's life until he learns the truth. He then begins to see how they'd all been damaged by the past and present.

Sometimes being so close to someone or to a situation can be blinding, and this was the case with Nathan and Cameron. Nathan counted on Cameron's support and allegiance when the two were growing up - Nathan came to admire and respect his brother's abilities - he seemed to have it all and to be able to do it all. After his marriage to Jacqui ended and Nathan was isolated on his own "less than" piece of land, his self-image and respect further diminished. Coming back to the family home where he had the chance to watch and listen to others, Nathan began to put the pieces of their family puzzle together. As the reality of Cameron's character and life gradually became clearer, Nathan was able to see and accept the truth that was revealed.

The author gave us a couple of hints about Cameron’s true nature - when Cameron “stole” the woman Nathan was interested in and when Cameron refused to intercede on Nathan’s behalf after he left Terry to die. That’s when I started to suspect Cameron wasn’t such a good guy. Nathan’s impression of his brother starts to change when these details are revealed.

You see the tide turning when he starts to question whether Cameron was innocent of raping Jenna. I became suspicious when he ended up married to the same woman that Nathan had been with, and knew that Nathan liked her. It said to me that he would be willing to hurt his own brother and feel good about it.

I think the older Nathan got, the more he was unsure about his brother. He may have questioned some of the things he did, for example getting together with Ilse. Did Cam get together with her to bug Nathan? Nathan always wondered if Cam knew about Nathan's night with Isle. Then, he found that the helpers Cameron had hired were not what Cam said they were. Katy was not a teacher and Simon wasn't good either. Why did Cam hire them? Because he wanted the girl. Cam never told Nathan that Bub was sorry for poisoning the dog as he said he would. The broken arm etc. I think Nathan may have known things weren't quite right with Cam, but made excuses for him, or just refused to see it because they were brothers. They were close. and they both lived through the same past with their father.

Susiej and cynthiaa sum up very nicely the how and why Nathan's impression of Cameron changes as he gets closer to the truth about Cameron. When they were younger there was brother loyalty and when Cameron died Nathan was able to hear the truth about Cameron and not defend him but accept it.

As Nathan gets closer to the truth about what his brother was truly like - how the golden boy everyone loved was actually abusive to his wife and children, how he pressured backpackers to sleep with him and likely raped a girl when he was a teenager - Nathan starts to see everything through a new light. What once seemed like a misunderstanding between his brother and a young woman whose boyfriend got mad about her kissing another guy suddenly becomes a likely rape. His niece who is competent riding a horse seems less likely to have fallen off while riding and more likely to have been abused. The more people he talks to who know bits and pieces of the truth - his brother's widow, the town doctor, the nieces - the more he realizes the picture he had of his brother was wrong.