Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Sign of the Beaver, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Survival and Indigenous Knowledge
Colonialism, Land Rights, and Entitlement
Nature
Friendship and Respect
Coming of Age and Manhood
Summary
Analysis
Matt struggles without a gun and quickly gets tired of eating fish. However, as he finds blueberries and as the summer progresses—his family will be here in about three weeks—he feels better. However, he begins to get a little careless. One morning, he spends hours out fishing and returns to the cabin whistling with four trout. But when he gets to the cabin, the door is thrown open and flour is spread all over the floor. Racing inside, Matt finds the cabin a mess—and the molasses is gone. It must’ve been Ben, or a Native American. But Matt realizes that people don’t treat food this way. A bear did this. Matt carefully scoops up as much flour as he can and then cleans and roasts his fish. He uses the last of his salt on them.
Matt’s initial suspicion that Ben returned, or a Native American trashed the cabin, highlights his fear and his vulnerability. He initially believes that people are what he has to fear—but then he realizes that the natural world itself isn’t as benign as he seems to have thought. The bear is a reminder that Matt is living in the remote wilderness, and the forest is filled with dangers. It may also be able to feed him and provide him with firewood, but the fact remains that it requires respect and vigilance.
Themes
