The Bear

In “The Bear,” Faulkner explores the fragile, ever-shifting relationship between human society and the natural world. In so doing, Faulkner contrasts the restrained, balanced relationship with nature practiced by Sam and Isaac with the more aggressive approach practiced by Boon and others. The differences between these two approaches are most evident in three dichotomies: violence versus reverence, ownership versus membership, and cities versus forests.

Whereas Boon is quick to violence, Sam teaches Isaac the value of reverence. A notoriously poor shot, Boon is known for missing Old Ben at close range, not for lack of trying. Additionally, Boon’s admiration for Lion seems to stem primarily from Lion’s brute strength—or, in other words, his ability to inflict violence. Isaac, for his part, initially relies on his gun for security, but Sam convinces him to set it aside on at least two occasions: first, when he’s tracking Old Ben, and later, when he approaches Lion for the first time. Sam also instills in Isaac an admiration for the creatures of the forest, including a buck whom they refrain from shooting, as well as Old Ben. Boon, meanwhile, attacks Old Ben almost without thinking on both occasions when he comes into close proximity to the bear. The cost of Boon’s violence is high: He not only sustains serious injuries, but also, by defeating Old Ben, paves the way for the continued collapse and exploitation of the forest environment.

While Boon and the others seek to establish ownership and control over the land and the forest, Sam and Isaac seek only to gain membership or fellowship within the forest’s ecosystem. Unlike Major de Spain, who only visits the camp from time to time, Sam lives in the forest in a hut he built for the purpose. Similarly, as Isaac grows increasingly driven to see Old Ben, he abandons the tools and weapons that mark him as an outsider and put him on unequal footing with the bear. Once Sam dies, Isaac considers him as part of a “myriad” yet unified whole. The two characters’ consistent disinterest in buying or owning land contrasts sharply with Boon’s desire to control squirrels, as well as Major de Spain’s eventual selling of his land. Even this brings him no joy, since he knows that the areas he so loves will be destroyed for timber, which is a kind of violence in itself.

Whether or not Major de Spain believes, as Isaac does, that a curse lies upon the land, the image of him inventing an excuse to stay at his desk and do paperwork rather than join Isaac in the woods is a pitiful one. In each textual comparison between cities or buildings and the forest, the manmade structures come up short. For Isaac, who considers life in the forest to be “the best game of all, the best of all breathing and forever the best of all listening” (182), any time away from the woods is best spent planning a return: When he goes to Memphis, he has to explicitly remind himself to “stop thinking about it” (221). Faulkner’s elevation and idealization of the forest provides a powerful argument for communal conservation efforts to take the place of private, profit-driven exchanges of property. Overall, “The Bear” reveals the pettiness and short-sightedness that so often govern human action in the wilderness.