41 pages • 1 hour read
Mary LawsonA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Figuratively, there are two Arthur Dunns in the book. The first, childhood Arthur, is the central protagonist for half of the book, eventually grows into adult Arthur, who is largely a background character in the other half of the novel, which is told through the eyes of Ian Christopherson.
Arthur is repeatedly described as a large, powerful, simple, and quite man. He is portrayed as the quintessential stoic, hardworking farmer. Arthur suffers his fate in silence, setting up one of the essential contrasts of the novel—namely, the difference in dealing with consequences: Arthur’s acceptance of them, and Jake’s denial of them. Lawson’s characterization of Arthur makes him a potent symbol of fatalism, both the positive and negative consequences thereof.
At the same time, Arthur suffers because of his unwillingness to assert himself, particularly in any way that might upset his mother. From the opening, when Jake throws a knife into his foot, to over a decade later, when Jake seduces Laura, Arthur is made to suffer because he is unwilling to stop Jake. Despite being capable physically, he is incapable emotionally. This never changes until the end of the novel, when, in a moment of tragic irony, Arthur does take charge and beats Jake, who then unintentionally kills Arthur’s child.
Arthur never contemplates leaving Struan, something almost every other character does. He is bound to it, and is even unable even to be sent off to war, thanks to being flat-footed. He is born and dies on the same farm, without, so far as the book allows us to know, ever leaving the immediate area.
Jake is Arthur’s younger brother, born after his mother has two miscarriages. For this reason, she is very protective of him. Jake is everything Arthur is not: good-looking, outgoing, willing to break rules, and unafraid of confrontation. Arthur becomes Jake’s protector when his rule-breaking gets him in trouble very early on in life; this continues through the remainder of the book. Jake is happy to accept and even comes to expect this of Arthur.
Jake is selfish and shortsighted in contrast to Arthur’s generosity and concern for long-term consequences. Jake is unwilling to help out around the farm, yet secretly craves the responsibility and wants the respect of his father, which he never gets.
Jake’s desire to push the boundaries and disregard rules repeatedly gets him in trouble until he learns to make sure the trouble lands on other people. He isn’t always able to deflect the consequences of his actions, though, and ultimately ends up crippled because of it. Jake’s impulsiveness and irresponsibility provides nearly all the action in the story.
Ian Christopherson is a young high school student trying to find his place in the world and figure out what he wants to do with his life. He is the third generation of Christopherson in the town of Struan, with both his father and his grandfather having served as town doctor, a role Ian at first avoids and is irritated by, but later comes to accept.
Ian is initially obsessed with Laura Dunn, taking a job on the Dunn farm so that he can be closer to her. Over time, his unrealistic imaginings of her are supplanted by the real Laura Dunn, though not entirely. Instead of getting closer to Laura Dunn, working on the Dunn farm gets Ian closer to Arthur Dunn.
Early on in the novel, Ian’s mother abandons him and his father, running off to the big city with another man, something that Ian never, even as a grown man, forgives her for. As he admits later in the novel, he spends much of the time figuring out what his mother would have done and then deliberately doing the opposite.
Ian represents a bridge over the gulf that separates the hard-working stoicism of Arthur Dunn and the escapist selfishness of Jake Dunn. Most of the novel is concerned with how Ian navigates between these two extremes.
One of the central ways Ian navigates this path is through his relationship with Pete, his best friend and member of the Ojibway tribe. At times strained by deteriorating relationships between the tribe and town, Pete and Ian’s relationship serves to ground Ian in reality and in Struan.
Arthur Dunn’s wife and Jake Dunn’s lover, Laura arrives late in Arthur’s timeline and becomes the first (and only) woman he falls in love with. Laura becomes the focus of the rivalry between the brothers and eventually the victim of it, after Jake gets her pregnant and then abandons her.
Laura accepts Arthur’s marriage proposal to avoid scandal and eventually comes to love him, but when Jake returns, she admits that she still feels something for him and this leads to the death of their son, Carter Dunn.
Ian’s best friend and fishing partner, Pete is a member of the Ojibway tribe, which have a reservation near Struan. Pete is a stark contrast to Ian: sure of himself and confident in what he loves and what he wants. Pete’s experience, while only hinted at indirectly, gives him a maturity and understanding of the world that Ian lacks.
Pete is forever chasing a huge fish that once pulled him overboard while he and Ian were fishing. The fish mirrors Pete’s willingness to go deep into the depths of himself, unlike Ian, who, by his own admission, is only able to catch small fish. The book closes with adult Pete and Ian still talking about the big fish.
The town doctor, Ian’s father’s practice is run out of their home. A quiet man who loves the north, Struan, and the wilderness around it, Ian’s father lives a quiet but happy life until his wife leaves. Ian and his father grow closer after his mother leaves, but his father also becomes prone to spells of depression that Ian tries to help him through.
Ian’s mother does not like Struan and runs off with a teacher from Ian’s school, going to Toronto to start a new life and abandoning her son and husband. She appears later in the book as a character in Ian’s dreams.
Jim Lightfoot is a local Ojibway man who gets in a fight with and accidentally kills another man. He is imprisoned and becomes a major source of conflict in the Struan community, and between Ian and Pete. Eventually, Jim Lightfoot escapes from jail and disappears into the wilderness. Ian celebrates along with Pete and the rest of the tribe.
Ted is Arthur’s friend who is badly mangled in WWII. Ted loses both legs, an arm and an eye. At first, he is silent when he returns. Arthur is the only one left to go and see him. He listens to Arthur and one day begins to speak again. Eventually, he asks Arthur to help him kill himself, which Arthur does.
By Mary Lawson