Tracker

These chapters officially begin the hunt and show John starting along his changing character arc. John feeling good in Chapter 5 illustrates the way grief is not a static experience; rather, there will be moments of happiness along with sadness. Often the moments of “feeling good” when grieving can lead to rash decisions, as shown when John decides to follow the deer tracks that he knows are of an animal too far away. Rather than use his skills as his grandfather had taught and shown him on past hunts, John takes the first chance he sees to find a deer, even though it’s an unlikely one, because he wants to get home to spend time with and take care of his grandfather. Seeing the doe in Chapter 7 jumpstarts John’s transformation in the rest of the novel. He equates death from hunting to death from disease for the first time, marking a shift in his understanding of The Meaning and Inevitability of Death. Though he is still determined to bring home meat to eat, he questions if he can actually go through with killing, which foreshadows him ultimately returning home without a dead deer.

In Chapter 5, John chooses not to do work for his grandfather because he doesn’t want to take it away from him. This represents a few things, both about opportunity in general and about interacting with sickness. Whether John’s grandfather had cancer or not, John’s choice to leave the work for his grandfather represents one’s relationship to experiences. By leaving the work, John gives his grandfather the chance to do something for himself, which in turn allows his grandfather not to feel “useless” because of his disease. Often, people with terminal illnesses are treated as if they are incapable or too weak and fragile to do anything, which leaves them feeling frustrated and angry. John leaves the choice to his grandfather. If his grandfather wasn’t able to do the work, he wouldn’t have volunteered, and John respects his grandfather’s decision, demonstrating another aspect of his Individual Growth Through Life Experience.

John’s interaction with the doe’s tracks shows his competency as a tracker and hunter. From the distance between the tracks and how the doe’s hooves hit the ground, John determines the size of the animal, its condition, and its mindset, all without even seeing the deer itself. John’s ability to do this reflects how practice and experience develop proficiency, action, and knowledge. Even with all his understanding, though, The Unpredictability of Nature persists. John acknowledges that there’s no use in planning because information can’t dictate what will happen—only what the conditions are and might be later. This may be applied to more than tracking and hunting, and John’s experience symbolizes the unpredictability of life, as well as the book’s theme that nature follows its own rules.

The end of Chapter 8 sets up for John’s dreamlike, almost delirious hunt in the final third of the book. John recognizing the doe from Chapter 3 lets the reader know something significant will happen involving the deer. John observes that there is more to what’s happening than his usual hunt, meaning there is more than predator, prey, and the means of the prey’s demise. This moment signifies John’s willingness to learn and grow, and it ultimately foreshadows him accepting the change that will come about as a result of his grandfather’s illness. The doe bolting foreshadows how John will pursue her and how the doe will run as if threatened for most of the time, culminating in both her and John becoming lost in the chase.

The sun glinting off the doe in Chapter 7 is a defining moment for John, though he doesn’t realize it at the time. John has always appreciated the woods for their beauty and hunting potential, but here, he sees a deer—a creature he’s mainly thought of as food—in a new way. The doe is in her natural habitat, and John sees her as a living thing that’s part of the greater ecosystem of the forest, not just something to be singled out for food. This moment is one of anthropomorphism—the process of seeing human qualities in nonhuman creatures. The doe is still an animal and potential food, but she and the hunt start to represent John’s grandfather.