81 pages • 2 hours read
Jean Craighead GeorgeMy Side of the Mountain
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1959A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Themes
The Desire for Independence
Sam’s desire for independence motivates him throughout his adventure. Sam runs away from his cramped New York apartment so that he can learn to survive on his own and become self-sufficient. Sam leaves home with very little—a penknife, a ball of cord, an ax, and $40—as well some flint and steel. Initially Sam struggles to survive on his own, experiencing a miserable first night in the Catskills, which causes him to run toward the first house he sees and seek help. There he meets Bill, who helps Sam learn how to build a fire properly, which is a boon for Sam to becoming independent.
Sam realizes his independence in a crucial moment at the end Chapter 3, when he catches and cooks a meal for himself using a fire he’s built for the first time. As Sam describes this moment to the reader, “Also I was stuffed on catfish. I have since learned to cook it more, but never have I enjoyed a meal as much as that one, and never have I felt so independent again” (24). Providing food and warmth for himself is critical toward Sam’s gaining independence. This moment is really just the start of Sam’s independence, for it continues to grow as the story continues.
This journey toward total independence is also present when Sam constructs his own shelter inside of a tree and builds a bed to sleep on. It requires Sam to rely on his own thoughts, his own plans, and his own decision making. Sam runs into some problems, though, when he realizes he can’t rely on modern conveniences to help him. In trying to figure out how to put out the fires in his tree house, Sam ponders: “Where was I going to get a bucket? How did I think, even if I found water, I could get it back to the tree? That’s how citified I was in those days” (34). Sam realizes that he must detach himself further from city life if he’s to become totally independent. Ultimately Sam figures out that he can use mud to put out fires. These types of situations regularly test Sam’s independence.
Another part of Sam’s independence involves his acting freely and abiding by his own set of rules. Just the act of living alone as an underage kid goes entirely against the laws of regular society. Further, Sam realizes that he can live or go wherever he wants to on the mountain. He demonstrates this freedom when a fire warden comes to investigate the smoke coming from Sam’s fires. Instead of allowing the fire warden to capture him, Sam tells the reader: “I began to shake. Then I realized that I didn’t have to go back to meet the man at all. I was perfectly free and capable of settling down anywhere” (47).
Sam also acts freely in the wild in scenes when he catches and eats whatever foods he desires; he even steals deer from the hunters who shoot them. Although Sam’s family brings regular society back to him at the end, he chooses to remain there because he’s achieved his independence already by proving over the past year that he can survive on his own.
Solitude Versus Society
Sam teeters back and forth in the story between wanting to live in solitude and wanting to be part of society. In the early parts of the story Sam, enjoys being alone with nature and the animals, and he avoids contact with other humans at all costs. In fact, Sam chose to leave the noisy and crowded streets of New York in search of quiet solitude. Sam’s solitude gets tested early on when an old lady forces Sam to help pick strawberries and then drags him back into town with her. After that moment, Sam figures out ways of hiding when other people come near his camp.
Sam becomes quite skilled at avoiding humans, and in turn he develops strong bonds with animals. Sam claims that he never truly felt alone when surrounded by Frightful, the Baron Weasel, and Jessie Coon James. These animals offer some level of friendship to Sam while at the same time allowing Sam to remain in solitude. However, in scenes such as Sam’s Halloween party, Sam learns that not all wild animals are as quiet, friendly, and respectful of his camp.
A shift in Sam’s view of solitude versus society occurs after he adventures around with Bando for the first time. Sam tells the reader right after Bando leaves, “I was so lonely that I kept sewing on my moccasins to keep myself busy” (84). This chapter, in which Sam meets Bando for the first time, goes into great detail describing the various activities the two engage in together—from fishing to making blueberry jam and crafting musical instruments. Sam’s fun with Bando proves to be just the beginning of Sam seeking out interactions with other humans.
As much as Sam tries to convince himself that he still does not wish to be seen or caught by others, he continues to invite people into his champ to share in wilderness activities. Toward the end of the story, Sam tells Bando he now seems to have an address, suggesting that Sam’s camp at the Gribley farm has turned into a public location. In the springtime Bando drives his car up into the mountains regularly, and Sam’s new friend Tom Sidler also visits him almost every weekend. Even prior to the arrival of Sam’s entire family, Sam has already pursued the development of a new community, or new society, at Gribley farm.
Survival and Connecting with Nature
Sam Gribley’s connection with nature is ubiquitous in My Side of the Mountain, and how Sam connects to nature relates very closely to how he survives. When Sam first sets out on his adventure, his connection to nature comes mainly from reading library books. While these books offer Sam a fine starting point, they fail to completely connect him to nature. This is apparent when Sam first arrives in the Catskills, when by his own admission he says: “I was so stupid, and scared, that I hate to admit it” (17). Sam struggles to catch food and build a proper fire. However, to survive this journey, Sam must come to respect nature and learn how things operate in it.
The power, or in other words influence, of nature is exemplified by the changing of seasons. Nature dictates when the first snowstorm of winter is going to arrive, and it’s the job of Sam (and the animals that live in the mountains) to best prepare for its impact. In fact, Sam tells the reader how exciting each season is because each one offers something different. Sam suggests that he experiences the changing of seasons and weather conditions because of the unique position he’s in living within nature: “I lived close to the weather. It is surprising how you watch it when you live in it. Not a cloud passed unnoticed, not a wind blew untested. I knew the moods of the storms” (132).
Sam prepares for each season—particularly winter—by using what resources nature offers him. Most notably, Sam makes proper use of every part of each deer he catches. As Sam describes with the first deer he caught: “I smoked the meat I couldn’t eat and stored it. I used everything I could on that animal. I even used one of its bones for a spearhead” (59). In a way, Sam shows respect for nature by making sure the entire deer is used purposefully to aid in his survival. The same goes for every animal or plant that Sam catches throughout the book.
Sam does not kill every single animal he encounters. Often, Sam merely watches the animals and takes notes on how they interact in nature. By doing so, Sam learns what plants are safe to eat. During the harshest winter months, Sam watches the Baron Weasel to figure out when it is safe to leave his tree house: “I considered him a pretty good barometer, and if he went to his tree early, I went to mine early too. When you don’t have a newspaper or radio to give you weather bulletins, watch the birds and animals. They can tell when a storm is coming” (133-34).
Sam’s friendships with animals like the Baron and Frightful further demonstrate his connection to nature. Sam’s interactions with The Baron are often playful, resembling something like a relationship between an older brother and a younger brother. By the end of the story, Sam relies on Frightful for companionship. They communicate basic feelings with one another, and their connection even reaches a point where Sam begins hearing the voice of Frightful in his head, offering him advice on dilemmas he faces. Altogether, this story is riddled with examples of Sam Gribley connecting with nature as a way to aid in his survival.
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