43 pages • 1 hour read
Jean Craighead GeorgeOn the Far Side of the Mountain
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1990A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 1-3Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 1 Summary: “A Storm Breaks”
Sam Gribley wakes to a hazy June morning in the hemlock tree hollow in which he lives. As the haze dissipates, he surveys his camp and contemplates how much he has built since his first year on the mountain: a millhouse, cellar, pond, and more. Sam once lived there alone, but now his younger sister, Alice, lives in a nearby treehouse. Sam’s other companion is Frightful, his peregrine falcon. Sam knows Frightful so well that he can read her body language and interpret her calls. He knows that “Creee, creee, creee, car-reet” (2) is her special name for him. Sam thinks back to a day when Frightful joined a male peregrine falcon in a courtship dance. Despite his fear that she might leave to mate with this falcon, Frightful instantly returned when Sam called.
Later that day, Sam senses several warning signs from Frightful and other animals that danger is near, and soon a man in a green uniform appears. He introduces himself as Leon Longbridge, a conservation officer, and announces that he has come to confiscate Frightful because peregrine falcons are endangered and can be kept only by a licensed falconer. Leon explains that since Sam has had Frightful since she was a chick, she imprinted on him and now sees humans as her kind, so she won’t be able to mate. Leon plans to take her to the university, where artificial insemination will help her produce young that will eventually be released into the wild. Sam pleads with the officer, trying several tactics to convince him to allow Frightful to stay, but Leon resolutely explains that Sam is lucky not to be arrested. Leon takes Frightful and leaves.
Chapter 2 Summary: “The Population Shrinks”
Devastated, Sam goes to his hemlock hollow to grieve for Frightful, grateful for Alice’s current absence and his solitude. To take his mind off of Frightful, he flips back to his journal entries from a year ago, reflecting on how Alice came to live with him on the mountain. Although Sam’s entire family came to see him and had planned to stay and plow the land, they soon discovered that the land was full of stones and not suitable for farming. When Sam’s family prepared to leave, Alice begged to stay with Sam, and their parents granted permission, reasoning that Alice would be safer on the mountain than in the city and could continue her education through correspondence school.
Sam soon found that Alice’s decision to stay was not a fleeting whim; she had big plans and set to work building a plumping mill, a water-powered device that grinds grains and nuts into flour. Alice’s plumping mill inspired Sam to make a water mill to cut wood. However, before he could start this project, Alice needed help executing her plans for a treehouse. She chose a white oak in which to build the house, and planned for a wigwam design with a porch, rabbit skin carpets, and windows made from glass jars.
Chapter 3 Summary: “I Start Over”
Sam tries to write about the day’s events but cannot bear to write about losing Frightful. He hears Alice’s footsteps outside at the root cellar but doesn’t go out to see her because he wants to be alone. Wondering why Leon Longbridge did not show any identification and questioning whether he is actually a conservation officer, Sam decides to go to the nearby town of Delhi to verify Leon’s identity. While preparing for the trip, Sam finds a note from Alice on the root cellar door that says, “I’m thinking waterfalls” (23); he leaves an answering note for Alice, explaining his reasons for going to Delhi.
At the Delhi sheriff’s office, the receptionist confirms that Leon is indeed the conservation officer and asks if Sam would like to see him, but Sam declines, overwhelmed with disappointment. On his walk back up the mountain, Sam tries to shift his focus to the new problem he faces: hunting meat for himself and Alice without Frightful’s help. Sam takes the long way home, allowing nature to soothe his mind and help him think. After bathing in a stream that he dubbed the Spillkill, he makes a sling and practices his aim, but his stones miss their mark. Feeling discouraged and not yet ready to talk, Sam decides to spend the night at the Spillkill away from his camp, knowing that Alice will be fine on her own.
Chapters 1-3 Analysis
The first three chapters emphasize both the depth of Sam’s respect for nature and the intensity of his bond with Frightful. By outlining the extensive improvements he has accomplished during his two years on the mountain, including a pond, two mills, a root cellar, and cooking station, George illustrates his competence as a survivalist and strategically describes the homey features of the tree hollow to pull readers deeply into his appreciation for this natural, peaceful setting. The novel’s rich and detailed descriptions of Sam’s home in the Catskills help to orient the reader to the deliberate minimalism of Sam’s world, using his simple lifestyle and homemade tools to demonstrate his preference for an uncomplicated life.
These early chapters also highlight the strong bond and sense of loyalty between Sam and Frightful by describing Sam’s ability to interpret the nuances of her calls, read her mood and body language, and even communicate directly with her. Yet this extraordinary relationship holds an element of uncertainty: Sam respects his bird, but he also fears losing her, and his desire for companionship keeps him from considering the falcon’s long-term well-being. Even so, George clearly establishes Sam’s Respect for Nature, one of the novel’s dominant themes, by showing Sam’s ability to read the signs and sounds around him and heed the warning signals of the animals: a skill that serves him well. Similarly, Sam’s refusal to use guns to hunt indicates his kinship with nature and the peace it brings him.
To expand on this theme, George establishes a stark contrast between the natural world that Sam has chosen and the city that he prefers to avoid, for although the town of Delhi is nearby, he visits only when absolutely necessary and prefers his remote mountain home. He also demonstrates this preference through subtler quirks, such as his use of the sun to gauge the time and his lack of a set schedule. For example, he has no problem taking the long way home and spontaneously extends his stay by the river to three days: a freedom from time constraints that is foreign and counterintuitive to any modern readers whose daily activities are ruled by the clock.
The novel’s inciting incident is Frightful’s confiscation, a conflict that builds tension in the plot and provides an opportunity to introduce some key terms associated with falconry. For example, Sam explains that the hood placed over Frightful’s head will keep her from seeing and moving, and readers are also introduced to the term “hack,” which refers to a process by which birds of prey are released into the wild. This specialized language appears often throughout the novel, and its early introduction helps to familiarize the reader with the terminology.
Finally, these early chapters offer a glimpse into Alice’s personality despite the character’s absence. Sam’s thoughts and journal entries help to paint Alice as determined, independent, and smart. Her technical skills prove her to be a good teammate for Sam, and she is also a visionary who has thorough, detailed plans for her treehouse. She is a free spirit who loves waterfalls and goes on spontaneous adventures, leaving whimsical notes for Sam and confidently pursuing the things she wants in life.
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By Jean Craighead George
