On the Far Side of the Mountain

“Unlike the chairs and people, Frightful has not changed. She still holds her body straight up and down and her head high in the manner of the peregrine falcon. Her tawny breast is decorated with black marks; her back is gray blue; her head black. When she flies, she is still a crossbow in the sky, and she still ‘waits on’ above my head until I kick up a pheasant or a rabbit. Then she stoops, speeding toward her prey at two hundred miles an hour, the fastest animal on earth. She almost never misses.”

Sam’s description of Frightful showcases the falcon’s majestic beauty and Sam’s awe for the bird. The imagery allows the reader to visualize Frightful’s coloring and powerful body and provides a brief summary of her hunting capabilities. This quote relates to the Animals motif and the theme Respect for Nature as Sam expresses admiration and appreciation for his falcon as both companion and helper.

“At peace with me and herself, she bobs her head as she follows the flight of a bird. I cannot see it, but I know it’s a bird because Frightful’s feathers tell me so. She has flattened most of them to her body while lifting those between her shoulders. ‘Bird,’ that means. ‘Human’ is feathers flattened, eyes wide, neck pulled in, wings drooped to fly.”

Sam’s bond with Frightful celebrates the communication that is possible between humans and animals. George also shows how close the boy and bird are, emphasizing the complex interplay between animal and human by demonstrating how closely Sam marks his falcon’s acute senses and acts upon her many subtle cues to changes in the natural world around her.

“The phoebe clicks out his alarm cry and I tense. I have learned to heed these warning signals. The birds and animals see, hear, smell, and feel approaching danger long before I do.”

Sam demonstrates his propensity for learning and his Respect for Nature by listening to the signs the birds and animals provide. He knows their senses surpass his and is willing to learn from them. George highlights the animals’ extraordinary qualities and demonstrates that humans can learn much from simply listening to and observing nature.

“Pity didn’t work. Politeness didn’t work. Reason and philosophy failed. I try compassion. ‘I love that bird. She knows me. We are bonded. She’ll die without me.’”

When Officer Longbridge comes to confiscate Frightful, Sam tries every approach he can think of to convince the officer to let him keep Frightful. George organizes this section according to Sam’s different tactics, and this quote summarizes his varied attempts, betraying deep emotion despite the clipped simplicity of Sam’s diction. Even though the officer seems to simply be doing his job in this section, hindsight reveals that his confiscation of Frightful is born of cruelty and greed.

“‘Alice can stay, Sam,’ she said, ‘if you think you can support another person. She is far safer here than in the city.’”

Sam’s journal entries recount the story of how Alice came to live on the mountain. Sam’s mother’s assertion that the mountaintop is safer for Alice is likely opposite to many readers’ way of thinking, as people tend to think of the wilderness as full of danger. However, George challenges this idea, asking readers to consider the risks associated with city life in comparison with country life.

“I never leave my mountaintop without food. Anything can happen to delay me—a twisted ankle, a storm, a trout waiting to be caught.”

Even if Sam plans to go just a short distance, he is always prepared for the unexpected, proving that he has learned not to underestimate nature’s power and unpredictability. Through detailed descriptions of Sam's faithful preparedness, George characterizes Sam as wise beyond his years.

“‘I would never use a gun,’ I say out loud. I would be forever tied to stores for bullets, and the friendly spirit of my mountaintop would be violated. The birds would not come and sit on my hand, Baron Weasel would move out, and Jessie Coon James would no longer trust me. Something happens to a person when he picks up a gun, and the animals sense it. They depart.”

Although losing Frightful means Sam no longer has a way to hunt, he knows instinctively that he will not turn to guns as a means to obtain meat. Sam’s Respect for Nature prevents him from using such a weapon, as he knows it would ruin the kinship he has built with his mountaintop environment. Sam’s attitude about guns also reveals the closeness he feels to the animals on his mountaintop.

“I grin as I always do when I start up the mill. Water is so wonderful. It takes such a very little flow to build up enough power to turn a big wheel and generate enormous power.”

The mill has been completed for over six months at this point, yet Sam still marvels at it happily when he sees it working. His appreciation for the power of water relates to his Respect for Nature, and his contentment with the operation of the mill relates to the theme The Value of Change.

“We had a wonderful feast on Thanksgiving. Miss Turner brought up a turkey, and Mrs. Strawberry and Zella made salad and pumpkin pie. Alice and I baked acorn bread in my stone oven. The day was warm, and we ate outside watching the waterwheel turn. We all felt great pride and satisfaction.”

Sam has a wonderful community of friends with whom to spend holidays. Beyond that, these friends come to help when Sam needs it, and just as everyone contributes to the Thanksgiving meal, they also all contribute to the building of the mill. George highlights The Importance of Friendship and Community and shows how Sam finds a balance between self-sufficiency and community on his mountain.

“The water mill was a big change. I sawed wood and made a gable for the millhouse roof and shingles to cover it. I had leaped from the Stone Age into the beginning of the Industrial Revolution without any pain, in fact, with a lot of joy.”

At times, Sam resists change and progress. He loves his simple lifestyle to the point of refusing to change or branch out. However, through the completion of the water mill, Sam finds that not all change is negative. This lesson is echoed through other changes that Sam learns are for the best, such as Alice’s presence on the mountain and Frightful’s release into the wild.

“I think people have better appetites when they eat with someone, even if they argue.”

Sam’s words, which reveal that he misses Alice, support the theme The Importance of Friendship and Community. In My Side of the Mountain, Sam learned that companionship is part of a joy-filled life. As much as he was initially uncertain about Alice coming to live on the mountain, it seems that her company is now a welcome presence.

“‘She talks to that pig,’ I answer, looking Bando right straight in the eye. I want him to believe this. Animals communicate with each other, and when you learn their language, you can communicate with them too. Scientists as well as animal lovers do this. Bando looks doubtful, so I try to explain. ‘It’s like I talk to Frightful with love squeaks and whistles and Mrs. Strawberry talks to Slats by blowing air through her lips.’”

Sam insists on the kinship and communication that is possible between humans and animals. While some readers may relate more to Bando’s doubtful attitude, Sam’s explanation is logical and is based on his personal experiences. Sam has learned to read Frightful’s body language; he understands her different calls and can communicate in her “language.” This quote highlights the possibilities available when humans are willing to learn from animals.

“Although I am heavy-hearted, my spirits are rising. To walk in nature is always good medicine.”

Sam experiences grief after Frightful is confiscated, but George shows the power of nature to lift one’s mood and the enjoyment nature offers. Sam’s metaphor—comparing nature to medicine—challenges the modern understanding of medicine and emphasizes the healing power of nature.

“I wake early, pick a few Labrador tea leaves and brew them in Bando’s tin cup. Then I gather a batch of daylily buds for our breakfast. These I moisten in dew and dip in hazelnuts I pounded to a powder with a stone. I steam them in spicebush leaves.”

Sam often provides details about the steps in his various processes. His descriptions show the amount of work required to complete one seemingly simple task, and they showcase his abilities as an outdoorsman. This quote demonstrates Sam’s extensive knowledge of edible wild plants, and his creative methods for preparing a foraged meal.

“We find a log and sit down. A woodthrush sings. His song sounds like water spilling down the rocks in a cool, dark forest. As I listen, I thank Alice in spite of myself. Were it not for her, I would not be hearing that glorious song on top of this magnificent gorge.”

As Bando and Sam follow Alice’s trail, George peppers their journey with imagery of the terrain. Since the novel is narrated from Sam’s point of view, these descriptions highlight how Sam truly loves nature. Even after living on the mountain for two years, he is awed by the sights and sounds of the natural world.

“I stare at him. We’ve just finished a breakfast of fish chowder and sow-thistle leaves, and here he is eating again. No wonder he has a paunch! Or he did have one. He’s walked it off, I see.”

Bando and Sam contrast in their eating habits and preferences. Sam prefers wild foods, while Bando often craves restaurant-style meals and needs more food than Sam to sustain his hiking. This contrast suggests that just because a person loves and enjoys the outdoors, that does not mean that they must be totally committed to living off the land.

“I sit perfectly still. Miss Turner said the eastern coyote is a clever hunter. Perhaps I can learn something from her.”

Sam demonstrates his willingness to learn by observing the coyote’s hunting strategy. His learning spirit reveals his humility and respect for nature. Sam’s thought of Miss Turner also points to the importance of her influence for him, and how much of his knowledge comes from her or from books she shared.

“It’s the mother coyote. That’s what the men were going to do when they headed up the creek, kill the coyote. They came back to seek revenge. Near the mother floats a puppy, and I can look no more. These men are cruel—and they have Frightful.”

Bate and his friend do not have the profound Respect for Nature that characterizes Sam’s every action. Instead, the men are more interested in exploiting nature for money through the illegal sale of birds of prey. The act of killing the coyote and her puppies is senseless, wasteful, and cruel, committed only to assuage the men’s misplaced anger at the coyote for depriving them of a bird that never belonged to them in the first place. George uses these men as examples of the potentially damaging effects of disrespect for nature.

“‘That’s what falconry is today,’ Officer Conklin adds. ‘Falconers working for the birds of prey, not the birds of prey working for falconers.’”

Sam learns about opportunities in falconry from Officer Conklin and becomes interested in becoming a licensed falconer. George suggests that humans should protect and care for animals rather than treating them as a resource to be carelessly exploited. She shows that there is a balance between benefitting from nature and caring for it.

“I hear the cry of a goshawk and look up. Recognizing the female by her great size, I stop running to admire the silver gray body streaking through the sky. She is carrying a rabbit home to her nestlings in her taloned feet.”

George highlights Sam’s admiration for the beauty and power of the goshawk. This contributes to the theme of Respect for Nature by showing that one can appreciate its splendor while being aware of the dangers it poses. Sam’s respect for the goshawk contains both awe and a healthy fear.

“I can’t believe what she’s doing. Miss Turner told her what happened to people who went near goshawk nests. ‘Get down before you’re knocked down,’ I shout and climb faster. Alice doesn’t come down. I can barely see her for the dense limbs, but I do see the parent goshawks. They scream and dive, but do not hit her.”

This scene shows Alice’s fearlessness but suggests that her bravery is not always wise. The scene also shows a difference between Alice’s and Sam’s approaches to nature. While both admire the goshawks, Sam has a more practical mindset, not wanting to sacrifice personal safety for the chance to see the baby birds. Alice, on the other hand, is so captivated and determined that she is willing to take risks to get close to the birds.

“As if I am in a familiar grocery store, I look along the meadow edge until I see what I’ve come for—the delicious leaves of the lamb’s-quarters. I also check out a moist pocket by the stream for groundnuts and am rewarded with a string of three-inch nuts on the roots of one plant. I take the nuts and replant the roots. I am rich again. I have Alice, a squirrel, groundnuts, and greens.”

Sam’s comparison of the outdoors to a grocery store shows his familiarity and expertise with foraging. He has grown immensely since he first came to the mountain, and his casual tone suggests the foraging is almost effortless for him at this point. His assertion that he is rich also shows that his idea of wealth is not connected with money but rooted in nature and community.

“Living with nature teaches you to give. Alice would not have thought of doing something for me when she first came to my wilderness home.”

Sam is touched by Alice’s giving spirit when she presents him with the baby goshawk. His words suggest that living in nature changes a person for the better. When one shares one’s home with thousands of creatures and plants, one learns to give more freely.