What is a man? Not a grown up boy, but a real man? This is question that occurs to 'the boy' throughout Faulkner's short story, as he, Sam Fathers, his father, Major de Spain, General Compson, Tennie's Jim, and Uncle Ash set up camp every summer and every November, hunting the "immortal" bear. This huge hulking thing present in the woods since the beginning of time, it seems to him. Man and beast have to come together countless times, but have never been able to conquer it. The bear becomes the boy's obsession for four years; his "alma mater"; defeating it is the only thing hindering him from becoming a man. The bear signifies everything he hopes to be: courageous, valiant, invincible. Being afraid of the bear, letting the bear beat him, is something only a boy would do. He gets his chance at fourteen, baiting the thing with a mongrel of a dog and a deep understanding of how it moves.
He doesn't kill it.
Pointless, you say? The boy seems to think this too, until he joins his father in his study for a little post-unsuccessful-hunt-reverie. His father reads to him 'Ode to a Grecian Urn' and explains to him what truth, courage, bravery, and a real man is. A true hunter and man does not always kill the enemy. He takes pride in the ability to have the chance to do it, but there is a enough more-than-foolhardy respect in the exchange to spare the bear's life. I really like the touching-on of real truth, bravery, manhood, and freedom. Two other things that resonate with me are Faulkner's metaphorical representation of the Native American and the "Negro" prevailing with the bear. Also, the fact that this was published in 1942 reflects the times: World War II was raging, and many state leaders had lost sight of what a true warrior is. 'The Bear' is a true coming of age tale: it talks not only of growing up and conquering your childhood fears, but learning to become a decent person.
-Katherine
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