76 pages • 2 hours read
Gary PaulsenBrian's Winter
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1996A 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
Nature’s Beauty Versus Nature’s Severity
Brian’s Winter gives the reader a realistic idea of what nature, and surviving in it, is truly like. He shows both the incomparable beauty and unrelenting severity of nature through Brian’s eyes.
Paulsen highlights nature’s beauty with imagery and simile, and by describing Brian’s reactions to the woods he begins to think of as home. Similes compare natural phenomena to more mundane objects—for example, daybreak brings a “new sun shining like gold” (7). Descriptions use clear, precise language to convey mood—the first snow that transforms the woods is “Clear and still and quiet, full of tracks” (99), a series of one-syllable words arranged in a sing-song meter that evoke animals making those tracks. Brian’s thoughts and perspective also highlight the beauty of the natural world. Brian constantly observes and appreciates his environment, tuning his senses to an awareness of his surroundings for safety and for aesthetic experience. After snowfall, Brian marvels at the beauty around him, knowing that no photo of a snowy forest compares to experiencing it firsthand. By the end of the novel, Brian develops a fondness for winter, and finds it hard to leave the woods. Readers gain a new awe for wild nature through Brian’s experiences and perspective.
In contrast, Paulsen also shows us the harsh, unforgiving side of nature. He uses motifs such as death and extreme weather to show nature’s severity. Throughout the novel, Paulsen highlights Brian’s discomfort over taking an animal’s life. Although Brian knows the death of animals is necessary for his survival, death and killing bothers him—even when he is not the one killing. The kill that troubles him the most is when he witnesses a group of wolves take down a moose, essentially eating it alive. Paulsen uses vivid imagery in this scene to show the violence of the wolves as they are “opening” and “ripping” the moose with their teeth (121). This event shows the unfair and seemingly cruel cost of survival, for both humans and animals. Furthermore, the steadily dropping temperature and the extreme weather conditions that Brian must navigate to survive reveal another aspect of nature’s harsh side. Throughout the novel, Paulsen highlights winter as Brian’s primary enemy, and emphasizes the danger of the cold: An indescribably beautiful environment is also an indiscriminate force.
The Role of Intellect in Survival
Although physical strength carries an advantage for survival in the wilderness, mental toughness plays the most important role in Brian’s ability to survive. The intellectual merits that keep Brian alive come from observation, cleverness, and perseverance.
First, Paulsen highlights the importance of keen observation and heightened senses. At the novel’s beginning, Brian misses many warning signs of summer’s end. Paulsen draws attention to his unawareness to create a sense of danger, making it clear that tuning in to every subtle shift in one’s environment is key for survival. When Brian finally does recognize that winter is coming, he takes action right away to prepare. Paulsen makes it clear that if the cold weather had caught him completely unawares, Brian likely would have died, thus emphasizing the importance of vigilantly reading nature’s signs.
Generally, Brian is perceptive and uses inductive reasoning to draw conclusions from his observations. On several occasions, when he wakes in the middle of the night because of some slight shift, such as the rain stopping or a distant sound, he doesn’t go back to sleep until evaluating the changing situation for danger. Furthermore, he constantly makes note of interesting observations, such as the change in the rabbits’ fur color and foot size. He then tucks away his observations, and cleverly uses them later to generate ideas. For example, his observation that the rabbits grow larger feet for walking on the snow gives him the idea to make snowshoes.
Finally, Paulsen highlights the value of perseverance for survival. Many of Brian’s successes come from trial and error. He learns from his mistakes and tries new ways of doing things, rather than simply giving up. For example, he learns that boiling meat allows him to get the most fat and nutrients from it, rather than cooking it directly over the fire. Furthermore, when bad things happen, such as the bear attack, he prepares so that he is ready for them the next time—in this case, making a larger bow and then a killing lance to defend himself against large animals. Brian learns as he goes and remains undeterred by failure.
Awareness of One’s Surroundings Brings Emotional Rewards
By the end of the novel, Brian’s character has changed. Instead of having a survival mentality to simply stay alive, he establishes an emotional and aesthetic connection with nature that makes him feel like the woods are his home. Rather than seeing his surroundings as an enemy, he grows to see them as a source of enjoyment and inspiration.
In the novel’s first three chapters, Brian’s emotional disconnection from the woods carries danger. Eager to avoid the wilderness, Brian fails to recognize signs of the weather changes and during two weeks of warm weather, does not think to use the time to prepare for winter. Instead, he enjoys the warmer days as a reprieve from the hostile environment, doing his best not to form an emotional relationship with the woods.
Soon, however, Brian’s heightened attentiveness proves essential not only for physical survival, but also for enjoyment of one’s environment—a key feature of Brian’s continued psychological health. His growing love and appreciation for nature allow him to find joy and even companionship in the skunk Betty, a connection he cultivates despite the possibility of being sprayed. Similarly, Brian learns to discern the birds’ songs and their meanings, and thinks of the birds as his friends. Furthermore, he takes great pleasure in being able to explore again once he has his snowshoes. He marvels at the beauty of the snow-covered woods and wants to simply observe and learn from nature. Brian’s choice to be in tune to his environment and appreciate it leads to not just survival, but flourishing. Brian learns to love the woods, and eventually sees them as his home.
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