William Faulkner published several versions of this classic story, the most notable of which are a short story that appeared in the Saturday Evening Post and a novel-sized chapter in his book, Go Down, Moses. In the short story, an unnamed boy becomes a skilled woodsman over six years of annual hunting trips. His dream is to bag “Old Ben”, a huge bear that has terrorized farmers on the fringes of their hunting grounds for years. When he finally gets the chance, he doesn’t shoot. Themes: family, land and people ownership, racial identity, love of and respect for the wilderness.
The five-chapter novel expands the story. The boy now has a name: Isaak, aka Ike. When “Lion”, a savage hunting dog tracks and attacks Old Ben, an unlikely member of the hunting party steps in to save the dog, killing the famed bear. In as much as Old Ben has been a symbol of the primal power of nature, its death becomes a symbol for loss of wilderness. The aging family members cease to be interested in hunting, and the timber-rights of their forest are sold for logging. Additional themes: modernity, environmental degradation.
Readers interested only in the story of the bear can omit almost half the novel (the rambling, fragmented stream-of-conscience narration in Chapter 4). Added to connect the story with the rest of the book, much of this section delves into Isaac’s family history. Ike faces a moral dilemma when he learns of the sins of his ancestors (which include slavery and depravity on the part of his grandfather), and refuses to accept his inheritance of the family plantation. While some commentators see this as an act of honor, others see it as failure to accept reponsibility. When his new bride learns of the decision in the closing paragraphs of the chapter, she literally turns her back on him. Additional themes: family secrets, morality, responsibility, honor.
Short Story Original Text / PDF / Audio (6,400 words)
Novel Original Text / PDF (44,400 words)