Brian's Return

“The hawk did not hunt to kill. It hunted to eat. Of course it had to kill to eat—along with all other carnivorous animals—but the killing was the means to bring food, not the end. Only man hunted for sport, or for trophies.” 

Brian forms his beliefs about hunting based on the example set by nature. Although killing one living thing is necessary for another to survive, Brian recognizes that there is a right and a wrong way to go about it. Paulsen establishes the hunting ethics motif as Brian considers the hawk and contrasts its purpose for hunting with that of humans. He suggests that hunting should be done out of necessity, not as a means of entertainment.

“He had learned the most important fact of all, and the one that is so hard for many to understand or believe: Man proposes, nature disposes. He hadn’t conquered nature at all—he had become part of it. And it had become part of him, maybe all of him.”

Paulsen succinctly sums up one of the novels major themes: the power and unpredictability of nature. Brian recognizes and respects nature’s power and ability to catch him off guard. Although at different points in the novel Brian does not prepare adequately for possibilities nature may bring, he always learns from his mistakes. He is humbled and reminded of his place in the natural order, and sees himself as a part of his environment, not a conqueror over it. 

“He heard the sounds, nodded, tried to appear interested, but in the end, sitting alone in his room one evening, he realized that he couldn’t care less about any of it.” 

Brian becomes increasingly withdrawn despite his efforts to fit in with his peers. The activities that interest his friends feel meaningless to him because of the high-stakes situations he had to navigate in the woods. Paulsen illustrates that Brian has been changed by his