On the Far Side of the Mountain

“The haze moves off, and I see my pond, my millhouse, and the root cellar. The first year I lived here I had only a tree, a bed, and a fireplace. But one idea led to another, and the next thing I knew, I had built myself a habitat. Things just kept evolving.”

Sam’s reflections reveal the changes that have taken place on his mountaintop home since the end of My Side of the Mountain. His many additions to his camp also illustrate The Value of Change, showing that changes have brought convenience and wholeness to Sam’s life without sacrificing the peace, simplicity, and closeness to nature that he values.

“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.