Pushing the Bear: A Novel of the Trail of Tears

Knobowtee is Maritole’s husband. He is a dynamic character whose understanding of his community role and his personal identity grows and changes along the journey. When the soldiers come to remove the Cherokee people from their land, Knobowtee tells Maritole that they “didn’t have a chance” (5), implying that they could not fight the soldiers. Immediately, Knobowtee resigns himself to the situation and isolates himself from those around him out of a sense of shame. However, as the novel progresses, Knobowtee’s anger over the situation grows., At first, his anger is misdirected at those around him, including Maritole and her family. When Tanner attempts to hold Knobowtee accountable for his poor treatment of Maritole, Knobowtee claims to “[want] to hit Tanner” to “[show] him the self-righteous brother-in-law he was” (62). However, Knobowtee’s hostility towards Tanner reveals his unwillingness to reflect on his actions and reasoning. Although Knobowtee’s behavior toward Maritole constitutes one of the primary conflicts of the plot, his role as a husband is given greater nuance when the narrative reveals that his first wife passed away due to an illness. By the end of the novel, however, Knobowtee reflects on his shared experiences with Maritole and realigns with his identity as her husband.

As the journey progresses, Knobowtee attempts to reconcile with the hardships of the situation, and he directs much of his anger towards the United States government and those directly involved with the resettlement of the Cherokee Nation. As he grapples with the events leading to his people’s displacement, his perspective allows Glancy to explore the historical nuances of the time frame. To this end, she uses Knobowtee’s voice to reveal many different aspects of the governmental policies and key figures related to the Trail of Tears, and Knobowtee’s words allow readers to develop a greater understanding of how these policies came to be. However, as he begins to formulate plans on how to act against the government, his anger at his community fades somewhat, and he realizes the need to help his people. At this point, he states, “My anger at the soldiers gave me strength” (143). Here, Knobowtee’s decision to redirect his frustration toward the soldiers rather than his own people allows him to persevere throughout the rest of the journey. Once he develops an understanding of how to engage with his community more constructively, he defines his role as a leader by becoming a member of the council. This position allows him to develop his identity even further as he attempts to establish a life in the new territory.

As one of the soldiers guiding the Cherokee people to Oklahoma, Sergeant Williams initially appears as an antagonist in the novel. He rides a horse alongside the Cherokee people as they walk or ride in wagons, and this physical position emphasizes his authority over them. However, Williams is also kinder and more empathetic to the Cherokee people than many of the other soldiers. For example, he allows the women to return to their cabins to gather supplies before leaving North Carolina, and he also advocates allowing them to bury their dead along the trail. In his first appearance in the text, Maritole describes him as a man “with light eyes” who touches her shoulders “with his bayonet” and attempts to speak Cherokee (13). The narrative thus conveys conflicting images, for his casual use of the bayonet to touch Maritole implies a threat, but at the same time, his attempts to speak Cherokee imply that he is trying to connect and communicate with Maritole on a more human level. This contradictory behavior continues when Maritole is forced out of her cabin by the family of settlers that has usurped her property. In this instance, Williams does not allow her inside her cabin and even cuts her with his bayonet, but he does offer to let her ride on his horse. The ambiguity of his early actions and treatment towards Maritole illustrate his distrust of Maritole and his obligation to exhibit a harshness that matches the demeanor of the other soldiers.

His character further develops as his relationship with Maritole strengthens, and in this process, Williams transitions from his harsh, distrustful treatment to a ready kindness and willingness to learn from Maritole. In these later chapters, she describes him as being warm and curious, and she is appreciative of the fact that he helps her walk the trail and listens to her stories. Because Sergeant Williams’s perspective is not revealed in the novel, the details regarding his character mostly come from Maritole, who holds a realistic view him of his position as a white man even as she benefits from the aid he offers her on the trail. This dynamic creates a nuanced and complex view of his character, for although he provides comfort and knowledge for Maritole on the trail, he is complacent and actively aids the resettlement of the Cherokee people.