The River

Paulsen’s contrast between the beauty and power of nature gives the reader a fresh perspective of nature’s dominion over humans, despite human attempts to subdue it. Brian appreciates nature, even after coming close to death during his first ordeal in the woods. Brian has a much more comprehensive and authentic view of nature than most people because of his experience surviving in the woods. While the average city dweller lives near a grocery store and has never truly been hungry, Brian knows the great time and effort required to obtain food in the wilderness; he understands what real hunger feels like. Brian appreciates nature for its beauty and power, and respects it, knowing that nature can be relentless and can determine whether he lives or dies. For the young audience to which the novel is written, this representation of nature as a two-sided coin of both beauty and power acts as a learning opportunity to understand nature in a way he or she has likely never experienced.

For Derek, nature is not fully real or understood. His comfortable life separates him from the power of nature, as well as its beauty, and he romanticizes the idea of surviving in the wilderness as a game or adventure.