The novel “The Sign Of The Beaver”, written by Elizabeth George Speare, is set in 1768, in the wilderness and Native American territory of Maine. The novel is historical fiction (a literary genre that relates to the past but is fictional), and is based on a past event. Matt, from a white family, goes to live in Maine with his family. However, he and his father had left the mother, sister and possibly baby back at Quincy, so the father goes to pick them up and promises to come back early in the year. Matt is left alone in Maine and soon discovers the Native Americans and their Beaver Tribe. They help Matt from a swarm of bees, so Matt offers the leader (Saknis) Robinson Crusoe. The leader rejects and wants Matt to teach Attean, his grandson, English. As they learn from each other, they become friends and become known as “brothers”. In the end, the Beaver Tribe is forced out of their home, and Matt’s family returns.
The conflicts between the white and Native Americans result in the loss of their homes. The title “The Sign Of The Beaver” has a meaning: the ‘sign’ represents the way the Indians use to get back to their homes, while the “Beaver” is the name of their territory. However, the white and Indian people have a conflict with each other; both want more land. Native Americans want the land because it is their home, it is where their territory and signs are. White people want the land for places for their increasing population. The white people get the Native Americans’ land by killing them (especially with guns; white men killed Attean’s mother with guns), destroying their food and gaining power from the treaty between them and the Native Americans. However, because of the white people, the Beaver Tribe lost their home and signs, forcing them to move north. White and Native Americans with their cultures, nations or countries have conflicts between land that lead to the Native Americans’ loss.
Understanding cultures means how to handle differences between them, understand others and have diverse friendships. Understanding new cultures can allow us to understand more about other people, respect their beliefs and language, and find diverse friendships. Friendship encourages socialisation between new people and is a way for us to learn new things from others, like skills and strategies to do an activity. Attean and Matt become friends, and even though Attean frustrates Matt a lot, they share adventures, cultures and languages together. Matt teaches Attean English, so Atteans brings food for him and also teaches him how to survive in the wilderness and hunt. Attean brings socialisation to Matt as well; he introduces him to the Beaver Tribe and his family. In return, Matt tries to get as much praise from Attean, especially by helping him with small deeds (like how Matt saves Attean’s dog from dying). Culture can represent and teach us many things: socialisation, achievement, adventures, language, the act of helping and supporting each other and friendship.
Growing up represents the features, relationships and understandings it takes to gain maturity. To have maturity means to be grown-up or still growing up: having bravery, perseverance, care and the aspect of understanding cultures and respecting them. During the stage of growing up, people learn and have new relationships with different people and learn to handle differences between cultures. It also means how we understand and respect one another. Matt grows up to understand Attean, his culture and his language, and finally even becomes close friends with him. Growing up, he learns how to survive in the wilderness of Maine, understands and respects the cultures of the Native Americans and understands his relationship with his family (at the beginning, he thought that his family including his father had forgotten about him and left him in Maine). He understands the wilderness and learns how to live in it with the help of people from different races, cultures and countries. To gain maturity means to have grown up and have all the qualities of being so: culturist understanding, relationships, features and nature.
The novel “The Sign Of The Beaver” represents the conflicts between white and Native American people (Indians), growing up or simply maturity, and friendship. Both white and Indians both want the land in Maine: the Indians want it because it is their home, is where they put their ‘signs’ and is where their territory is. However, the white people want it for their increasing population and got the land by shooting (killing), destroying the Indians’ food and using the treaty between the two races as a way to get the land. However, it results in the Indians’ loss of their home. Growing up represents what it takes to be mature: qualities like perseverance and bravery, culturist understanding, and the hard work it takes. Friendship allows us to have socialisation and complete our goals together with friends. People also can learn skills, culture and language from their friends.
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