32 pages • 1 hour read
Alice DalglieshThe Bears on Hemlock Mountain
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1952A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Summary
Background
Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Character Analysis
Themes
Symbols & Motifs
Important Quotes
Essay Topics
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BetaThemes
The Bonds of Family
In The Bears on Hemlock Mountain, Jonathan’s journey highlights the bonds of family. Jonathan’s mother, father, and other relatives play an important part in the story as they teach him, encourage him, and provide for him. The story shows how Jonathan and his family members share positive, reciprocal relationships, sharing interests as well as practical help.
Jonathan’s large family is a positive part of his life, and he enjoys their companionship. Early on in the story, Dalgleish establishes that “Jonathan [i]s very fond of his uncles. He [i]s fond of his cousins and his aunts. If all his uncles and aunts stood side by side they would go all the way from the house to the gate—or very nearly” (Chapter 2). Young Uncle James is a particularly good playmate for Jonathan on the rural family farm. He is also a positive role model for Jonathan, who looks up to James and enjoys learning from him. James is supportive of Jonathan’s love of animals and nature, something that continually gives him courage throughout the story.
Jonathan’s family relationships also shape his character; he does his best to contribute to the family farm as an eight-year-old. His work ethic is clearly modeled after his own parents, who are often busy working on the farm. Jonathan’s parents teach him to make his own contributions to the family: “There was wood to be cut. This kept the big fire going so that Jonathan’s mother could cook all the good things the family liked to eat. Jonathan helped carry in the wood” (Chapter 3). Jonathan’s commitment to their family motivates him to cross Hemlock Mountain and fetch Aunt Emma’s big iron pot, which his mother needs to cook a big stew for all the relatives. Likewise, Aunt Emma is happy to help her nephew and lends him her pot because, as she states, “I am one of [the family members]” (Chapter 7). She needs no more motivation than this to help her family.
When Jonathan is in trouble on the mountain at the end of the story, his strong family bonds help him once again, as his father and uncles come up the mountain to his rescue. When Jonathan comes out from under the pot he hid within, he sees no bears. Instead, “up the path c[omes] his father, carrying his gun. And with him [a]re Jonathan’s Uncle James and his Uncle Samuel, his Uncle John and his Uncle Peter. Jonathan had never in all his life been so glad to see the uncles” (Chapter 10). This rescue shows not only the size of Jonathan’s family but also that Jonathan can depend on everyone in it to come to his aid when he is in need.
Confronting One’s Fears
In the story, Jonathan’s task requires him to overcome his fear of being alone on Hemlock Mountain—and his anxiety about meeting a bear for the first time. As Jonathan wrestles with these feelings and tries to keep up his courage and determination, the story develops a theme on confronting one’s fears.
At the beginning of the story, Jonathan admits to his mother that he is afraid to hike to Aunt Emma’s house: “‘Me?’ said Jonathan. ‘All alone? They say there are bears on Hemlock Mountain […] And bears wake up in spring’” (Chapter 3). Nevertheless, Jonathan agrees to go, taking the first step to overcoming his fears. On the way, Jonathan feels “lonely,” as his isolation makes him feel more vulnerable in the woods. It is clear through his behavior that he’s extremely unaccustomed to being left alone due to his large, happy family; still, he perseveres. To overcome his persistent worries, he chants the words of his mother: “THERE are NO BEARS ON HEMLOCK MOUNTAIN, NO BEARS AT ALL” (Chapter 4). This demonstrates how, even when his parents aren’t there, he tries to rely on them for comfort or wisdom.
Jonathan continues to fight his fear of bears throughout the final chapters as he leaves Aunt Emma’s house close to dusk. He intuits that Aunt Emma may also believe there are bears on the mountain, yet “he [i]s brave and off he [goes] toward Hemlock Mountain” (Chapter 7). The author emphasizes Jonathan’s bravery by describing the spookiness of the mountain setting, emphasizing the darkness of the night and the woods numerous times. However, Jonathan does not give in to panic and fear, even when he finally does encounter the bears of the mountain. Instead, he thinks quickly and uses his one object—the pot—as a shield against them: “The pot was like a safe house. Jonathan dug out another little place in the snow so that he could breathe” (Chapter 8). It makes sense for the pot, which represents his family and their relationships, to act as a “safe house” for him. On top of showing his ability to work through his fear and respond to danger, this shows how his family continues to help him in their absence.
Jonathan’s successful return home marks the end of his task in which he conquered his fear of being alone on Hemlock Mountain and even his fear of bears. He tells his mother, “‘THERE…ARE…BEARS!’ Then he took the iron pot from his father and set it down in the middle of the floor. Now his voice was proud. ‘I brought it,’ he said. ‘All the way over Hemlock Mountain. And here it is!’” (Chapter 10). This ending provides closure to the story’s theme on confronting one’s fears. Instead of being beleaguered by his worries, Jonathan is proud to have retrieved the iron pot by himself.
People and Wild Animals
The Bears on Hemlock Mountain explores people’s relationship with wild animals, suggesting that animals can be a source of strength and inspiration, as well as a threat. Jonathan watches wild animals in fascination alongside Young Uncle James, appreciating their beauty and intelligence. On one occasion, they observed as “a raccoon came down to the brook. He had an apple in his mouth. […] The raccoon took the apple in his two front paws. He dipped it in the water and dipped it and dipped it again” (Chapter 2). Halting the story’s pacing to focus on the actions of an animal shows how important the dynamic between the characters and the animals is. Additionally, this scene helps develop James and Jonathan as perceptive, sensitive individuals who pay attention even to small creatures.
While Jonathan could hunt the animals, he prefers to simply observe them, taking pleasure in seeing their daily routines. His and James’s gentle personalities are emphasized when they are distinguished from other people who are implied to be cruel to the animals. Dalgleish writes that “[t]hey never threw sticks at the animals, or scared the birds. Soon all the animals and birds were their friends. The squirrel was the best friend of all. He came very near to get nuts from Jonathan” (Chapter 2). This is portrayed as hugely satisfying to Jonathan, whose love of animals is evident in his caring actions for the squirrels, rabbits, and birds that populate the woods near his farm.
Jonathan’s easy friendship with these creatures highlights their shared vulnerability. Like his animal friends, Jonathan is also relatively small and frightened of bigger animals, like bears. By feeding them out of his own pantry, the story suggests that Jonathan has much in common with these innocent animals, even eating the same crumbs, nuts, and carrots that they enjoy. Jonathan’s relationship with the squirrels, rabbits, and birds gives him courage and companionship on his hike over the mountain, helping him feel less overwhelmed and lonely. He tells his father afterward, “The birds and the rabbits and the squirrels helped me […] They are my friends” (Chapter 10). This is a major aspect of the theme, as Dalgleish implies that a bond between people and animals is crucial to life in the countryside.
While Jonathan is an animal lover, he does not have such a positive view of bears. While he admits to James that he would “rather see a bear than anything in the world” (Chapter 2), he soon changes his mind when he learns that he has to walk over Hemlock Mountain on his own. Jonathan’s fearful attitude toward bears shows that he understands the danger they could pose to him, which distinguishes them from his little animal friends. While Jonathan enjoys living in harmony with the small creatures of the mountain, his farming family perceives bears as a threat and hunts them. As they walk down the mountain toward home, his father hopes that the uncles are shooting a bear and says, “Something tells me that we shall have bear steak for dinner!” (Chapter 10). Jonathan’s layered relationship with wild animals combines the romantic notion of befriending wild creatures with the reality of farmers’ conflict with predators, showing the complexity of human-animal dynamics.
