“He had been…young then, more than two years ago. He was still young by most standards, just sixteen. But he was more seasoned now and back then he had acted young—no, that wasn’t quite it either. New. He had been new then and now he was perhaps not so new.”

Brian reflects on his first wilderness survival experience at age 14 and thinks about how much he has changed since then. His knowledge of the outdoors and his survival skills have grown immensely in the last two years as he pursued time in the woods. This passage introduces the theme of Personal Growth Through Experience and highlights the way Brian’s experiences changed his sense of identity. Paulsen uses free and indirect discourse to project Brian’s internal thoughts and uncertainty into the narrator’s voice about what has changed in him.

“He had gone hungry so long when he had first come to the bush…. Food had been everything and the thought of wasting any of it went against every instinct in his body.”

Brian’s gratitude towards food demonstrates both his Respect for Nature and the ways which he has undergone Personal Growth Through Experience. Brian reveres the basic necessities of life, demonstrating a connection that contrasts against the easy convenience of modern day living.

“South was cities, people, and he was fast coming to think that people, and what people did with their lives, with their world, were not good, were in most cases ugly and wrong. That was south. Ugly and wrong. And north was country to see, natural country that man had not yet ruined.”

Paulsen juxtaposes north and south, society and wilderness, ugliness and beauty. This juxtaposition draws a stark divide between Brian’s life and what he views as society. Paulsen posits that humanity has “ruined” the world, equating society with unsustainable practices and inauthentic living. This juxtaposition directly places society and wilderness at odds.