Weasel

“Mama’s locket—Pa had given it to her the day they were married […] Mama had worn it every day. Inside was a tiny lock of Pa’s hair, a bit of Molly’s, and some of mine, too. ‘So you’ll always be with me, wherever I go,’ Mama used to say.”

The locket symbolizes union, as the hair unites the Fowler family, and Mama and then Pa always wear it. The symbol connects to the theme of Needing Others and Self-Reliance for Survival. The Fowler family sticks together and helps one another the best they can.

“[W]e knew how to do most everything around the farm. I chopped wood and kept the fire going. Molly made bread and stew. We fed the animals, we fetched the water, we did everything we knew to keep things right.”

Nathan and Molly rely on themselves and each other to maintain the farm and their well-being. The division of duties highlights gender norms, with Nathan performing typically masculine duties and Molly undertaking historically feminine tasks.

“Once I fell, and a strong arm caught and held me until I got my balance. Later I heard Molly stumble and cry out, then whisper, ‘Thank you.’”

The images of Ezra helping Molly and Nathan indicate that he doesn’t pose a risk to them. Ezra is a person they can rely on, and when they fall or stumble on their journey, Ezra assists.

“He wore a tall black hat like I had seen in a picture of Andrew Jackson when he was the president […] With the hat and the way he sat so straight and looked so serious, he was pretty near as dignified as Mr. Jackson himself.”

President Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act, and before he was president, he led brutal assaults against Indigenous peoples in Alabama, Georgia, and Florida. By wearing the hat, Ezra turns it into a symbol of reclamation. He subverts Jackson’s policies by aligning himself with the Shawnees.

“The children whispered to us strange tales about Weasel. They said he was part man and part animal and called him wild and bloodthirsty.”

The diction—words like “whispered,” “wild,” and “bloodthirsty”—reinforces Weasel’s wicked characterization. He’s out of control and murderous, and he’s such a menace that children say his name softly. If they say it too loud, they might provoke his presence.

“I reckon when a man’s been killing his whole life, something happens inside him, and he can’t see any other way.”

Pa’s thesis about Weasel reveals how violent norms can create a brutal person. The United States tasked Weasel with displacing and killing the Shawnees. Now, Weasel can’t decouple himself from murder, so he kills indiscriminately.

“I wasn’t afraid of Ezra, but I sure wondered about him. He was a white man, but his house was an Indian house, his ways were Indian ways.”

The violence against the Indigenous population creates a binary world of white people and Indigenous people. However, by aligning himself with the Shawnees and living like them, Ezra disrupts the categories and reveals their permeability, as he is connected to the Shawnees through his relationship with Gives-light-as-she-walks.

“We were startled to hear Ezra suddenly laugh aloud, the first sound we had heard him make. As the turkey flapped its wings feebly, and the dogs lunged and licked, we laughed, too.”

The image of Ezra holding the wild turkey as the dogs try to capture it produces laughter. The scene reveals that pain and joviality can coincide. Pa is injured, and Ezra has suffered greatly, but pain doesn’t prevent one from enjoying lighthearted moments.

“If a man’s going to keep animals to work for him and feed him, he’s got an obligation to treat them right. A man who mistreats a poor, dumb beast is no better than a beast himself.”

Pa’s belief extends the theme of Needing Others and Self-Reliance for Survival. The Fowlers depend on their animals, and the animals need them. Nathan, showcasing his keen sense of morals, upholds his obligation, and he goes back to the farm to feed them.

“I had always thought of it as being so big and safe and proud. But looking down at it now, it looked like it was made from the little carved wooden toys.”

The simile compares Nathan’s farm to a toy, and it showcases Nathan’s development. He’s learning that the world is dangerous and that he and his home are vulnerable to injustice.

“Suddenly my thoughts were interrupted by the sharp snap of a twig behind me. I stopped.”

The sound of the twig adds suspense and drama, as Nathan doesn’t know the cause of the sound—though he might have guessed that it’s Weasel. The alliteration and onomatopoeia add to the tense atmosphere, with “sharp” and “snap” creating a swift, thumping sound.

“Said he was ashamed of his white man’s blood, ashamed of what the white man, what we, had done. I wasn’t about to listen to that!”

Ezra’s shame reflects his morals. He doesn’t want to be aligned with the country’s brutal, violent policies enacted toward Indigenous people, so he denounces them. However, this doesn’t change the fact that Ezra took part in them in the first place.

“I was lying on my side, my hands tied to the top crosspiece of the chair, above my head, my feet spread and tied separately to the two front legs of the chair. It wasn’t exactly comfortable.”

The image shows how Weasel ties Nathan, which, in turn, previews how Nathan can untie himself. The final sentence reveals Nathan’s sense of humor. The understatement is comedic, as the position is likely much worse than a bit “uncomfortable.”

“I wanted to join in the jokes and stories and games like I used to. But something wouldn’t let me. I sat, as silent as Ezra, brooding about Weasel.”

The image creates a juxtaposition. Molly and Pa are enjoying themselves, but Nathan dwells on Weasel. After Nathan’s escape, Weasel preoccupies him, and he has trouble embracing the good aspects of life.

“Life’s full of sadness, Nathan, like your mama dying, and what Weasel did to Ezra’s kin. There’s more sadness in that than you and I have got tears to cry for it. But life’s full of good things, too.”

Pa explicitly addresses the theme of Accepting Pain and Embracing Positivity by noting life’s “sadness” but not minimizing the “good things.” Nathan doesn’t practice Pa’s beliefs right away, but by the end of the story, he absorbs them.

“But with what was the Shawnees’ usual generosity, they gave each captive two pairs of moccasins, a doeskin, a gun, and a few loads of powder so they wouldn’t starve on their way back.”

Pa juxtaposes the Shawnees’ considerate treatment of Daniel Boone and his hunters with their malice against Indigenous communities. Pa reveals the principled dignity of the Shawnees, demonstrated by their decision to equip the settlers with tools for their journey back.

“We didn’t think much about the Shawnees and how they got pushed out to make room for us. It was just the way of things.”

Pa admits that he and Mama are complicit in displacing and killing the Shawnees. Though they didn’t directly take part in it, they benefited from it. The policies made Ohio relatively safe, allowing Pa and Mama to move there and start a family.

“[Y]our mama was upset by the mood in the town and all the ugliness and shouting. She asked me to turn the wagon around and go on back home […] So we turned around, and soon we overtook Ezra and the woman […] She called to them to ride in the wagon with us as far as our place.”

Mama’s reaction to the town’s debate about Ezra and Gives-light-as-she-walks signals that she didn’t abide by dominant, oppressive norms. She had separate morals, and she put them into practice by giving Ezra and his wife a ride in their wagon.

“Weasel was a big hero then to a lot of folks. But that didn’t last. You heard the stories yourselves of what Weasel did, how he began to prey upon the townsfolk and settlers.”

The change of attitude about Weasel links to the theme of Fraught Morals in a Lethal Status Quo. The people championed Weasel when he used violence against the Shawnees. Now that he’s attacking them, he’s an enemy. The transformation shows how groups of people often support brutal norms until the violence reaches and directly affects them.

“Where did you ever learn that pulling a trigger is what makes a man brave?”

Pa’s blunt question subverts typical tropes about masculinity. Pa doesn’t reduce courage to killing another person or committing violence. For Pa, masculinity does not equate with aggression.

“As I lay there, I remembered a silence like this. It was the day I had returned home to find the animals gone and Miz Tizz dead.”

The silence outside of Weasel’s house connects to the quiet that Nathan experienced in Chapter 8 when he returned to the farm. The similarities show how the events at the farm in Chapter 8 work as foreshadowing for Weasel’s death in Chapter 16.

“The only reason I was even going to the dumb dance was cause Pa would make me go, anyhow, even if I didn’t want to.”

Nathan continues to brood over Weasel, and the diction—words like “dumb”—reveal that he doesn’t feel like enjoying himself. As late as Chapter 17, Nathan is still trying to figure out how life’s pain and positivity can coincide.

“I realized with surprise that I hadn’t thought about Weasel once, all day long.”

Nathan’s declaration represents growth. He had a fun time at the dance and didn’t dwell on Weasel. The trip into town shows that Nathan has finally learned how to come to terms with the simultaneous nature of injustice and happiness in life.