The Bear (Part 2 of 2) by William Faulkner - Short Story Analysis. What does the ending mean?

The ending with The Bear and Sam Fathers collapsing can be confusing for some. Let's talk through what the ending means and could explain about Nature and Man. If you haven't read anything of "Go Down, Moses" which is the novel where this story eventually found it's home, please start with the "Before You Start Go Down, Moses" video which gives you a more complete view and warning of what you're getting into: • Before you Read "Go Do...
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[@lilliankidd2359]

Thank you guys so much for this 2 parter. im a STEM major drowning in my literature class and the break down probably saved my brain from combustion. thank you both so much!

[@TheCodeXCantina]

Lillian Kidd This is a harder one! Good luck

[@ournuminousnature]

While I've only been on a few bear hound hunts, I'll tell you the Boone scene with the knife is very believable. There are many historical accounts like that, and houndsmen are wild guys, often getting within feet of the bear to pull their dogs back.

[@adampearson1541]

Was hoping you would break down chapter 4, but I’m just thankful for the validation that it is indeed nigh impenetrable and I’m not just stupid.

[@MorrowSind]

It's funny you mentioned Hateful Eight. I swear, while I was reading this section, I thought what would Faulkner think if he were to be able to watch that movie. The cold and the time period brought me there too. Yeah, part 4 was rough for me as well. It led to a long nap. I liked the back and forth with you guys. I'm still new to the channel. I hope there's more of you guys breaking stories down together. Good stuff. :)

[@TheCodeXCantina]

Thanks so much!

[@camringrozav7436]

Helping me write an essay, thanks boys :)

[@TheCodeXCantina]

Best of luck!

[@iloveturtles135]

This help me understand much more the story so I can write my essay, thank you, you guys are life savers 😁👍

[@TheCodeXCantina]

Great to hear!

[@DGol2015]

Your Bible reference here is mixing up Isaac, Abraham's son, and Isaiah, the prophet. Isaac is even more significant as there was the question over whether he, the true son, or Ishmael, the son of the slave woman Hagar, would inherit from Abraham.

[@TheCodeXCantina]

Been a while since we read this. I'd have to rewatch or reread to say anything about this.

[@PintsAndPaperbacks]

Xmas tree is still up! Lol This was a really good analysis. For some reason (not sure why) it sort of reminded me of Blood Meridian. Have you guys read that? Also, I know I already said it, but your editing is on point 👌

[@TheCodeXCantina]

Pints And Paperbacks The tree will be with us for the foreseeable future. I’ve grown quite fond of my fingers and with my wife traveling for a few weeks, I daren’t touch her decorations without her presence 😂

[@TheCodeXCantina]

PS. Haven’t read Blood Meridian but it looks promising

[@PintsAndPaperbacks]

The CodeX Cantina I feel like sense you love digging into the deeper meaning of stuff, it could be a gold mine for you guys! (But also it’s super effed up and violent)

[@TheCodeXCantina]

Pints And Paperbacks Well, Krypto would say as a Southerner that’s just real life for him. I’ve added it to our list. I’ve been meaning to get around to that author

[@bighardbooks770]

@@TheCodeXCantina _Blood Meridian_ might be my favorite McCarthy novel. His first, _Child of God_ is ... cryptic and unforgettable. McCarthy stole a lot from Faulkner! Keep up the Great Work guys.

[@DGol2015]

Last one, sorry. At the end of Talladega Nights, there's a post credits scene of Ricky Bobby's mom reading to her grandchildren Walker and Texas Ranger. She's reading The Bear! She reads the last line Boon says, then the boys give a critical interpretation of the story. You've gotta check it out!

[@TheCodeXCantina]

Ha, I will ;D

[@DGol2015]

As i was reading, i thought there was some symbolic link between the hunt for Old Ben and the Civil War. The hunting party goes out to fight for a few years in a row, like the war went on for 5 years. Old Ben is connected to the old ways and the land, symbolic of the Old South whose power was broken by force. Lion represents some of the overwhelming force of the Union and the industrial North, if Faulkner had a Lost Cause Myth view of the war. As long as Old Ben lives, the South continues to live by its old ways, tied to land, agriculture, and wilderness. Once Old Ben is killed, and once the war is over, even though it was painful, the South can move on and join the modern world. Yet even though Faulkner is glad to see the horrible and stifling practices of the Old South go, there's a nostalgic beauty and a connection to nature that are lost. Would you agree with how that can fit in?

[@TheCodeXCantina]

That's very fun! I remember talking with Krypto about the modernity in North vs South at some point. Not necessarily this specific text.

[@DGol2015]

Do you think there's significance to Lion being Rider's dog from Pantaloon in Black? He had a big mastiff, and once he was lynched, the dog would run wild on its own. If the rest of Go Down Moses was written after The Bear, I think PiB helps flesh out Lion's motivation, or the grief and pain that make him so fearless in hunting Old Ben, but i feel there's more to it.

[@TheCodeXCantina]

Was his dog a Mastiff? It's been a while since I read this and I didn't write down the breed in my notes. If that was the back story how he followed Rider around and then ran off, that could be a very interesting take on it. I forget, did Faulkner make it explicit what year that story took place vs the Bear? I remember "Was" was closer to abolishment and the later stories were like a 100 years later.

[@DGol2015]

It does say the dog was a big dog with "a strain of mastiff in it." Looking at it again, though, Rider rents his house from Carothers Edmonds, so my timeline is way off. Must be 1930s or so instead of the Bear in the 1870/80s. Maybe the dog time-traveled and Faulkner was really a scifi writer.

[@TheCodeXCantina]

@@DGol2015 😂

[@thommoore2682]

my comment is the scene on the platform where Boon says "don't touch him"

[@TheCodeXCantina]

We almost need pages/versions to stay in sync with the parts. Can be a bit hard pending how long it's been on a read of it too.

[@mahdimahdi8247]

Good job

[@TheCodeXCantina]

Thanks

[@thommoore2682]

I absolutely love this...re-reading my Faulkner collection...excellent analysis....can you answer the question asked of Boon: " did you kill him? " kill Sam ? why was Boon asked this question? confusing to me as is Chap 4 's punctuation and who the heck is speaking?

[@TheCodeXCantina]

Chapter 4 is nearly impenetrable. It took me a lot of re-reads on that and then even so still needed the background information on the Leek Diary with Faulkner to further understand that that chapter was a literal catharsis for Faulkner as a person for how he discovered some of horrible things in the Leek Diaries (See our Before Go Down, Moses for more on that.). I think I had written down the question to Boon on killing Sam Fathers. If I didn't talk about it in the video I might have that in my notes.

[@johnoyler9203]

The CodeX Cantina Thanks!

[@igorfrederico2629]

Same here, especially the question of the killing. It got Very confuse there and the jumping to chapter 4 was nuts, but It was actually alwats a Fun read, especially the more hermetic parts and your guys analyses, as awats, helped a Lot.

[@yogendrasahu8458]

the other dude is disturbing element

[@TheCodeXCantina]

goes with the territory