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Chapter 6
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Sign of the Beaver, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Survival and Indigenous Knowledge
Colonialism, Land Rights, and Entitlement
Nature
Friendship and Respect
Coming of Age and Manhood
Summary
Analysis
Matt wakes up the next morning, unsure of how to teach a “savage” to read. He remembers the primer his mother used to teach him to read, which had short religious verses to accompany each letter. Matt can’t try to explain religion to a “heathen,” so he decides to find objects that start with each letter. A will be for arm. They probably won’t get to T for table, since Attean clearly isn’t interested in learning. Still, Matt prepares the cabin like a schoolroom just in case. Soon after, Attean arrives with a big rabbit. Matt thanks him. When Attean doesn’t respond, Matt orders him to sit on one of the stools.
Matt’s language as he thinks about how to teach Attean betrays his unexamined racism. Referring to Attean as a “savage” suggests that Matt sees Attean as lesser and totally unteachable. Similarly, he seems to look down on non-Christians (“heathens”) as being unteachable as well. These views deny Attean his humanity. And when Matt “orders” Attean to sit, it highlights that Matt doesn’t see Attean as his equal. Rather, he views Attean as a subordinate to order around.
Themes
Matt sits next to Attean on the other stool. Attean scowls like he doesn’t want Matt to sit so close to him, but Matt doesn’t want to be close to Attean either—the grease smeared over Attean’s body, which supposedly keeps mosquitos away, stinks. Matt writes an A on a piece of birchbark and says it’s for arm. He then picks up Robinson Crusoe and asks Attean to find all the A’s on a page. To Matt’s surprise, Attean finds several—but then, Attean says this is silly, as the white men just wrote “arm” all over the paper. Matt explains that lots of words start with A and it’s just the first letter of the alphabet. Scowling again, Attean asks if he’ll be able to read in a month. Matt says it might take a year. Attean knocks the book off the table and storms off, while Matt cheerfully skins the rabbit.
The novel continues to show that Attean and Matt don’t like or respect each other. Being in each other’s presence seems difficult for both, while Matt continues to look down on Attean and Attean resents being in a position where Matt is in charge. In particular, it’s telling that Matt is surprised when Attean can pick out A’s in Robinson Crusoe. This implies that he didn’t think Attean would be able to learn how to read at all, a view that’s likely influenced by his seeing Native peoples as less intelligent.
Themes
