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Robinson Crusoe
Guns represent power and maturity for both Attean and Matt. Matt’s father leaves Matt with his expensive rifle, which means a great deal to Matt. It tells him that his father is worried about leaving his young son in the wilderness, but it’s also a sign that Matt’s father believes he is ready for the adult responsibility of such a gun. But when a wandering soldier named Ben steals the gun from Matt, it reminds the reader that Matt is only a child in spite of his independence. He even wonders if, given the chance, he would’ve been willing or able to fight Ben off or shoot him, if it came to that. Matt reasons that a kid like him couldn’t have expected to take on an adult like Ben, especially over a gun. In this way, Matt accepts his status as a boy who hasn’t yet come of age.
Attean also sees guns as symbols of power and maturity, but in a slightly different way. He explains to Matt that when he completes his tribe’s ritual to become a man and find his “manitou,” or spirit, Saknis will purchase a rifle for Attean. This way, Attean will then be able to join the men on the moose hunt, which is conducted with rifles. Attean even refers to hunting with a bow and arrows as being for children, while real adults (real men, specifically) hunt with guns. Both boys do get rifles by the end of the novel, which signifies that Attean and Matt have completed the transition to adulthood.
Guns Quotes in The Sign of the Beaver
The The Sign of the Beaver quotes below all refer to the symbol of Guns. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 2
Quotes
He was still proud of that gun, but no longer in awe of it. Carrying it over his shoulder, he set out confidently into the forest, venturing farther each day, certain of bringing home a duck or a rabbit for his dinner. For a change of diet he could take his fish pole and follow the twisting course of the creek or walk the trail his father had blazed to a pond some distance away. In no time he could catch all the fish he could eat.
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Chapter 3
Quotes
But even if Matt had had it in his hands, could he have held out against those burly arms? And to keep his gun, could he actually have shot a man—even a criminal?
It was only later, when his rage began to die down, that he felt a prickle of fear. Now he had no protection. And no way to get meat. Sick with anger, he sat staring at his row of notched sticks. It would be a month at least before his father returned. A month of nothing but fish! And what would his father say?
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Chapter 11
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“Sign show beaver house belong to people of beaver,” Attean explained. “By and by, when young beaver all grown, people of beaver hunt here. No one hunt but people of beaver.”
“You mean, just from that mark on the tree, another hunter would not shoot here?”
“That our way,” Attean said gravely. “All Indian understand.”
Would a white man understand? Matt wondered. He thought of Ben with his stolen rifle. It wasn’t likely Ben would respect an Indian sign. But he must remember to warn his father.
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Chapter 17
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“Not take me,” he admitted finally. “I not have gun.”
“You’re a good shot with a bow and arrow.”
Attean scowled. “That old way,” he said. “Good for children. Indian hunt now with white man’s gun. Someday my grandfather buy me gun. Need many beaver skins. Beaver not so many now.”
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Get the entire The Sign of the Beaver LitChart as a printable PDF.
Guns Symbol Timeline in The Sign of the Beaver
The timeline below shows where the symbol Guns appears in The Sign of the Beaver. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1
Then, soon after, Matt’s father explained he was going to leave his rifle for Matt, as it’s better than Matt’s matchlock rifle. He warned Matt to only shoot...
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Chapter 2
...Matt hungrier than he’s ever been, so to preserve the flour, he relies on his gun. He’s no longer in awe of the gun, which he takes out daily to shoot...
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Chapter 3
...compliments the cabin and observes that many people are settling in these parts. Noticing the rifle, Ben compliments it and says it’s worth a lot of beaver pelts, but Matt sharply...
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...Ben did in town—could he be a murderer? Matt half wants to sleep with the rifle, but he feels ashamed—that’s not very hospitable. He decides to stay awake all night instead.
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...want breakfast if he’s still around. As Matt gets up, though, he notices that the rifle is gone. Ben took it—Matt can see now that this was Ben’s plan all along....
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Chapter 4
Matt struggles without a gun and quickly gets tired of eating fish. However, as he finds blueberries and as the...
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Chapter 9
...the cannibals and then, slowly, the saved man approaches, clearly afraid of Crusoe and his gun. Finally, the man kneels down, kisses the ground, and puts Crusoe’s foot on his head—“a...
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Chapter 11
When Matt wishes he had his rifle, Attean says this beaver is too young to shoot. Then, he points to a nearby...
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Chapter 17
...gone on the hunt if he hadn’t been here, Attean says he doesn’t have a gun. And though Matt notes that Attean is great with a bow and arrow, Attean spits...
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Chapter 21
...taller and older, his hair is styled like his grandfather’s, and he carries a new rifle. Happily, Matt compliments the gun. Then, Saknis says it’s fall—winter will be here soon. He...
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Chapter 25
...father unload flour, quilts, new clothes, and a new kettle. Matt’s father has a new rifle, while Matt discovers that his mother has been carrying Matt’s old rifle. He knows she’d...
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