The Sign of the Beaver Theme of Fear

Fear of the dark. Fear of failure. Fear of rejection. Familiar with any of those? We certainly are, and we're betting you are too. But how about, oh, let's say, fear of death by starvation or living alone the rest of your because your family leaves and doesn't come back? Not quite so familiar with those fears? Well you will be by the time you finish reading this book, because these are the kinds of fear that The Sign of the Beaver deals with. Matt's facing some pretty serious—and pretty high-stakes—stuff in the wilderness, and it's enough to make anyone shake in their boots a bit.

Questions About Fear

  1. Why doesn't Attean seem to fear much of anything? 
  2. What is Matt's greatest fear? How can you tell? 
  3. Are there any fears that Attean and Matt share? 
  4. In what ways does Matt's fear affect his actions?

Chew on This

Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.

Matt's fears for his family are much stronger than his fears for himself.

Attean's lack of fear comes from the self-confidence and self-reliance he's learned in his family.