How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #10
It was a strange feeling, holding the rifle. It somehow removed him from everything around him. Without the rifle he had to fit in, to be part of it all, to understand it and use it—the woods, all of it. With the rifle, suddenly, he didn't have to know; did not have to be afraid or understand. He didn't have to get close to a foolbird to kill it—didn't have to know how it would stand if he didn't look at it and moved off to the side.
The rifle changed him, the minute he picked it up, and he wasn't sure he liked the change very much. (19.7-8)
After finding the supplies in the survival bag, Brian reflects on how the rifle and the other tools affect his relationship to the wilderness. The advances of modern technology seem to interfere with his understanding of nature and his place in the woods. Do you think that doing things the easy way (like with a gun, instead of a handmade spear, for instance) might ultimately make it harder for Brian to connect with nature?