How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
Gradually his spirits rose again. The July weather was perfect. […] Perhaps he even became a mite careless. (4.1-2)
Here we see the boy in Matt make an appearance. The weather seems to have tricked him into believing everything is safe… but that's not actually true.
Quote #2
Now he couldn't stop thinking about that honey. It would be worth a sting or two just to have a taste of it. (5.2)
Really? A taste of honey is worth a bee sting or two? Ouch, Matt. That's one very sweet tooth our main man has.
Quote #3
He would lie awake in the night, […] and make up stories in which he himself, not Attean, was the hero. Sometimes he imagined how Attean would be in some terrible danger, and he, Matt, would be brave and calm and come swiftly to the rescue. (13.23)
Like many young boys, Matt dreams of being a hero and saving the day. How do you think his dream will change as he grows up?
Quote #4
Every Indian boy must have a manitou, he said, before he could take his place as one of the men of his family. (20.15)
In many cultures there is some sort of initiation or ceremony to welcome a child into adulthood, and here we see that the Penobscot culture is no different. Is there a coming-of-age tradition in your culture?
Quote #5
If he did all this, if he waited faithfully, one day his manitou would come to him. Then he could go back to his village. He would have a new name. He would be a man and a hunter. (20.16)
Finding his manitou is a massively big deal to Attean. All he wants is to become a hunter, but in order to do so he needs to find his manitou first. We're pretty sure he'd do almost anything in order to find it. Knowing Attean, he'd rather fast to death than go home a failure.
Quote #6
Attean was afraid he might fail, that he might have to return to the village and admit that his manitou had not appeared. For Attean this would be a disgrace, a shame that must be terrible if the thought of it had brought fear into his eyes. (20.23)
Attean is scared of… well… nothing but this, it seems. His dream is to be hunter. This makes Shmoop wonder how many young Indian boys actually had to face the reality of no manitou. Was it common?
Quote #7
Then, startled, Matt turned toward Attean. He did not dare to ask a question, but he saw at once that there was no need to ask. No doubt about it, Attean had found his manitou. He had changed. He stood straighter and taller. (21.2)
Yay. Now comes the real question: What do you think Attean's new name will be?
Quote #8
A sudden joyful hope sprang into Matt's mind. […] This was a way out. He did not have to stay here alone through the long winter. Then, as swiftly as it had come, this new hope dies away. In spite of his longing, in spite of being afraid, he knew what he had to answer. (21.17)
Matt is growing up. Even though the lonely-boy part of him wants to take off with the Indians, the responsible-man part of him knows he needs to stay and be faithful to his family. That's a tough choice, but he chooses to be a man.
Quote #9
Attean had become a hunter. He had a gun. He would not have time now to wander through the forest or to listen to stories. (21.30)
Ah, shucks—Attean's not a kid anymore. How would Attean and Matt's friendship have changed if the Penobscots had decided to stay for the winter?
Quote #10
"You've done a grown man's job, son," he said. "I'm right proud of you."
Matt could not speak. […] This was how Attean had felt, he knew, when he had found his manitou and become a hunter. (24.20-21)
For Attean manhood means becoming a hunter, and for Matt it means earning his father's praise. In both cases, by becoming like their fathers, the boys become men.