"Battle is the most magnificent competition in which a human being can indulge. It brings out all that is best; it removes all that is base. All men are afraid in battle. The coward is the one who lets his fear overcome his sense of duty. Duty is the essence of manhood."
-George S. Patton
As of this moment, not a single person has commented on William Faulkner's The Bear so I guess that duty falls to me. Yes, duty, now that is the appropriate word, isn't it? For those of you who have actually been reading this piece, masculinity is front and center for the entire duration of the piece. Maybe I've been misreading it, but I have barely seen an ounce of feminimity in the entire story, and with good reason. The story is about a boy being instructed on how to hunt-that's the story on its most basic level. He learns to go to the tree stand on his own, how to handle a gun, what not to do in the woods, etc. He also learns about the various creatures that live in the woods that the protagonists call home and the dogs they use to help them hunt. But of course, that's just the surface level-what I see is all about what it means to be a man and the measure of a man. Of course, what the heck is that even supposed to mean anymore?
Consider what the current perceptions of manhood are. TV shows portray a man as either a business and pleasure minded scoundrel (Mad Men) or, on the opposite, completely lame and spineless (Samantha Who?). There's the infamous commercial for Dr. Pepper 10 in which a group of militant men race through an action packed jungle talking about how manly their drink is and end the commercial with the words "Dr. Pepper 10-it's not for women!" as though manhood is some exclusive club. Manhood is equally dividied musically, with thugs and sex fiends on one end and more courageous and selfless heroes on the other. What is the measure of a man?
The main way that Faulkner expresses masculinity is through his language. It's very dry but very descriptive, and he doesn't skip on a lot of details. To me his writing style is like an old leather bomber jacket-wrinkly, smells funny, durable, and many stories to tell. It will never fail you, it is always dependable, and there is a strong, silent dignity about it that's hard to replace. That also serves to describe Sam and the hunters that teach Ike in the story. They're battle hardened, they're capable, and what drives them the most is a sense of duty. They want to teach Ike how to hunt so he can carry on the tradition. They want to protect the land and follow its rules because it's their home. There's no need for romantic or soft-spoken language in here, because the men in this story don't hold Ike's hand when they're teaching him to hunt, but they are determined to make sure he follows through, because that's duty. If loyalty is the Biblical hallmark of womanhood, duty is the likewise hallmark of manhood, and though Faulkner may not be writing with that specifically in mind, the prose speaks the truth.
Thank you for reading, feel free to comment as you please. I commented on Anna Rhodes' Let's Go Off-Road!
It is interesting to note, though, that these hardened men must sacrifice something in order to take from nature. The loss of Lion, a dog now more human than beast, was sacrificed when killing Old Ben. It is an illustration that we still owe something to the Earth, and that although we try to tame it, we are never free from its grasp.
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