Wednesday, February 4, 2009

"Doe Season" By David Michael Kaplan

In this story David Kaplan uses symbolism to represent the transition from childhood to adulthood. In the beginning of the story Andy says,"They were always the same woods" and "it was like thinking of the space between here and the moon" (pg. 456). The woods may be symbolic of Andy's world, her own safe haven, where everything is always the same. When she is out in the woods with her father and his friends however, the woods become unfamiliar. This symbolizes the transition that she is going through to become an adult. This experience is new and unfamiliar to her. When Andy spots the doe and is getting ready to shoot it she is thinking,"Why doesn't it hear us, why doesn't it run away" (pg. 464). When Andy is thinking these thoughts it symbolizes her fear and uncertainty of making the final move to becoming an adult (shooting the doe). There is another scene in the story where Andy is having a dream about the doe. There was a part in the dream where Andy "pressed deeper, through flesh and muscle and sinew, until her whole hand and more was inside the wound and she had found the doe's heart" (pg 466). This may symbolize the guilt that Andy feels from shooting the deer, she feels like she took everything away from the doe. The doe symbolizes the innocence that Andy possesses and by shooting and killing the deer she no longer feels that that part of her exists. Andy is transitioning into adulthood, and when she finally realizes how scary it is, she runs away.

"Doe Season"

Through out David Kaplan’s “Doe Season” There are several examples of symbolism. Firstly, when The story opens, the main character, nine year old Andy mentions that they are in the “same woods that lay behind her house” even thought they have traveled “for miles and miles” she is convinced that these are the same woods (Kaplan 456). Andy believes that these woods are the same as the ones behind her house to mask her fear of the unknown. In the mind of a nine year old, if there are the same woods, they are familiar. Andy compares the woods to the ocean, which she was afraid of because of its size, but in essence she is afraid of the woods. Finally, Andy spots a deer, and her father allows her to take a shot at is, because she is the one that spotted it. Andy is able to shoot the dear, however she is not able to kill it. She then experiences great guilt. In her sleep an owl awakens her, and nags at her. The owl is symbolizing her conscience, reminding her of what she has done, and the animal that is suffering at her hand. Finally they find the injured dear and begin to cut it. Andy runs, but she is running away from so much more than the blood and guts. She is running away from what her father has been trying to do, which is turn her into the son that he never had.

Work cited
Kirszner, Laurie G., and Stephen R. Mandell. Literature : Reading, Reacting, Writing. 6th ed.Boston: Heinle, 2006.