The Bear

Blood appears throughout the poem. First the hunter looks for blood to track the bear, then he eats the bear’s “turd” (Line 31), which is soaked in blood, to survive. Blood functions as a symbol for both life and death. When the hunter “thrusts” (Line 33) the bear’s turd into his mouth to eat the blood, it is a symbol of life because it can be consumed to survive. When the bear loses blood, leaking it onto the snow, the hunter is able to track the bear and the blood signifies that the bear is dying. In both instances the blood is a metaphor for the life force that leaves the bear and enters the hunter, transferring the bear’s life to the hunter.

“The Bear” is focused on the gruesome facts of the bear’s death and the corporality of his body as it dies as well as the gruesome things the hunter must do to survive. The speaker explores the darker aspects of living: how it comes at the expense of other animals and how it involves doing things that might seem unsavory to a more modern, urbanized audience. By focusing on these otherwise “taboo” subjects, the poem reawakens readers to the truth about human nature and our relationship with the animal world.