Throughout the novel Frightful’s mountain, Sam and Frightful maintain a bond. Please state whether or not you think that their bond becomes stronger or weaker by the end of the novel. Explain

I think their bond grows stronger.

Sam Gribley is a resident of Bitter Mountain with his younger sister, Alice. Now about the age of fifteen or so, Sam Gribley has lived on Bitter Mountain for years, first coming there at the age of twelve in the novel “My Side of the Mountain”, in which he is determined to live on his own off ancestral family land. While there, he takes Frightful from her nest at two weeks old, and raises Frightful to be both a companion and a hunting hawk. They have a strong bond between them that causes an internal war with Frightful, between following her instincts or staying near Sam. Sam is thrilled whenever Frightful visits him, though he knows he cannot keep her.

When Frightful nests on the bridge, Sam climbs up daily during construction to keep her company and reassure her. He sets Frightful up on his mountain with a nesting box to raise her remaining baby, Oski, following the poaching of Frightful’s other two birds. Sam is happy that Frightful is around, though he knows he must let her fend for herself so that her natural instincts will remain strong. He later helps to track down Bate and Skri, but is not allowed to return the poached baby birds to Frightful. The following spring, he is delighted that Frightful visits him, and is even more thrilled when Oski comes to nest on the mountain.