Nature

Nature is a major, dominant, and overarching theme in the novel “Frightful’s Mountain” by Jean Craighead George. Nature, thematically, is the natural world and the wild without man’s presence, influence, or interference. Much of the novel’s take on nature revolves primarily around the character of Frightful, a peregrine falcon who seems to straddle both the world of nature and the world of man. Indeed, her domesticated upbringing and nurturing by Sam are often in conflict with her natural instincts and inclinations. At the same time, the world of man consistently borders on the world of nature, and vice versa.

Frightful’s entry in to the wild is a rough one. Having been raised by Sam, and feeling a pull towards Sam as family, Frightful has much to get used to in the wild. Trained by Sam to come when called, and hunt when...