The River

Danger from both natural and human sources looms pervasively throughout the novel. The forest fire, the violence of the whitewater, and the presence of predators such as bears all pose threats that are natural in a wilderness setting. Pierre—and the violence that he represents—is a uniquely human threat that has its source in greed and envy.

As an example of a natural threat, the narrative recounts a solo blueberry foraging excursion that Wynn makes early in the trip. He encounters a bear, and when he notices that she has cubs with her, the situation becomes intense: “Wynn’s heart jumped because he suddenly knew how much danger he was in” (105). The standoff with the bear ends innocuously, an irony given that Wynn is instead killed by a human in the novel’s climactic moments. Another natural threat is the fire, which wreaks massive destruction as it incinerates the forest, leaving behind a hellish landscape. Somehow, Jack, Wynn, and Maia survive the fire, mainly because of a combination of quick thinking and luck. After surviving the fire, Jack and Wynn, with Maia, paddle to beyond the fire’s edge and eventually find themselves again in a verdant landscape: