Analysis of William Hobbs Bearstone - 652 Words

The German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche is widely credited with initiating the phrase that which does not kill me can only make me stronger. This sentiment is echoed within Will Hobbs young adult novel Bearstone by the deceased wife of one of the major characters in the book, Walter. Walters wife Marthas variation on Nietzsches mantra is that the hurt will make you stronger. Hobbs book is fialry demonstrative of this fact, especially when Walter is joined by a young man, Cloyd Attcitty. Both of these characters are striving to get over severe personal losses, and are able to help one another do so by fostering a bond out of their common hurt that transcends their pain and effectively allows them to overcome it. Cloyd initially comes to live with Walter after discovering that his father, whom he spent quite a time looking for, is living in a permanent vegetative state that is fairly close to death. The young man was crushed by this revelation, and was able to find solace in the com pany of Walter and in his surrounding environs his farm in Colorado. Although Walters presence and the work he provides for Cloyd produces a therapeutic effect, it is the latters assent to take Cloyd with him into the mountains to mine that allows Cloyd to find a a talisman that gives him incredible strength and powers. The following quotation readily proves this point. He wished the old man could have stood here with him. He wanted to tell him this is the heart of the mountains,