The protagonist of a story is the main character who traditionally undergoes some sort of change. He or she must usually overcome some opposing force. In this novel, the protagonist is Sam Gribley, who runs away from home to live on the family farm abandoned by his great-grandfather.
The antagonist of a story is the force that provides an obstacle for the protagonist. The antagonist does not always have to be a single character or even a character at all. In this story, the antagonist is Civilization, whose rules implicitly threaten Sam's wilderness adventure and bring him back to his family in the city. More specifically, newspaper photographers and reporters are the most obvious threat to his nature idyll.
The climax of a plot is the major turning point that allows the protagonist to resolve the conflict. The climax of the story occurs when Sam befriends Matt Steeple, a young man who wishes to report on him.
The outcome, resolution, or denouement of this plot is when Sam's becomes more "civilized" in the forest as friends and reporters visit him more frequently, culminating in his family joining him in the Catskills wilderness.
The novel begins in the middle of the events' chronology, with a detailed account of Sam Gribley's first snowstorm while living alone in the wilderness. He does quite well through the storm, but in hindsight Sam admits he was afraid at the time.
Going back to the start of the chain of events, New York City resident Sam decides to run away to the upstate farm that his great-grandfather had abandoned in order to go to sea. He informs his father of his decision, and Dad humors Sam, clearly not believing he'd be gone for long. Sam prepares himself with some tools but arriving in the Catskills wilderness, his first night is a disaster as he cannot start a fire. He goes to a nearby cabin the next morning and receives help from its owner, Bill, who also shows him the correct way to start a fire.
Sam then goes to the town of Delhi to find the abandoned Gribley farm; with the help of Miss Turner, a librarian, he finds the property and settles in. Seeking a home in the wilderness where nobody can find him, he decides to hollow out a very old, very large hemlock. He learns to take advantage of what nature offers, finding plenty to hunt and gather. When he is forced by a local resident to help her pick strawberries, he sees a falcon as he walks back to town with her and decides he wants a falcon of his own. He tracks down the bird and steals one of its babies for his own, naming it Frightful. When he returns to his tree home with Frightful, he finds a fire warden waiting for him, as his camp's smoke was noticed. He stays away until the warden leaves the next day, and begins to train Frightful to hunt for him. He decides that he needs deer hide for various reasons ' including new clothing, a door for his home, and a bed ' and sets traps in order to capture one. He takes advantage when a poacher loses the deer he shot, and uses the carcass for his own needs.
Sam hears a police siren one day and then discovers a man sleeping in his camp. Thinking the man is an outlaw, he names the man "Bando" while Bando dubs Sam "Thoreau". Bando turns out to be a college English teacher who got lost on a hike, not an outlaw, but he is so enthralled by Sam's living situation that he stays with Sam for several days, promising to return in Christmas. As fall marches forward, Sam prepares for the winter along with all the other denizens of the forest, setting up a fireplace and setting stores of food. When hunting season starts, he takes advantage when hunters kill a deer but cannot locate where it fell. In late November, having completed his new deerskin wardrobe, Sam goes into Delhi to walk around and gets strange looks, though he does manage to befriend a boy he calls Mr. Jacket. On his way home, he realizes he has not chopped enough wood for the winter and the next few days is devoted to this He realizes the chopping is from being scared of the snowstorm, which goes back to the very beginning of the novel.
After the snowstorm, Sam discovers that winter in the wild is as lively as summer. On Christmas Eve, Bando arrives; he brings news clippings about Sam, described as a wild boy in the woods. The next day, Sam's Dad shows up, having read the news accounts. The three men enjoy their time in the wilderness together, and after both adults leave Sam feels lonely then remembers the woodland creatures he befriended, particularly Frightful and The Baron Weasel. The winter grows more serious after the New Year, and an ice storm wreaks havoc on the woods, exploding trees and killing the weaker animals. However, signs of spring soon arrive and it is early in this thaw that Sam is met by a boy named Matt Spell, who wishes to write about Sam. A deal is struck where Matt will write what Sam wants, and in return Matt spends spring vacation with Sam. Sam meets another hiker that spring, a songwriter named Aaron; around Easter, Sam keeps his promise to Matt, and Bando also returns to spend time with Sam. Matt warns that photographers may be in the area, and Bando shows Sam the article Matt has written.
Sam must now contend with a relatively steady stream of visitors, including Mr. Jacket, actually Tom Sidler. Photographers and reporters come to speak with him, and one day he hears his father and a large group arriving. Thinking this is the end of his adventure, he is happy to find that Dad brought his entire family, who are coming to live on the Gribley Farm. His mother was hurt by the accusations of neglect leveled against her in the public and decided that if Sam won't come back, then the family will come to him.
Mescallado, Ray. "TheBestNotes on And Still We Rise".
TheBestNotes.com.
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