The Mountian And The Valley symbolism Essay

The Mountian And The Valley -symbolism Essay, Research Paper

The Mountain and the Valley :

The Symbolic Mountain of David’s dreams and hopes.

“The mountain slopes were less than a mile high at their

top-most point but they shut the valley in completely.”

(Buckner , 7). Our first view of the Mountain in Buckner’s

classic The Mountain and the Valley prepares us for its

importance throughout the novel. Its presence haunts David

throughout his life ; it is symbolic of fulfilment and

David’s desire to leave the Annapolis Valley, but due to

circumstances remains unsurmountable. The mountain is a

symbol that deeply influences Buckler’s narrative and t

pervades the story, by representing both David’s dreams and

inability to leave : beginning in his childhood, continuing

through his adolescence, his young adulthood, and finally

following him into the grave.

In his youth the protagonist of the story, David Canaan ,

is a sensitive boy who becomes increasingly aware of the

difference that sets him apart from his family and his

neighbours. He views his first trip to the mountain as a

large step in his life, even at the age of eleven. Buckner

portrays David’s childish delight (at finally being big enough

to go fishing on the mountain ) as an adventure : ” As they

came close to the mountain , it was so exciting that David was

almost afraid.” (Buckner 22) This attempt to scale the

mountain fails, as do all David’s attempts to climb the

mountain except his final one, “they were crossing the bridge

to start to climb the mountain when they heard the

voices”(Buckner 23). David’s father ends their excursion

because of the death of valley farmers Pete and Spurge. The

tragedy and death in the valley makes David’s journey to the

mountain impossible. Before he faces the news that he knows is

bad from the other valley men approaching , he must “touch it

, [the mountain road] anyway , before he knew indisputably

that the day was over” (Buckler, 34) , symbolically searching

for what he missed. The mountain, in David’s mind, represents

something better, or grander, than his rural valley life. The

prevailing theme of David not quite getting beyond the

mountain begins here, in his youth. Later in the novel, when

David is twelve , on the trek up to find a Christmas tree ,

David asks his sister Anna “If anyone walked through the

mountain , weeks and weeks, I wonder where he’d come out

…”.( Buckler, 56) The mystical question of what was beyond

the mountain is lingering in his mind even during this happy

moment, in David’s innocent youth.

The mountain throws its influence into childhood of

Anna, David’s twin sister, in a different way. Anna sees “A

rainbow arched from mountain to mountain”. (Buckler, 29). This

symbolises Anna’s later flight from the Valley and ability to

mesh – although she never quite gets it right- both the city

life of Halifax and her country existence in the Annapolis

Valley. The rainbow appears “almost faded over the valley”

(Buckler 22). This shows how Anna will become detached from

her childhood home, as she makes the premonition that she

later fulfils of marrying a sailor.

In David’s adolescence,the mountain takes on a more

defined shape in his mind. At age 13 ,”The mountain across

the lake looked like a far-off furniture of a dream.” (Buckler

88). David’s thoughts of his future, while pondering death

and helping his family fix the old graves in the cemetery,

are very positive. He shudders to think of Anna in the

cemetery, but does not picture himself there. He believes he

will be something great, and his dreams are still attainable

in his mind, and “the mountain looked to him as if , with one

great leap, he could touch it.” (Buckler , 88) Just as, when

he’s 14, “the afternoon, in a steady hush seemed to bring the

mountains closer” (Buckler, 96). David begins to push the

mountains, and what they represent, to the back of his mind.

His dreams are attainable and fulfilment of them an

inevitability of the future. Toby – the city boy from Halifax

who visits David (and is also a character foil of David)- is

introduced when they both are nearly sixteen. Toby becomes

David’s only friend, and doesn’t understand when David tells

him that “you can see everything” (Buckler, 138) from the top

of the mountain. Anna, David and Toby turn back after starting

up the mountain, and once again David is unsuccessful at

climbing to the top of the symbolic mountain. He is frustrated

when Toby says that “It isn’t like it was a real mountain

…What makes it so wonderful?” (Buckler, 138). David is