Dawn of Remembered Spring by Jesse Stuart
"Dawn of Remembered Spring" is a short story by Jesse Stuart that explores themes of childhood, nature, and the transition from innocence to experience. The narrative centers around a young boy named Shan who, feeling empowered by his brief independence, embarks on a quest for revenge against snakes after his friend Roy Deer suffers a bite. This quest for vengeance highlights Shan's desire to embody adulthood, as he fantasizes about managing a farm and battling the creatures that he perceives as threats.
Throughout the story, Shan demonstrates a keen understanding of nature and strategy, employing his knowledge to hunt water moccasins with a blend of cunning and youthful bravado. However, the narrative also reflects the innocence of childhood, particularly when Shan misinterprets the behavior of copperheads mating as a fight. The contrasting reactions of the adults to both Shan's actions and the spectacle of the snakes provoke a sense of confusion for the boy, illustrating the complexity of human emotions and perceptions in the face of danger and life cycles. Ultimately, the story captures a moment of growth and realization for Shan, as he grapples with the stark differences between the simplicity of his youthful worldview and the more nuanced realities of adult life.
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Dawn of Remembered Spring by Jesse Stuart
First published: 1942
Type of plot: Psychological
Time of work: The 1930's
Locale: Rural Kentucky
Principal Characters:
Shan , a rural adolescent, the narratorMom , Shan's mother
The Story
Left to his own devices for the day, Shan decides to seek revenge on snakes for the bite received by his friend Roy Deer, whose family Shan's mother visits to pay a condolence call. Given his freedom, the boy states, "I would like to be a man now. . . . I'd love to plow the mules, run a farm, and kill snakes." Much of the action of the remainder of the story involves Shan's playing at being a man, a common adolescent fantasy. He breaks a club from the wild plum thicket close to his home and wades the creek to search for water moccasins to kill.
His knowledge of his prey is rich beyond his years, attesting his experience with nature. For example, he plans his strategy for slaughter by relying on the knowledge that it is impossible for the water moccasins to bite him while their heads are beneath the water. Too, the snakes will raise their heads above the surface if the water is muddy, a fact that he turns to his advantage by stirring up the bottom frequently. Though he experiences fear concerning the danger of his hunt, not once does the boy exhibit any pity or compassion for his victims. One of their kind has bitten his friend without cause, and Shan takes on himself the duty of wreaking revenge on the whole race of poisonous serpents. Stealth and knowledge serve him well, and by the end of the afternoon he has killed fifty-three water moccasins. On his way home, after leaving the creek, Shan comes on two other poisonous snakes, copperheads.
These two snakes are wrapped around each other and pay no attention to him. The boy believes that the copperheads are fighting, and he plans to kill them too if they fail to kill each other. From a passing neighbor he learns the truth: "It's snakes in love!" Uncle Alf Skinner tells him. The neighbor quickly fetches his wife to see the spectacle; soon a small crowd assembles to witness the event. Shan's mother returns and joins the group and, because of the danger he was in, she is angry with Shan for going on his unescorted hunt.
Before he is sent away by his mother, Shan notices the changed expressions of the adults who remain to witness the mating of the copperheads. Their smiles puzzle him and he observes that "their faces were made over new." The boy persists in his notion that the snakes are fighting, and the crowd finds his innocence amusing. In the end, as he leaves, he is baffled by the laughter of the adults. He cannot quite figure out how the grown-ups in a rural community plagued by poisonous serpents can smile and laugh at such a sight, and their laughter seems to follow and haunt him as he walks home alone.