Through Brian’s thoughts, actions, and conversations, Paulsen highlights the motif of hunting and proposes a right and wrong way to go about it. One way he communicates his convictions is by contrasting typical methods for hunting with Brian’s hunting methods. In the hunting and fishing magazines Brian reads, he is frustrated by the use of guns and modern technology to easily locate and kill animals; he is also bothered that people kill them for sport rather than for food. For Brian, this disrespects the animals and “sickens” him since the magazines do not understand what it means to be at the mercy of nature. Paulsen’s contrast between Brian and other hunters shows that the typical person who does not have as much wilderness experience as Brian should seek connection to the wild rather than power over it.

Paulsen also suggests that people miss out on curiosity, observation, knowledge, and self-discovery when they prioritize the kill over the process in hunting. Paulsen illustrates this when Brian has the perfect opportunity to shoot a deer with his longbow but decides not to. Brian knows he will not be able to eat all the meat before it spoils, and although the deer would be easy food and a welcome change from the fish he has been eating, his self-control and respect conquers his appetite.