My Side of the Mountain
By: Jean Craighead George; Summarized by: Maryssa Meaux
Intro Summary
There is an unhappy boy named Sam Gribley. He lives in a New York City apartment with his large family. One day he decides to run away to the mountains with a ball of cord, a penknife, some flint and steal, and some clothes. Sam must survive on nature for food and shelter. He finds a part of him that he never knew.
Characters
- Sam Gribley- Sam is a unhappy boy who lives in New York. One days he decides to run away to the mountains.
- Bill- Bill is a man who help Sam. He showed him how to start a fire.
- Miss Turner- She is a librarian. She helped Sam find out where his great-grandfather's farm is and about some edible berries.
- Frightful- Frightful is a falcon who Sam raised from a baby. He trains her how to hunt and catch animals.
- The Baren- The baren is a weasel. Sam found him when he was caught in a trap. The baren was mad that he had been in that trap.
- Jessie C. James- Jessie C. Jame is a baby raccoon. Jessie came to Sam when he was taking a bath. Poor Jessie was a skinny baby raccoon, who soon became a devoted friend.
- Bando- Bando is a English teacher who got lost in the woods. Sam found him sleeping by his house. He can also whittle flutes.
Main Conflict
In the story "My Side of the Mountain", there is two main conflicts. The first is Internal because it is Sam vs his emotions of loneliness. An example of this is when there is a man by his house, but in his mind he is debating about weather he should wake up the man or not. Another conflict is external because it is Sam vs the newspaper (world). Because, when the news reporters come to talk to him he tries to tell them lies, but fails. Also there is a external conflict because it is Sam vs nature. This is shown because of how Sam must survive hot summers and harsh winters.
The Story
- Sam decides to run away from home into the mountain. His first night there was not very good. He never got his fire going and it was a cold night. When he awoke, he walked to a house and the man, named Bill, showed him how to start a fire and cook fish.
- After saying bye to Bill, Sam went to the library to see if they had any old maps. When he got a young lady named Miss Turner helped him make a map. After that he went back into the wood and followed the map right to his great-grandfather's house. Also he started his first fire and had his first supper of catfish.
- After Sam found the old house he started to explore. Sam had his first taste of mussels. He found hickory trees, which would have nuts on them in the fall. Sam also found two apple trees and three walnut trees. Sam also found a forest of old hemlock forest.
- Sam decided to make a house in side the oldest and biggest tree. He started to hollow out the inside when he got really hungry. Sam found some plants that you could eat and made a wild salad. Then he followed a crow and found its eggs and ate them. Also he found a bath-sized spring. He also found some crayfish to eat for dinner.
- One morning when Sam was working on his house an old lady came across him and told him to help her pick strawberries. She also made him escort her back to her house. The next morning Sam saw a falcon flying over head and he followed it. The nest was on the top of a mountain, so he he climbed it. Sam reached to top and saw the nest. Then the mother falcon attacked. Sam grabbed the biggest and slide to a lower ledge. The mother falcon stopped attacking. Sam named the baby falcon Frightful.
- When Sam gets back to his house he sees a fire warden. Since he could not go back to his house, he went down to the meadow and made some rabbit soup. He fed Frightful and watched her go to sleep. Then he went to bed himself in a bed made out of boughs.
- The next day the fire warden is gone. Sam is wanting to try and make salt. He boils hickory limbs and when it was done it made a salty residue. Also Sam finished his bed.
- One day the Baren was sitting on his boulder when Sam heard a shot ring out. Sam found the deer that had been shot and covered it with boughs and ferns. The hunter passed up the deer and left. After that Sam recovered the deer and skinned it an tanned and had some venison.
- Sam took the skin of the deer and made a door and some pants with big pockets. Sam also started to train Frightful. She caught her first prey, which was a only sparrow. Sam also learned how to make pancakes. He wished he finish his deer-skin suit but he needs another deer to make a shirt.
- One day during the summer Sam was taking a bath. Then suddenly a skinny, baby raccoon dived into the water. He was not well-fed so Sam took him home and fed him. Sam named the raccoon Jessie Conn James. Jessie was a wonderful mussel digger. Also Frightful became an expert hunter. One day when they were picking apples frightful heard some sirens. When they got to the house they found a man sleeping on ground between the sleeping house and the store house. When Sam saw this man he looked like an outlaw. Sam made him supper. Also his name was Bando. Bando was an English teacher who got lost, not an outlaw. Bando went into town one day and bought some sugar because he wanted to made jam.
- Since Bando wanted to make Jam, he took some clay from the river side and mad jar-like figures. He also made Sam a flute from willow. They played music all night with their flutes. When it was time for Bando to go back to school to teach, he left saying that he would be back by Christmas.
- Hunting Season had just started so Sam woke up to a gun shot. There was a hunter who shot a deer, but he just wounded it. So the deer started to run and it jumped over the wall of Gribley's farm and died. When the hunter left Sam went to get the deer now he had enough deer-skin for his shirt.
- One day Sam decided to go into town. He went into this drugstore where he met this boy. The boy called him Danial Boone.
- Since winter was coming Sam started to pile up wood for the winter. Also it was almost Christmas. Bando came to the house for Christmas bringing some sugar to make more jelly. Also Bando brought some newspaper clippings. The newspaper was writing stories about a wild boy living off of nature. Sm had a surprise visit from his dad. They made flutes and play Christmas carols. But, the next day Sam's dad and Bando had to leave.
- Winter was getting harder. Once Sam thought that Frightful would leave him but she did not. One day a young reporter named Matt came to talk to him about the wild boy and threatened to tell the world about him. Sam made him a deal that if he did not publish the article that Matt could spend spring vacation with him.
- One day in spring there was a man and Sam taught him a song that he wrote. The man liked the song and wanted to write it.
- Just like he said he would Matt came for spring vacation. Also Bando came. They played their flutes for Matt. Matt had to leave, but Bando helped hallow out a guest house. Also the boy from the drugstore came, too.
- One day the whole family came to the woods. they were all going to live there as a family. Sam's mother said that they would build a house though. Sam wanted to live in his tree, but agreed in the end.
Quote from Book
"Lonely? I've hardly had a quiet moment since arriving" (George, 166)
Cite box
- Picture - Author Jean Craighead George. 2016. School Library Journal. Web. 26 Apr. 2016.