"Doe Season"

Andy first states that the woods were “always the same.”(paragraph 1). Andy finds out by going on her first hunting trip that they are not always the same. This time she would have to do something that she thought she was ready to do; which was to shoot a deer. She was afraid of this. Andy recalled another time when she was afraid. This was a new experience for Andy and it brought her back to a previous experience that she encountered. It was when she first saw the ocean water, which scared her. Andy recalled that the ocean water did not scare her mother. “Her mother had floated beyond the breakers, calling her to come in, but Andy wouldn’t go farther than a few feet into the surf.” (paragraph 45). David Michael Kaplan wanted to compare the innocence and fearfulness of a child to the bravery and courageousness of an adult. In paragraph 1, “always the same woods” symbolizes childhood because someone is always going to be there to protect you. Later in the story when Andy recalls the ocean as being “huge and empty, yet always moving,” on paragraph 45, symbolizes that how life changes when you become an adult. Andy’s life changed and she grew up when she realized that the woods were not always the same. The hunting trip also made Andy realize that sometimes you do things that you don’t want to do. It also made her realize that things are not always what they seem to be.