"Doe Season" question 3

In the story “Doe Season,” Andy goes hunting with her father for the first time. As they drive in the car, Andy notices the woods. “They were always the same woods” (Kaplan 456). This may not seem significant at first, but it really is. “They were riding over gentle hills, the woods on both sides now-the same woods, she knew, because she had been watching the whole way, even while she slept. They had been in her dreams, and she had never lost sight of them” (457). Andy is comforted by the words, because they are so familiar. This symbolizes her childhood. She is comfortable with her surroundings, because they are all she has ever known. Nothing has changed in her life, everything is stable.

Andy’s transition into adulthood is symbolized by the ocean. “It was huge and empty, yet always moving. Everything lay hidden” (459). I think the world is being described in these sentences. The world is a huge place and if you try to find happiness in it, all you will find is emptiness. Many things in the world seem like they should bring us joy, but they really do not. The consequences are hidden under a fake layer of pleasure. “If you walked in it, you couldn’t see how deep it was or what might be below” (459). Again, I believe this symbolizes the world. None of us realize how deep we are into things, until we are right in the middle of it. This happens to Andy. At first, she thinks that she wants to shoot a deer. “Please let us get a deer, she prayed” (462). Andy does not realize what this really means until she actually kills the doe. “What have I done? Andy thought” (464). This is how life goes when we get older. We no longer have parents to make choices for us. We make our own and learn from our own mistakes.