Moccasin Trail Themes, Symbols, and Timeline

Identify the themes, symbols, and timeline events in Moccasin Trail the historical fiction novel by Eloise Jarvis McGraw.

Themes

The major themes in this historical fiction account include:

• Culture
• Belonging
• Family

Further Discussion on Themes

These themes can be further analyzed on the basis of:

• Culture
  • White vs Native American
  • Differences and conflicts between native tribes
  • Differences between whites - farmers vs hunter/trappers
  • The role of family in culture
  • Self-sufficiency
    • Natives - working with nature and the land
    • Settlers - conquering the land
• Identity
• Relationships and Belonging
  • Family (Jim's siblings)
  • Friendships (Tom)
  • The Larger Society

Symbols

A number of objects and events are used as symbols which support the themes listed above.

• Bear Claw necklace - his feat of bravery
• Medicine Bundle - his Medicine Dream
• Medicine Dream - combination of native (grizzly bear) and white (Lord's Prayer)
• Permanent Log Cabin vs Mobile Teepee - differences between the two different cultures
• Jim's boots - the incombatibility between the land and civilization
• Mother's Clock - the family's life in Missouri

Timeline

• 1836 - age 11 - ran away from home to follow Uncle Adam to Oregon territory
• 1837 - Grizzy Attack and began life with the Crow tribe
• 1839 - age 14 - Jim's Medicine Dream (Grizzly and Lord's Prayer)
• 1841 - age 16 - Jim's father died
• 1843 - age 18 - slipped away from the Crow Indians at night; became atrapper with
• 1844 - age 19 - reunited with his siblings

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Moccasin Trail Pages

Our pages for Eloise Jarvis McGraw's novel, Moccasin Trail.