Coming of age means more than just blowing out birthday candles or getting the key to your first car—it means growing up to see the world from an adult perspective. Needless to say, this isn't always a fun process. In The Sign of the Beaver, Attean has to find his manitou and join Saknis as a hunter, but for Matt, coming of age isn't quite so cut and dry. It means becoming a man he can respect—a man like his father, but also like Saknis. Either way, both boys do some serious growing up in this book, and when it ends, we know they've really come into their own.
Questions About Coming-of-Age
- How does Attean prove to his clan that he is a man? What does Matt do to prove to Attean and later, his family, that he is a man?
- How do Matt and Attean change from the beginning by the end of the novel?
- How does Matt show his child-like nature at the beginning of the novel?
- What do you think causes Matt to change over the course of the story?
Chew on This
Though Matt and Attean follow very different paths, they both experience similar specific moments that result in them becoming men.
Matt becomes a man, but it is only through the help of Attean that he accomplishes this task.