A Week in the Woods

Mr. Maxwell is Mark’s teacher, the story’s deuteragonist, and the first character introduced. He is included to act as an example of The Dangers of Misjudgment and The Interchangeable Roles of Teacher and Student. A tall, burly woodsman who teaches fifth-grade science at Hardy Elementary, Mr. Maxwell takes pride in making thorough preparations for all major endeavors, so the first scene, set in mid-February, shows him preparing for the April Week in the Woods camping trip well in advance. Mr. Maxwell believes he will be ready for anything but has no idea what lies ahead. The week-long camping trip is traditionally led by Mr. Maxwell each year, for he finds it to be the perfect opportunity to combine his love of nature with his love of science and teaching. However, Mr. Maxwell’s love of teaching is soon trumped by his severe bias toward wealthy people, and his first poor impression of Mark only confirms his feelings toward that group. As the narrative states, “The only kind of people Mr. Maxwell disliked more than slackers were environmentally insensitive, buy-the-whole-world rich folks. And the only people he disliked more than rich folks were their lazy, spoiled kids” (25). Thus, while Mr. Maxwell normally enjoys the challenge of inspiring a disenchanted student, he gives up on Mark almost immediately, pegging him as a stereotypical child of wealthy parents who has never experienced or overcome any significant challenges. Mr. Maxwell blatantly ignores Mark in class, engages with him as little as possible, and actively makes the boy feel unwelcome. Despite this unfair treatment, however, Mark holds his head high and continues to try his best in Mr. Maxwell’s classes, even looking up to Mr. Maxwell as an example of knowledge and fortitude. He knows that Mr. Maxwell understands nature “from both sides” (144), both the theoretical and the experiential, and he admires his teacher as a positive role model for Redefining Manhood, despite their interpersonal misunderstandings.

On the first day of the camping trip, Mr. Maxwell’s dismissal and mistrust of Mark goes far beyond the norm when he punishes him harshly for being found holding a pocket knife. Even when Mr. Maxwell starts to question himself for punishing Mark, he immediately rationalizes his own bad behavior. The narrative clearly demonstrates Mr. Maxwell’s cognitive dissonance in the following passage:

He asked himself, If it had been some other kid, would I have reacted like this? Or would I have just said, ‘Nice tool, but you better let me keep it till the week is over.’ Would I? But the fact was it wasn’t some other kid. It was this kid, Mark Robert Chelmsley. And if I did let him off on this, it wouldn’t be good for him. That’s what Mr. Maxwell told himself, and he believed it (129).

When Mr. Maxwell realizes that the knife is not Mark’s, but Jason’s, he suddenly feels terrible guilt as he realizes how horribly he has been treating Mark. By unfairly expressing his bias against upper-class people, Mr. Maxwell has neglected one of his primary duties as a teacher and feels humiliated when he realizes his own failure in this regard. The wilderness is a place of reflection for Mr. Maxwell, and when he is forced to head up the mountain alone to find Mark, he has several hours to contemplate how to repair his relationship with Mark. In an ironic twist, the offending pocketknife turns out to be a vital life-saving tool, for he must use it to free himself from a rock in order to continue his search for Mark. By the time Mr. Maxwell does finally find Mark, the boy is in much better shape than he is, for Mr. Maxwell is injured and cold, and in a state of total vulnerability. In this moment, Mark shows maturity beyond his years and helps Mr. Maxwell without question by building a fire, providing snacks and water, and graciously accepting his teacher’s apology. Together, they head down the mountain, and when the camping trip is over, Mr. Maxwell gives Mark the knife in a gesture of apology and an expression of trust.

Mark’s parents are people who have a distant but strong influence over Mark, his values, and his lifestyle. They are an extremely wealthy family, rumored to have almost half a billion dollars to their name, and both of Mark’s parents spend the vast majority of their time away from home on business trips for their many companies. When Mark was younger, his dad did most of the traveling and his mother was usually home; during that earlier time frame, she prioritized raising her son over pursuing her business endeavors. While lying in the barn alone, he recalls his earliest memory and remembers the immediate comfort of his mother’s presence and affection when he fell and hurt himself. Mark wonders why the moment was so significant to him: “Was it the pain from the burning hot path? Was it the colors, the red clay and the bright yellow of his overalls? Or was it the way his mom had hugged and cradled him?” (74). Thinking of his mother makes him homesick, and Mark is painfully aware of the irony behind being homesick in his own home. Although he is growing up, he is still a child in many ways, and he longs for his mother’s presence. To Mark, home has always been where his mother is; as the narrative states, “Whenever he’d had a strong feeling of home and warmth and comfort, it was his mom who’d made it happen. Home had been mostly Mom’s department” (74). In many ways, discovering the wilderness helps to alleviate Mark’s wistful longing, for he learns to embrace the wilderness as a “home” that he can find anywhere. In contrast with Mark’s mother, his dad is caring but more business-oriented and wants Mark to grow up to be a strong and tough person. When he hears about Mark’s survival on the mountain and his forgiveness of Mr. Maxwell, Mark’s father expresses a pride in his son that almost brings Mark to tears.

Anya and Leon are Mark’s live-in child caretakers. They are a married couple who immigrated from Russia, and when the family moves to New Hampshire, they feel right at home in the colder climate. Anya is the more caring and attentive of the two, always ensuring that Mark is fed and well dressed; she is likewise more hesitant than Leon to let Mark take risks like sleeping alone in the barn. Still, she doesn’t hold Mark back and doesn’t allow her fears for his safety to prevent him from growing.

Leon is more encouraging of Mark’s endeavors and desire for independence. He teaches Mark how to snowshoe, and it is the first of many lessons of survival that Mark will learn from the men in his life. Leon helps Mark dig out the barn and trusts him to take care of himself through the night; this demonstration of confidence helps Mark to mature more fully. The two also spend a night camping together, and Leon teaches Mark the vital, life-saving skill of building a proper campfire. Each of these experiences contributes to Mark’s sense of confidence and competence, and it is clear that although they cannot replace his parents, Anya and Leon love Mark deeply and serve as parental figures for him. When he sees them again after his camping trip, he gives them both big hugs and looks forward to more outdoor experiences with Leon.