My Side of the Mountain

In the first half of the story, Sam sheds what he calls his “city clothes” in favor of clothing made from animal skins or furs. Sam repurposes his old sweater as a basket and then later rips and burns his city pants to use as a charred cloth for fire making. These clothes symbolize Sam’s life before he ran way into the mountains. To rid himself of these clothes is to symbolically rid himself of his past way of life. By doing so, Sam can now fully commit to his new life in the mountains.

For many chapters Sam fantasizes about making himself a deerskin suit, and eventually he works hard enough to catch enough deer to do so. Sam’s deerskin outfit comes to symbolize his new life. Sam describes his new outfit at the start of Chapter 16: “I stood in my doorway the twenty-third of November dressed from head to toe in deerskins. I was lined with rabbit fur. I had mittens and squirrel-lined moccasins. I was quite excited by my wardrobe” (107). In the following scene, Sam walks into town and draws attention because people don’t normally see a kid dressed head to toe in animal skins and furs.

Inside the town drugstore, Tom Sidler asks Sam if he’s playing cowboys and Indians, implying that he thinks Sam could just be wearing a costume. This subtle yet important moment causes Sam to want to prove that his outfit is authentic. Any kid could buy a cowboy costume or a fake coon hat, but Sam’s genuinely crafted deerskin suit is a result of his hard work and connection to the land. Sam thus invites Tom to his camp so that Tom can see his outdoor skills in action.

Whereas any kid could put on a cowboy costume and pretend to play that role, Sam’s clothing highlights the genuine nature of his adventure. Sam’s clothes symbolize his transformation to a new life and into a new survivalist role that he’s actually living.