In this essay I’m going to look at some of the important elements in the short-story Wood Grouse on a High Promontory Overlooking Canada. The ones I am going to look at are: The setting of the short-story, a characterization of the two characters in the story, the theme(s), and the ending of the story. The story takes place on a high promontory, the two brothers Gary and Bud are fishing in the lake, but the fish don’t seem to bite. The promontory overlooks Canada on one side and the United States of America on the other. The scenery is peaceful and almost perfect, though in a realistic way.
Bud is the younger of the two, being only 15 years old and seemingly an average active teenager.
He seems carefree and happy. We are told that he likes baseball and that he likes throwing stones and that while doing so he imagines himself a hunter.
Gary on the other hand is quite a bit older, I’d guess about 20-25, as he’s just returned from the war in Vietnam. Gary appreciates the peace around him and notices the beauty in the small things, unlike Bud who is more interested in throwing stones for fun. It’s not because Bud is evil, but simply because Gary has been changed by what he’s experienced in Vietnam. He carries a heavy burden around because of the war, but he doesn’t want to talk about it and when Bud asks him. He simply says to him that he wouldn’t want to know. It also seems like it’s hard for him to admit that he killed people in Vietnam when Bud asks, though I think that he has already indirectly told Bud that he did.
When Bud had hit that bird with the stone Gary became quite upset about it, and when he realized that the bird was beyond help he killed it and I think what he said to Bud after this is quite significant: "That's it," Gary said, not ashamed of his crying - just crying now while he spoke to me. "That's all it is. That's all there is