Though the central action of “The Bear” takes place in the late 1800s, many of the concerns Faulkner addresses would have been relevant at the time of the story’s publication in 1942. In addition to ongoing racial tensions associated with Jim Crow laws, the question of environmental conservation in the face of ever-expanding industry was growing more urgent with each passing year. Within this context, “The Bear” serves as a critique of the attitudes and assumptions underlying what Faulkner presents as the flawed, even cursed, legacy of the American South.

“The Bear” can be considered an example of psychological realism, since it demonstrates to readers not only what Isaac does, but why he does so. His development takes place within a coming-of-age framework (or bildungsroman), with little mention of his parents. Instead, Sam serves as a father figure to him as Isaac discovers the beauties and dangers of the forest. Isaac’s quest to find Old Ben requires him to gradually abandon the trappings of civilization, such as his gun and compass, which symbolizes and parallels his abandonment of ideological baggage as well.

By the time Lion appears, the narrator suggests that “[Isaac] should have hated and feared Lion” (198), as if to recognize the threat the dog poses to Old Ben, whom Isaac has no intention of killing.