Student Question
What is Nat's character like in "The Birds"?
Quick answer:
Nat Hocken is a keen observer of nature and the first to notice changes in the birds' behavior. He is dependable, practical, and protective, taking charge during the bird attacks to safeguard his family, likely due to his military background. He prioritizes his family's safety, defending his children and offering advice to others. Nat's fate is uncertain, but his survival skills suggest he may have outlived the birds.
Nat Hocken is very aware of and connected to nature. He is the first person, for example, who notices the change in the birds' behaviour on December third. Nat is also dependable and reliable: despite being an injured veteran, he works on the farm to support his family and, when the birds attack, takes charge of the situation. He ensures that all of the windows and doors are barricaded, for instance, and that the family has enough supplies to survive. This practical side of Nat's character may be the result of his military training but, whatever the case, is instrumental in the survival of his family.
Arguably, Nat's family are the most important people in his life and he works hard to protect them from danger. He jumps in to defend his children on the first night that the birds attack, for example, and risks his life to collect his...
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daughter, Jill, from the school bus. He also tries to protect Mr and Mrs Trigg by offering them advice on how to stay safe.
Nat's fate remains a mystery to readers but, with his survival skills and dependable character, he may have outlived the birds.
How does Nat personify his foe in "The Birds"?
The birds that form such an implacable enemy to Nat and his family are personified throughout this terrifying short story, but you might like to consider the following examples of adjectives that are applied to the birds that reveal what a powerful and violent force they are. For me, one of the key passages in this story comes at the beginning, when the narrator describes the huge flocks of birds that Nat loves to look at so much who do not migrate and stay in Britain for the winter. Note the way that they are described and the kind of adjectives that are used to present them:
Great flocks of them came to the peninsula, restless, uneasy, spending themsleves in motion; now wheeling, circling in the sky, now settling to feed on the rich, new-turned soil; but even when they fed, it was as though they did so without hunger, without desire. Restlessness drove them to the skies again.
Consider how the use of such phrases as "without hunger, without desire" and words such as "restlessness" present the huge flocks of birds as being incredibly dangerous and inexorable in pursuing their aims. Here, through this description, we see the birds personified as potentially very dangerous enemies indeed, and possessing the mentality that would make them incredibly difficult to beat.