Bambi comes to life amid the sounds and wonders of nature. He does not know the full extent of the horrors and joys that await him.
The Original Bambi: The Story of a Life in the Forest by Felix Salten and Jack Zipes is not a happy story. It is a beautiful story, yes, but it sets out to explore the full breadth of emotion, not merely happiness and joy. Bambi is born in a forest in the heart of a spring thicket Almost from the first second he is able to form thoughts, Bambi is amazed. He is amazing by the sounds, the sights, the smells, and all the living things that surround him.
Bambi seems almost connected to nature from the onset. He has an intrinsic understanding of the way certain things work, while also being mystified by other things. He speaks with other animals, too. Some are friendly, commenting on how strong of a prince he will one day be. Others are curt, rude even. He is not the most respected animal in the forest, but he often doesn’t notice how rude the other animals are truly being.
Bambi has opened his eyes in an Eden, ready to explore all it has to offer him.
All good things must end, however.
Bambi is overcome with joy throughout this first spring and summer. He makes friends, meets a doe he will later marry, Faline. He also meets older male deer, and is amazing by their large horns and splendid confidence. Soon, winter comes, as it always does.
Bambi is taught a hard lesson, one he is smart to never forget. The lesson is this: fear Him.
Bambi’s mother is killed. She is killed by a hunter, a human. The splendor and wonder of the forest fade away, all Bambi can do is run. The story is not a happy one, and many animals are killed that day by the pitiless, systematic hunters. Many of the friends Bambi made are dead or presumed dead, and Bambi is left with only the pale snowflakes for comfort.
After this brutal winter, the novel skips forward in time. Now learning to live without his mother, Bambi is a young adult. He marries Faline, moves on with his life. Sometimes the forest can still be wonderful, other times he is reminded of nature’s unfeeling apathy. Wen the thunderbolt comes, however, animals die. He is still out there. Bambi slips into a melancholy, learning things from the Old Prince, a stag he has known and respected since childhood.
Gobo, a dear friend of Bambi’s, is shot by a hunter after being cocky. Gobo dies in his friend’s arms. Two dogs fight to the death over whether or not to be subservient to the hunter. The Old Prince says this after the fight,
They hate Him and themselves. …They kill themselves for His sake.
Bambi, 150
Bambi ages, beginning to value solitude more than anything else. He was once bright eyed to the world, but that world has chewed him up and spat on his dreams. Bambi is not unhappy, but he is not happy either.
At the end of the novel, Bambi is doing an accidental and rather haunting impression of his mother. He scolds two young deer for not being able to be alone. He get angry that they cannot handle solitude, despite he himself not being able to handle it either at that point in his life. Bambi is reminded of himself and Faline.
And then, without another word, Bambi walks off into the forest and disappears…
The forest holds many evils and many graces, but Bambi ends the novel ready to face whatever might await him.