The Relationship In Helen Macdonald's I Is For Hawk

In a human life, there are so many relationships like the one between husband and wife, between mother and child, or between brother and sister. Besides those relationships, there can also be a connection between human and nature. Nature is comprised of a variety of things, such as plants, landscape, other features, and animals. There are plenty of relationships between natures, like relation with animal and plants. The book H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald talks about the relationship between her and a hawk. She got the hawk after her dad die. There is a strong connection between them that helped her got over the grief of losing her father. In the book I and Thou by Martin Buber, he talks about the I and Thou relationship between human and

As taken from page 89, “as I sit there happily feeding tidbits to the hawk, her name drops into my head, Mable. From amabilis, meaning loveable or dear” Helen mentioned (page 89, chapter 9). As Helen was watching the bird, one could say that she fell in love. She named her hawk Mable. A name is something that identifies a person. It, however, can be more than just a term of reference for humans give names to the things that they love. For example people name their dogs, cats, and fish. The names can represent their personalities, which is why the giving names can convey some sort of connection between human and animal. The name given is what one thinks best fits the animal being named. No one names their pet unless they want to treat it as a human or even, as a friend, who they can play, talk, or spend time with like a real human being. Calling names rather referring to a dog or a cat shows more affection towards the pets. Through this detail, it is proving that Helen looked at the hawk as a being I- Thou relationship, something that she loves and cares for, not as an object. Besides the naming, the author of the book “H is for Hawk” also feels her connection with her hawk somewhat resembles a mom’s connection with child. She stated: “she is a child… I reach down and start, unconsciously as a mother helping a child with her dinner, plucking the pheasant with the hawk” (page 184, chapter 19). Helen feels like she was a mother and the hawk was her child. She was helping the hawk to eat like a mother preparing a meal for her child. The relationship between a mother and child is quite unique in a way that it can shape a person’s life. Through this point, it shows that there is a very strong connection between Helen and the hawk. Though it might not be the same as the I-Thou relationship, the motherly love is as strong love as that of the I- thou