Hatchet (1987) (edit title/settings)

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit see section history

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Summary edit see section history

Characters edit see section history

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• Brian Robeson: Brian Robeson is a boy who's plane crashed and left him all alone in the wilderness.
• Jim: Jim was the pilot of Brians plane.
• Brian's Mother: The person who gives him the tool that leads him to survival, the hatchet.
• Brian's father: Moved to Canada after the divorce. He now works with oil rigs.
• "Him'': He is part of the secret that Brain talks about.
• Terry: Brian's best friend.

Quotes edit see section history

• “Long tears, self-pity tears, wasted tears.”

• “Incredible wealth. It was like all the holidays in the world, all the birthdays there were.”

• “It was a strange feeling, holding the rifle. It somehow removed him from everything around him. Without the rifle he had to fit in, to be part of it all, to understand it and use it-the woods, all of it. With the rifle, suddenly, he didn't have to know; did not have to be afraid or understand.”

• “Never. Never in all the food, all the hamburgers and malts, all the fries or meals at home, never in all the candy or pies or cakes, never in all the roasts or steaks or pizzas, never in all the submarine sandwiches, never never never had he tasted anything as fine as that first bite. First Meat.”

• “Early in the new time he had learned the most important thing, the truly vital knowledge that drives all creatures in the forest--food is all. Food was simply everything. All things in the woods, from insects to fish to bears, were always, always looking for food--it was the great, single driving influence in nature. To eat. All must eat.”

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• most important rule of survival, which was that feeling sorry for yourself didn’t work.

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• them—“You are your most valuable asset. Don’t forget that. You are the best thing you have.”

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• None of that used to be in Brian and now it was a part of him, a changed part of him, a grown part of him, and the two things, his mind and his body, had come together as well, had made a connection with each other that he didn’t quite understand.

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• Patience, he thought. So much of this was patience—waiting and thinking and doing things right. So much of all this, so much of all living was patience and thinking.

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• Cessna 406—a bushplane—and the engine was so loud, so roaring and consuming and loud, that it ruined any chance for conversation.

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• But perhaps more than his body was the change in his mind, or in the way he was—was becoming.

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• Brian had gained immensely in his ability to observe what was happening and react to it; that would last him all his life. He had become more thoughtful as well, and from that time on he would think slowly about something before speaking.

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• For a time that he could not understand Brian could do nothing. Even after his mind began working and he could see what had happened he could do nothing. It was as if his hands and arms were lead. Then he looked for ways for it not to have happened. Be asleep, his mind screamed at the pilot. Just be asleep and your eyes will open now and your hands will take the controls and your feet will move to the pedals—but it did not happen.

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• It was pitiful enough. A quarter, three dimes, a nickel, and two pennies. A fingernail clipper. A billfold with a twenty dollar bill—“In case you get stranded at the airport in some small town and have to buy food,” his mother had said—and some odd pieces of paper.

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• All so still-looking, so stopped, the pond and the moose and the trees, as he slid over them now only three or four hundred feet off the ground—all like a picture.

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Setting & Locations edit see section history

• Canada
• Canadian Wilderness: Well it's pretty much like any other forest.
• The L shaped lake: A lake shaped like an "L". He uses it to land in to cushion the blow of the crash. He catches fish and drinks from the lake.
• the plane: he is on the plane in the beginning of the story, he is on his way to his fathers house

First Sentence edit see section history

Table of Contents edit see section history

Glossary edit see section history

• Cessna: A small plane with one or two propellers. Usually used to transport people and supplies to short or remote disances. Typically carries two to four passengers.
• horde: To gather for oneself, for example Brian hording food or other resources.
• altitude: Height above the Earth.
• stymie: an overwhelmingly difficult situation or problem
• frenzied: wild, violently active, frantic.

Themes & Symbolism edit see section history

• Man versus Nature versus himself: Brian must strengthen his will and resolve to survive the Canadian wilderness.
• Man Versus Nature: Describe this theme.
• The Power of Positive Thinking
• Initiation Into Manhood
• Contrasts Between Urban and Wilderness Environments
• Rationality Versus Emotion
• Past Versus Present
• Dream Versus Reality
• The Hatchet: Brian's strength.
• The Plane
• The Rifle
• Man vs. himself

Series & Lists edit see section history

Followed by The River.

Preceded by The Picture of Dorian Gray, and followed by Atonement.

Preceded by Johnny My Friend, and followed by Taronga.

Preceded by Atlas Shrugged, and followed by Freakonomics.

Preceded by The Naked and the Dead, and followed by Animal Farm.

Preceded by The Road, and followed by The Battle of the Labyrinth.

Preceded by The Help, and followed by The Titan's Curse.

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. Gary Paulsen (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Awards edit see section history

• Newbery Honor Book (1988)
• Maud Hart Lovelace Book Award (Minnesota) (1991, Winner)
• Minnesota Book Award (1988)

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: Kim Jong Ill
• Dewey: 949.98

Notes for Parents edit see section history

This book is a great way to make ecology relevant to younger readers. There are however some disturbing scenes, such as when Brian finds the dead pilot, and there is a moment where Brian contemplates suicide. You may want to read over some of those sections beforehand in case, but the rest of the book is very appropriate for the age group.

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Children's Books › People & Places › Family Life › Marriage & Divorce › Fiction
• Books › Children's Books › People & Places › Family Life › Marriage & Divorce › Divorce
• Books › Teens › Authors, A-Z › ( P ) › Paulsen, Gary
• Books › Teens › Literature & Fiction › Adventure & Thrillers
• Books › Literature & Fiction › Genre Fiction › Action & Adventure
• Books › Teens › Social Issues › Being a Teen
• Books › Children's Books › Literature › Action & Adventure
• Books › Children's Books › Issues

Links to Supplemental Material edit see section history

• Gary Paulsen: Author of the book Hatchet.
• Mooseworld: Brian encounters a moose during his time in the wilderness. Here is a website all about moose!
• Equipped to survive: Information on true-life survival stories
• Tornadoes...Nature's most violent storms: Information on tornadoes and how they work, like the tornado Brian had to deal with.

More Books Like This edit see section history