Analysis Of Hatchet By Gary Paulsen

In the book “Hatchet” written by Gary Paulsen, the main character, Brian Robeson is not well suited for survival situations. Brian is in a plane on the way to his dad's when the pilot has as heart attack leaving Brian to crash land the plane and survive on his own. He is a city boy and his city ways and this doesn’t help him when his plane crashes and he is stuck to fend for himself in the Canadian wilderness. Will he be able to make a fire, a shelter, find food, and get drinking water? Or will he be forced to sleep through the silent nights full of mosquitos?

In the beginning, Brian he checks what type of supplies he had. “A quarter, three dimes, a nickel, and two pennies. A fingernail clipper. A bill folded with a twenty dollar bill” (pg 50). He also had good tennis shoes, socks, jeans, underwear, a belt, a watch, a windbreaker, and most importantly, his hatchet . He had never used the hatchet before so he is very unprepared.

Before the crash, Brian grew up in New York which means he is a city boy and he doesn’t understand the ways of the woods.

“Oh, you city boy with your city boy ways” (pg 98). He is not used to the quiet nights in the Canadian wilderness. “He thought it was silent, but when he started to listen, really listen, he heard thousands of things.” (pg 41) He is used to the loud nights on the streets of New York. He is a city boy who is forced to survive the quiet nights. Brian doesn’t know how to hunt or fish which is a problem in the beginning when he needs

food.

Brian isn’t prepared when it comes to making a fire or finding a food source. It take him several tries to make a small fire. He tries different methods that all seem to fail. He also struggles catching a fish for food(pg 107-108) Brian tries to make a spear that catches fish because the water is distorted making the fish seem like they are in one place when they are in another place. He also attempts to make a bow and arrows but the arrows break and the bow is too stiff (pg 112).

Brian is not well suited for a survival situation. He is unprepared with materials. He is a city boy not used to the quiet nights. He can’t make a fire or catch fish for food. He may slowly learn but he is definitely not ready for 2 months in the wilderness.