Essay On Hatchet By Gary Paulsen

Garrett Hanberg

Professor Bryan Estes

AP Literature

17 May 2016

Brian and His Survival

The novel, Hatchet, written by Gary Paulsen is a survival thriller in which a thirteen year old boy by the name of Brian has to fight for survival to stay alive. Initially in the beginning of the book, Brian and a pilot by the name of Jim or Jake (Brian couldn’t remember the man’s name) were flying around in a Cessna plane on the way to Canada so that little Brian could see his distant father that he hasn’t seen in forever due to his parent’s recent divorce. About half way through the flight a surprise came to Brian’s eye as he looked up at the pilot. The pilot had a heart attack and was no longer breathing, so Brian rushed to the front to take control of the plane and keep it level. The plane ends up crashing in the middle of nowhere in a lake, but Brian manages to survive. As the story progresses Brian’s character development ultimately makes him a stronger person. All of his experiences in the wilderness all alone without anyone around

him, allowed him to be nothing less than dependent on no one but himself. His character changes immensely from start to finish.
Throughout the novel, Brian has no one but himself to lean on. He has to figure out his own way to obtain food, water, and make himself a shelter. He struggles in the beginning because he is absolutely terrified and doesn’t know how to cope being by himself. He is a thirteen year old boy that never had to depend on himself, and to top it off he has major self pity for himself because his parents recently divorced each other. He is now isolated from the rest of the world because there isn’t civilization for miles on end. When the plane initially crashes, Brian is distraught and ultimately in shock. He has to teach himself survival now until he gets rescued (if it ever happens). Brian has to teach himself patience and to hold onto the small amount of hope he has deep down inside him. He has to teach himself what water to drink and not drink. As well as what berries to eat and not eat. The wilderness is his only friend now, but only if he looks at that way, it could also be his enemy if he wants it to be.
Although the main conflict in the story is Brian vs.

the wilderness, there is another conflict that continues throughout the novel that can be harder to see. That is the whole conflict with his parent’s divorce that constantly lingers throughout his mind. Brian, later on in the novel reveals a secret about his mother and an affair she had with a man that his father does now know about. This leads readers wondering whether or not he blames his mother for the quandary he is currently in being stranded in the middle of nowhere by himself. Maybe if Brian had told his father about this affair, there would be very different visitation rights placed instead of the summer visits he is stuck with to see his father, making the relationship with him very distant and inconsistent. Perhaps due to this knowledge about his mother and her affair, Brian feels to blame for being in this predicament, because if he was to speak up he wouldn’t be stuck by

himself.
Back to the main point however (Brian and his survival), by the end of the book, Brian begins to get used to the wild, and had adapted to it like it is his new home. It all becomes naturally easy to him, he has figured out what to do and not do. As well as all the ways to stay alive and stay healthy. He builds a shelter for himself to stay warm and out of harms way. He personally taught himself how to be self-dependent and count on no one else to be there for him in his time of need, something that will prove to be very useful in his future. As nature continues to throw new “impossible” situations at Brian, he begins to find his own tactics that he had to teach himself to survive this cruel world he is currently living in. There was a point in the story where little Brian wants to commit suicide and end it all because he has given up all hope of ever being found, but he stops himself because deep down inside he is holding onto hope that it will happen.