Gratitude is the Best Attitude. Imagine being forced to fly a plane over towering mountains after the pilot has a heart attack all while you are just thirteen years old. That is the backdrop of the adventurous and suspenseful coming-of-age novel Hatchet by Gary Paulson. In the novel, Brian Robeson, a brave thirteen year old boy, perseveres through many challenges and grows in gratitude as he struggles to survive in the Canadian wilderness. Throughout this novel, the author, using Brian Robeson to illustrate his theme, teaches many lessons surrounding the ideas of perseverance, resilience, and, most of all, gratitude. After recently finding out some horrible news about his parents divorce, Brian boards a small bush plane headed for the Canadian …show more content…
Throughout the novel, the author displays Brian as a resilient and courageous young boy trying to survive in a foreign area. While he is in the wilderness fighting to both thrive and survive, he begins to grow a deeper appreciation for what he had back at home. After 54 days of hard work, Brian is unexpectedly saved by a plane. He returns home as a new Brian Robeson with a heart filled with an abundance of gratitude. As Brian struggles to find food and survive in the wilderness, he finds himself remembering the bounty and abundance of what he had back home. In the epilogue, the author writes, “Food, all food, even food he did not like, never lost its wonder for him. For years after his rescue he would find himself stopping in grocery stores to just stare at the aisles of food, staring at the quantity and the variety” (Paulson 187). It takes a season of lack and scarcity for Brian to truly understand how fortunate and blessed his life was. Also, this shows that, until the little things are taken away, it is difficult to have a large appreciation for them. In this story, Brian truly defines the real meaning of gratitude; he no longer overlooks aspects of his life like food, clothes, shelter, nature, and, most importantly,
Hillenbrand who was born on May 15, 1967, in Fairfax, Virginia, effectively dialogs an intense testimony of redemption. A redemption that through Hillenbrand’s words, but Louis (Louie) Zamperini’s experiences, has praised her with the Time magazine nonfiction book award in 2010 along with the Los Angeles Times Book of the Year Award. Hillenbrand through her usage of anticipation and suspenseful tone explores the ability to have hope as the only coping mechanism of surviving. A coping mechanism, where Louie Zamperini undergoes a human resilience of the human mind, body, and spirit brought by the troubles of mankind and unfortunate consequences of life. If an account of an individual who faces all odds against him and tells his story of finding himself isn’t reason enough to be in our children’s curriculum than what is? Now more than ever, teenagers especially are conflicted in finding themselves in this complex world. A world that continuously faces debates between traditional to modern views, where altering perceptions of what’s right and wrong is slightly bent. Having a book that goes against the inequity of mankind, it would teach kids of today’s and tomorrow’s that sometimes rules have to be broken, in order to be liberated.
The purpose of this book is to address the issues of seclusion from society. Christopher has plenty of opportunities but chooses to give it all up for life in the wilderness. “I had been granted unusual freedom and responsibility at an early age, for which I should have been grateful in the extreme, but I wasn’t.” p.148. “Ten days and nights of freight trains and hitchhiking bring him to the great white north. No longer poisoned by civilization he flees, and walks alone upon the land to become lost in the wild.” p.163. Christopher spends several years on the road.
Into the Wild, written by John Krakauer tells of a young man named Chris McCandless who 1deserted his college degree and all his worldly possessions in favor of a primitive transient life in the wilderness. Krakauer first told the story of Chris in an article in Outside Magazine, but went on to write a thorough book, which encompasses his life in the hopes to explain what caused him to venture off alone into the wild. McCandless’ story soon became a national phenomenon, and had many people questioning why a “young man from a well-to-do East Coast family [would] hitchhike to Alaska” (Krakauer i). Chris comes from an affluent household and has parents that strived to create a desirable life for him and his sister. As Chris grows up, he becomes more and more disturbed by society’s ideals and the control they have on everyday life. He made a point of spiting his parents and the lifestyle they lived. This sense of unhappiness continues to build until after Chris has graduated college and decided to leave everything behind for the Alaskan wilderness. Knowing very little about how to survive in the wild, Chris ventures off on his adventure in a state of naïveté. It is obvious that he possessed monumental potential that was wasted on romanticized ideals and a lack of wisdom. Christopher McCandless is a unique and talented young man, but his selfish and ultimately complacent attitude towards life and his successes led to his demise.
This book teaches the importance of self-expression and independence. If we did not have these necessities, then life would be like those in this novel. Empty, redundant, and fearful of what is going on. The quotes above show how different life can be without our basic freedoms. This novel was very interesting and it shows, no matter how dismal a situation is, there is always a way out if you never give up, even if you have to do it alone.
Although, Chris McCandless may be seen as stupid and his ideals uncanny, he gave up everything to follow his heart he escaped the world that would have changed him, he wrote his own tale to feel free, and he left a conformist world to indulge in true happiness. How many people would just give up their lives, family, material goods, to escape into a world of perfect solitude and peace; not many and Chris was one of those that could and he became and inspiration. “The idea of free personality and the idea of life as sacrifice” (187).
Encountering struggles in life defines one’s character and speaks volumes about their strength, ambition, and flexibility. Through struggles, sacrifice, and tragedy, Junior in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie, adapts to survive difficult situations and faces his problems head-on. As he makes life changing decisions, adapts to an unfamiliar culture, and finds himself amongst misery and heartbreak, Junior demonstrates resilience to overcome adversity and struggles.
Life is a complicated process. It’s filled with many things that keep it interesting but at the same time, very dull. Life’s what you make it and for many, it’s something we all strive for. In the story, The Space Between, the author takes full advantage of the premise as there’s rarely a dull moment- as in life. The book is filled with many literary devices that work nicely with the plot and dialogue. These include; metaphors, similes, irony, personification, and many more. We follow a young man who is finding his way in the world. He has only a week to change his life for the better. But he will face many obstacles on the way that brings the readers into a startling and fun journey.
Every day thousands of people die and their families have to deal with the loss and depression that comes with this.I have personally gone through this experience and had to deal with the grief. When someone goes through a loss they usually go through five stages (D.A.B.D.A) : Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance. In Hatchet Gary Paulsen uses survival and Character development to Show the reader how going through a major loss with no help puts emotional and physical struggles on you.
All in all, Chris McCandless is a contradictory idealist. He was motivated by his charity but so cruel to his parents and friends. He redefined the implication of life, but ended his life in a lonely bus because of starvation, which he was always fighting against. Nevertheless, Chris and the readers all understand that “happiness only real when shared.” (129; chap.18) Maybe it’s paramount to the people who are now alive.
Main Theme: The story Hatchet’s theme is determination, perseverance and survival. Brian Robeson, whose parents are divorced, flies to visit his father in Canadian wilderness. His pilot has a heart attack and dies. Brian managed to land the plane in a lake, and escape unharmed. Now comes the hard part, surviving in the wilderness until rescued. He does have one tool to help him, a hatchet that his mother had given him as a gift. He will have to use it, his own determination, imagination, perseverance and common sense to survive.
In the novel, A Hero’s Journey, Joseph Campbell, an American mythologist, writer, and lecturer, states that “every decision made by a young person is life decisive. What seems to be a small problem is really a large one. So everything that is done early in life is functionally related to a life trajectory” (Campbell). In mythic criticism, the critic sees mythic archetypes and imagery connecting and contrasting it with other similar works. Certain patterns emerge, such as a traditional hero on a journey towards self actualization. Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer portrays this hero’s journey. The protagonist of the novel, Chris McCandless, hitchhikes to Alaska and walks alone into the wilderness, north of Mt. McKinley. He had given $25,000 in savings to charity, abandoned his car and most of his possessions, burned all the cash in his wallet, and invented a new life for himself. He thought that the reality of the modern world was corrupt and uncompassionate, so he went on this journey in order to find a life of solitude and innocence that could only be expressed through his encounters with the wild. During this ambitious journey to find the true meaning of life, Chris McCandless exhibits a pattern like the type explained above. In Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild, Chris McCandless follows this mythic pattern, seeking to be the traditional hero who spurns civilization, yet he discovers that modern heroes cannot escape their reality.
Throughout life, people face obstacles. The time and type of such events can determine a person’s character, outlook and their goals in life. “Walking Out” was about a young boy who takes a vacation with his father which turns tragic because of a gun accident. The author of “Walking Out”, David Quammen moved to Montana in the early 1970’s; there has been no indication that the author and the boy depicted in the story are the same person. Some parallels might be assumed with both the character and author having the same name; both men grew up near big cities and venture into the back country to get away from life. Both also do not enjoy the lifestyle at first, but come to enjoy it. In David Quammen’s Walking Out, David and his father venture
“What You Pawn I Will Redeem,” by Sherman Alexie gives readers a look at the life of homeless, easygoing, middle aged Native American, Jackson Jackson. The story, which is set in Seattle, describes the conditions that Jackson finds himself in. Alexie’s choice of motifs emphasizes the significance of cultural and historical references. With these concepts in mind, the reader is taken through a journey of self-realization. “What You Pawn I Will Redeem” narrates the internal struggle Jackson feels trying to figure out his personal identity as a Native American. The story chronicles situations that illustrate the common stereotypes about Natives. Through Jackson’s humble personality, the reader can grasp his
Hardship is everywhere but Sherman Alexie’s “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian” is an amusing and intelligent novel that clearly provides the reader with perfect examples of poverty and friendship on an Indian reservation. Alexie incorporates those examples through the point of view and experiences of a fourteen year old boy named Arnold Spirit Jr.