Irony In Hatchet

Hatchet by Gary Paulson is a fiction novel about a thirteen-year-old boy named Brian that survives a plane crash after the pilot dies of a heart attack and Brian is forced to land the plane himself, and in doing so, lands in a lake around the setting of a Canadian forest. Throughout the duration of the novel, Brian is to survive this dangerous situation with nothing except for a literal hatchet that was gifted to him by his mother prior to getting on the plane to go visit his father in the Canadian North Woods as his parents are newly separated after a recent divorce. Gary Paulsen was inspired to write Hatchet from his own life and personal experiences as both of his parents gave him a hard time growing up through their rocky marriage and unstable parenting as well as the fact that he grew up in the country and had to provide for himself. Hatchet also received a 1988 Newbery Honor award for its excellency. The fiction book is a piece of his life and it’s struggles as he wrote it to convey the following opinions: positivity can get you far no matter what the situation at hand may be, man can

in fact coexist with nature on an equal level, and emotions can cause weakness but they are not to be ignored because they make you human. Gary Paulsen’s Hatchet is a strong story that can be applied to everyday life as it teaches patience, the importance of nature and emotions, and reveals a lot about Paulsen himself and his difficult early years of life. (Themes, Motifs, and Symbols)

Through the duration of Gary Paulsen’s novel Hatchet, he demonstrates that his main protagonist, Brian, can truly do anything he sets his mind to as long as he instills positivity into his mindset. Despite him being in a very dangerous situation surrounded by a foreign place, alone and without any idea of what to do, positivity can get him where he needs to go and help him in getting done what he needs to get done. (Themes, Motifs, and Symbols) Growing up, Paulsen himself was faced with having to pick himself up, both physically and emotionally, because his parents were too busy in themselves by bickering and were known as alcoholics. Just as his protagonist, Brian, is faced with growing up in an instant on his own to survive, Paulson personally had a true account of that, slowly but surely. Gary Paulsen truly used positivity to get through his hard times and blessed his protagonist in Hatchet with the same quality. (Burns)

Gary Paulsen uses literary devices including foreshadowing and irony in Hatchet.

Paulsen’s use of foreshadowing presents itself early in the novel as, moments before Brian’s plane crash, his captain teaches him how to control the plane, giving us the hint that Brian may possibly land it himself. The captain experiencing shoulder pain moments before having a heart attack and dying is also another form of foreshadowing used by Paulsen to show that something bad was about to take place. Irony is also used in the story as it is ironic that Brian receives a hatchet from his mom and then gets stranded in a Canadian forest with that specific hatchet as his only tool. There is also a part of the story where Brian comes across a survival kit much after the time where he may have needed it because he already figured out how to survive without a survival kit already.

(Paulsen)

The Canadian forest setting of Hatchet was selected by Paulsen because, as he was growing up, he had to feed himself, clothe himself from clothes he actually made himself, and provide his own shelter. His parents’ absence in raising him caused him to run away at age 14 and since then he has created a life and identity for himself apart from his family. Paulsen also conveys the fact that nature and man are equal throughout Hatchet by using Brian, a boy from the city, and putting him in a setting surrounded by nature and he ends up fully appreciating nature and its inhabitants as well as seeing himself equal to the animals just like Gary Paulsen does himself. Throughout Hatchet, Brian also goes through many emotional states of turmoil because of his young age and all of the things he has going on in his life. A divorce amongst parents and then being in a plane crash is enough to make anyone a little upset, but Brian, being thirteen, has to fight his emotions. He eventually discovers that he should, not fully ignore his feelings but, put them aside in order to pay attention to what is important in that moment, survival. (Burns)

Hatchet’s audience includes people of all ages but mostly middle-aged children who are near or about to endure a change of life such as the push into teenage years where independence becomes a virtue. The book is used as a part of curriculum in many schools across the United States because of its coming-of-age qualities. The book teaches valuable lessons about patience and positivity as well as the importance of common outdoor-related knowledge just in case it is needed. (Burns)

I personally feel like Gary Paulsen’s Hatchet is a unique and important novel to all time periods whether they be 2016 today or any time before that. The book shows today’s youth that they are not the only people that go through a hard time at home or in the real world. The protagonist of the story, not only deals with drama at home between split parents like many children do today, but he is slapped in the face with dealing with the reality of his situation that if he does not figure out how to survive in the wild, he will die. The book gives an idea of the fact that no one person is the center or the universe and that every single living thing, not just humans, have problems that they deal with every day. Hatchet comes to play with strong, imagery filled, yet easy to read, writing that people of all ages can understand therefore reaching a much broader audience. I recommend the book to all people including youth, young adults, middle-aged people and the elderly. (Hatchet Summary & Study Guide Description)

Hatchet is a very relevant story to contemporary times because, in today’s world everything is extremely fast-paced and done electronically through new technology. Paulsen does his best to demonstrate the fact that patience is needed to get through things and most people are used to the quickness of the World Wide Web. Paulsen is one of the few people that know how to get around without the use of tech due to his past experiences as a child with growing up on his own and making many of his things from scratch. I can also apply my reading of Gary Paulsen’s Hatchet to my everyday life by taking in more information about nature and how to do things without technology and just the knowledge in my head with my natural surroundings. I can also learn to be more patient with things as we all have a long life to live. (Burns)

Hatchet did in fact live up to my expectations as the novel showed me that many people really do have it easy however, everyone has their own individual personal problems that can be dealt with using patience, kindness, and observation. Paulsen’s novel rightfully earned the Newbery Honor award for its excellency and 4.5 million sold copies of the adventurous story of Brian and his Hatchet definitely speaks for itself.