Most people know that sometimes, terrifying events happen. Planes crash, cars wreck, people die. But most people don’t expect something like that to happen to them. The last thing on someone’s mind is their plane crashing, and them being stranded, alone, in the wilderness, with no idea of where they are. This is exactly what happened to Brian Robeson in Gary Paulsen's novel Hatchet, when the pilot of the plane Brian was riding had a heart attack. The only thing Brian had to protect himself and to stay alive was a hatchet. Even though Brian is only thirteen years old, he managed to survive, and after fifty four days in the wilderness, he is rescued. Based on my characteristics and knowledge of different things that helped Brian survive, I believe I would, unfortunately, not …show more content…
Brian had to be able to build with wood in order to survive in the wilderness. On page 124 of the Hatchet book, the text states “He set about improving his shelter by tearing it down. From dead pines up the hill he brought down heavier logs and fastened several of them across the opening, wedging them at the top and burying the bottoms in the sand. Then he wove long branches in through them to make a truly tighty wall and, still not satisfied, he took even thinner branches and wove those into the first weave.” Brian had to use his brains in order to figure out a safe and secure way to build a shelter. Additionally, he also had to build a small place to store food, a bow and arrow, a fish spear, a fish net, etc. All of these things were crucial to his survival, as they kept him protected and fed. The only experience I have had with building is using nails and a hammer to nail a few pieces of plywood together. I definitely would not be able to weave branches together, or even think of that idea. Without being able to build things, I would not have a very good chance of
Brian quickly made a fire using small pieces of bark that caught fire really fast. He now had warmth and a shelter, the only he needed was a steady food supply.
In my opinion I think that Hatchet does a better job of telling the story better than“A Cry in the Wild”,because it tells you how he feels when he does something.For instances in “A Cry in the Wild”it doesn’t tell you how he feels when drives the airplane,but in Hatchet it says that he felt like the plain was alive in page 4 of Hatchet.Also in chapter 9 in Hatchet it said that when he built a fire he said that he felt like the fire was his friend because it got all of the bugs away that bite me.It also gave him heat and light.In the movie “A Cry in the Wild” it didn’t even say anything.It showed how he did it and boom there was fire.They did not show how he felt about what the fire felt to him and he did even say that it was his friend.All
...ng a fire, and purifying water. He may not have mastered the skills, but he was experienced enough to get by. In order to see that Chris was prepared, you have to look past the gear that he packed. You have to go through his mental process and you also have to look at what he learned in order to live off the land. Had he not been prepared, he would have most likely died after he ran out of rice.
Gary Paulsen’s whole life reflects his life of adventures and survival in the wilderness and his writing reflects his experiences. Living in the remote Minnesota woods Paulsen released Some Birds Don't Fly in 1966 (Trelease), and began his professional writing career and now has achieved three Newbery Honor Books with his novels - Hatchet, The Winter Room and Dogsong (Pendergast). Paulsen’s most popular book, Hatchet, a story of a young boy named Brian who lands a plane after the pilot dies from a heart attack and must survive in the remote wilderness alone, reflects some of Paulsen’s real life experiences when he used to answer emergency calls and deal with many heart attack victims (Paulsen 2). The plane crash in Hatchet was also created by Paulsen after he was on the scene of a plane crash were the pilots died (Paulsen 7). Gary Paulsen’s experiences from living alone in the Minnesota woods to racing dogs in the Iditarod race has been exposed and reflected in a majority his writings.
Living in the wilderness is difficult, but understanding the meaning of such lifestyle is even more difficult. One of the Christopher’s admirable qualities was that he was well aware of what he was doing. He knew about the difficulties and dangers that he would face into the wilderness, and was mentally prepared for that. Author Jon Krakauer says that “McCandless was green, and he overestimated his resilience, but he was sufficiently skilled to last for sixteen weeks on little more than his wits and ten pounds of rice. And he was fully aware when he entered the bush that he had given himself a perilously slim margin for error. He knew precisely what was at stake” (182). McCandless was an educated youth, who loved nature and dreamed of living in the Alaskan wilderness. Although he ignored to take many necessary things with him on this
According to Alaskans and John Krakauer, “By design McCandless came into the country with insufficient provisions, and he lacked certain pieces of equipment deemed essential by Alaskans: a large-caliber rifle, map, and compass, an ax (pg. 180).” Chris clearly wasn’t prepared for the road ahead of him. He didn’t realize or think that the wilderness could hurt him, let alone his bad interpretation of the books he read. Also, “Alaskan hunters know that the way to preserve mean in the bush is to slice it into thin strips and then air-dry it on a makeshift rack. But McCandless… relied on the advice of hunters he consulted in South Dakota who advised him to smoke his meat… (pg. 166).” Chris’s unpredictable circumstances weren’t taken into an account by himself. He wasn’t thinking properly, and for that reason he wasted meat. Which was another day of starving. Even though Chris was where he was, “…the only food McCandless carried was a ten-pound bag of long grain rice-and two sandwiches, and a bag of corn chips… (pg. 162).” Chris knew where he was, yet somehow knew what he was doing. He was aware he hardly had food and he was willing to go out into the wild like that. It’s a constant feeling of suspense when Chris knows his intentions yet decides to be dangerous. Chris continues to fall into troubling
Gary Paulsen was a medic that experienced many tragedies. While he was on his free time he made books for kids to read. While Gary was a medic, he “answered many calls to highway wrecks, farm accidents, poisonings, gunshot accidents, and many, many heart attacks” (Gary) All of these impacts affected him in many ways. Gary Paulsen had a lot of experiences with people dying from heart attacks. Gary experienced a heart attack victim dying while the victim was looking right into Gary’s eyes as he passed away. This tragedy led up to him to write Hatchet. The book Hatchet was written because despite all of his tragedies he experienced that this was the first time seeing someone die in his own hands. These and other impacts on his life made him the famous writer he is
As Chris became more fascinated with the wilderness, he increasingly became indifferent towards different aspects of his life. Chris’ operation prior to embarking in the wilderness was fruitless because he lacked the sufficient and valuable preparations. Furthermore, it is appropriate to say that the actions that he took were beyond heedless: “He spent very little time learning how to actually live in the wild” (Christian 1). Practice makes perfect is a common proverb that echoes throughout society but was unfortunately missing from Chris’ life. Chris’ enthusiasm towards nature prevented him from making a logical decision of having sufficient experience with the wilderness itself. Ultimately, Chris was an oblivious person because he commenced into the wilderness with meager supplies. However, Chris failed at entering his excursion with sufficient preparations: “He left the map in Gallien’s truck, along with his watch, his comb, and all his money, which amounted to 85 cents” (2). By leaving his belongings in Gallien’s truck, Chris made an extremely absurd decision. More specifically, he disabled any possibility for him to receive immediate assistance when his health began declining rapidly. Finally, individuals should prioritize rationality in certain situations because it is crucial for them to use when they are blinded by a
The people of the Eastern Woodlands made many tools to help them in their everyday lives. They made spears, weirs, nets, bows and arrows, lances, knives, taps, snares and deadfall for hunting. Most of those tools were made of wood or bark and other forest material. Arrowheads were made from chert, or flint, from sedimentary rocks. They were shaped like isosceles triangles, the smallest arrows were used for hunting birds, the bigger ones were to spear bears or deer. Flint knives were often oval, or teardrop shaped. For fishing they made spears, weirs, and nets. They also made canoes from hollowed-out trees to help with fishing in the lakes and streams. Some other tools they made were axes made of stone to strip bark, clear fields and removing fat from hides. Axes
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.
the crafts of stonecutting, brick making and carpentry to carry out the work of construction. The only things he had to get elsewhere were the intricate fittings like brass locks and doorknobs or glass.
“Bullet in the Brian” by Tobias Wolff is about a book critic Anders, who, while waiting in a line at the bank, has been listening to two women in front of him talk very loudly -- a simple conversation that turns into bickering between him and both these women. At this point everyone’s attention goes to the door; two guys wearing ski masks are standing at the door. Well, as expected Anders couldn’t keep his mouth shut. One of the men, standing at the door, gives him a warning; Anders started to talk again and was shot in the brain. While he lays there dying, he is experiencing flashbacks. He does not remember some, but one flashback, in particular, he remembers clearly. A memory of his younger days, of him playing
The novel, Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer tells the story of a notable traveler named Chris McCandless. The novel, oddly begins with his death, but one can learn new information about his life and all the adventures he has had. Despite the fact that almost everyone believes Chris is crazy, he is able to help us determine what it takes to survive: resiliency. Resiliency is the ability to recover readily from illness, depression, adversity, or the like (dictionary.com).
Gonzales, Laurence. Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why: True Stories of Miraculous Endurance and Sudden Death. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2003. Print.
Monty Python’s Life of Brian is more than just a mere comedy; it is a Biblical, religious, and political satire. Like all Python films, Life of Brian seems to educate the viewer while at the same time providing entertainment. Unfortunately not all of the elements in Life of Brian occurred in real life, which takes away from the validity of the plot. While not everything is accurate, it seems that a majority of the film could be considered genuine. In order to understand an analysis of the film, one must first have a basic sense of the plot.