The Story of a Thirteen Year Old Boy Lost in the Canadian Wilderness

Hatchet - Plot

The book by Gary Paulsen, Hatchet, is one of the most highly rated and revered young person's stories. A thirteen-year-old boy named Brian Robeson finds himself in the survival adventure of a life time. He is initially identified as a boy that is burdened with the fact of his parents' divorce. And adding to that pain, Brian has seen his mother kissing a strange man in a station wagon. There are interesting ironies in the beginning of the book, as Brian is preparing to spend the summer in the north woods of Canada where his father (who is an engineer) is working in the oil fields. Just before Brian leaves (in a small Cessna) for Canada, his mother gives him a hatchet, as a gift, and he can't see the purpose of that hatchet at that time. But after the plane crash and being launched into a terrifyingly lonely and highly challenging experience alone in the wilderness, he finds extremely practical use for that hatchet. In fact, staying alive in the remote wilderness is an extraordinarily difficult challenge, and the book details in easy-to-read narrative exactly how this thirteen-year-old manages to stay alive.

Summary: This is not just a book about a boy in a dangerous situation; it is truly a survival story. When the plane's pilot has a heart attack and dies while the plane is in the air -- after fortuitously having shown Brian the plane's controls -- somehow Brian survives the crash and finds himself alone with little except the clothes on his back and that hatchet. Brian does not know where he is, and has not been trained in survival techniques; but for about two months, he learns to survive by making mistakes, and that hatchet becomes his most reliable friend, if you will. The plane did have a survival kit, which Brian did not know until an unlikely tornado roars across the Canadian lake (ruining his shelter) and the tail of the Cessna somehow appears above the surface; he finds it and that kit comes in handy for his survival. He had smart instincts, and realized that he needed to stay near the lake " ... because he thought the plane, even deep in the water, might show up to somebody flying over ... " (Paulsen 55). In a way this is a coming of age story because when Brian is finally rescued (he pushed a button on the survival transmitter that gave his location) he is tougher; he has grown in stature and is more confident and smarter than he was before. He shows that he can make choices and take responsibility for himself.

The Climax: After giving rescuers a chance to locate him (he inadvertently activated a GPS signal from the plane's survival kit), Brian is rescued. He is about to indulge in a meal of freeze-dried food he located in the plane. A pilot flies over Brian, "very low ... and glided down the long part of the L of the lake" (182). The plane lands on the lake, and the pilot steps ashore. "Dam. You're him, aren't you? You're that Kid ... " (184). Brian is seemingly comfortable now as a castaway and lost boy, and he, like a typical teenager -- a wise guy / smart Alek -- calls out, "Would you like something to eat?"

Favorite Section: I do like the ending and the Epilogue, but the part that had great meaning as Brian was beginning his cruel survival moments was discovering that the far side of the stone ridge " ... wasn't very deep, not a cave, but it was smooth and made a perfect roof and he could almost stand under the ledge" (55). Originally he had planned to build a shelter against the stone, but he "got lucky" be checking out the far side (55). Having at least a crude temporary home, gave him some comfort. "Keep it simple. I am Brian Robeson ... I am going to find some berries," he said, after constructing his shelter (60-61).

Hatchet -- Setting and Environment

Setting: Brian finds himself a survivor of a plane crash in the Canadian wilderness. The time frame is believed to be in the 1990s. His father is working with oil production in northern Canada so the setting must be very far north. The deep woods where trappers (Native Americans and others) ply their trade is way up north. Brian is alone for 54 days, so the time frame is about 55 to 60 days. In the Epilogue, it reads: " ... Brian had been alone on the L-shaped Lake for fifty-four days" (189).

Characters: Brian Robeson is the protagonist, a young boy of 13 who initially is upset that his parents are divorced and very agitated that he saw his mother kissing another man with passion. Brian's mom is never part of the story except for what the narrator tells the reader; her kissing that man is "The secret" that Brian was originally going to tell his father, but in the end, he decides not to. The pilot rescues Brian and is only in the story at the end.

Comparison (Soldier's Heart & Night John): The characters are similar: a) the protagonist (Charley) is 15 (Brian is 13); b) Charlie faces severe, life-threatening challenges; c) NightJohn is young and faces brutal challenges. The characters are different: a) Brian is in the 20th century in Canada; b) Charlie is in the 19th century in the Civil War; c) NightJohn is a slave trying to teach another slave to read. The plots are different: a) Brian is left alone to survive; b) Charlie is at war; c) and KnightJohn is caught in the hatefulness of slavery. How are the characters similar? All three face life or death scenarios; they are all 3 very resilient.