Hatchet

(photo from morguefile.com)

Bibliography

Paulsen, G. (1987). Hatchet.  New York: Aladdin Paperbacks. ISBN:  9781442403321, pp 181.

Summary

Brian Robeson is traveling on a small prop plane through the Canadian wilderness to visit his father when his pilot suddenly has a heart attack. Brian is forced to take over the plane and find a safe place to land as best he can. He has only the clothes on his back and a hatchet his mother gave him before leaving to help him survive alone in the wilderness. As he tries to hold on to hope that he will still be rescued, he is plagued by the secret that has haunted him since his parents divorced. He must stay determined to battle the elements and wildlife and find a way to survive despite the grave outlook of his situation.

Critical Analysis

Brian is a courageous character that you can’t help but root for as he overcomes countless obstacles with a sheer will to survive. Even though the story contains only one main character and almost no dialogue, the emotion and suspense are kept alive through Brian’s thoughts as he is tortured by the secret he knows about his parents, and as he wrestles with the idea of continuing to fight or giving in to hunger and despair. As soon as he conquers one obstacle he is faced with another (such as a destructive tornado or agitated moose). The theme throughout Paulsen’s novel is the human will to survive, and Brian finds that this drive changes his perspective and gives him a new understanding about what it means to appreciate life. Paulsen leaves the reader wanting to know more about Brian’s fate at the end of the novel, but overall it is a satisfying read that is hard to put down.