Hatchet

Paulsen, G. (1987). Hatchet. New York, NY: Bradbury Press.

Newbery Honor Award, 1988

Exposition (the beginning of the story, establishment of setting and characters):  Brian Robeson, a 13 year old boy, is the only passenger on a Cessna 406 leaving Hampton, NY, where he lives with his mother, for the Canadian oil fields, where his father lives and works.    

Conflict (the problem(s) faced by the characters):  Brian struggles with the divorce of his parents and the Secret he knows throughout the book, but the biggest problem he faces is surviving in the north woods of Canada alone.

Rising Action (events in the story leading up to the climax):  After the pilot has a heart attack and the plane crashes in a lake, Brian remembers the valuable advice his teacher Perpich gave him one day in class to get positive, stay motivated, and that “you are your best asset” (Paulsen, 1987); Brian does just that, though he faces many struggles along the way in his efforts to survive, from being slapped by a porcupine to being sprayed by a skunk to a moose attack to a tornado.

Climax (the culmination of events in the story, point of highest reader interest):  Brian remembers the survival pack on the plane in the lake and through much difficulty retrieves it aided by his trusty hatchet, a gift from his mother before he left; then, after he goes through the contents of the bag, which includes an emergency transmitter he toys with, a pilot hears the transmitter and after seeing the plane in the water, he comes to rescue Brian.

Falling Action (events leading to the solving of the story’s problems):  The book basically ends with the climax, but in the epilogue we learn that Brian had been in the Canadian woods fifty four days and had lost seventeen percent of his body weight, but that through his experience he had grown as a person to become more thoughtful and more observant; he also researches what he had seen and known in the woods, such as the Choke Cherries, the Ruffed Grouse, and the Timber Wolves, and we learn that if he had not been rescued when he was, he might not have survived the harsh Canadian winter. 

Resolution (how events and problems of the story are solved): After his rescue, Brian thought his parents might get back together, but they eventually returned to their own lives, his father in Canada and his mother with the blonde man, and he never tells his father the Secret. 

Chapter books only (List two strong literary qualities displayed in the book and write one sentence about each quality): By giving great detail to the north Canadian woods, Paulsen is able to transport the reader to the world Brian is experiencing, making it easy for the reader to put himself in Brian's place.  Also prevalent throughout the book is Paulsen’s use of the theme of survival; through each difficulty Brian faces, the reader is glued more and more to every word, hoping he will survive and ultimately be rescued.