Hatchet (Chapters 1-10)

"He did not know how long it took, but later he looked back on this time of crying in the corner of the dark cave and thought of it as when he learned the most important rule of survival, which was that feeling sorry for yourself didn't work. It wasn't just that it was wrong to do, or that it was considered incorrect. It was more than that—it didn't work."

- Chapter 8

What would you do if you were 13-years-old, clutching the wheel of a small, twin-engine Cessna with a dead pilot in the seat beside you? This is where Brian Robeson finds himself in the beginning of Hatchet by Gary Paulsen. He manages to crash-land in a lake, but his relief at surviving the crash is cut short by the realization that he is now lost and alone in the middle of the Canadian wilderness. The only tool he has is the titular hatchet. In the first 10 chapters, he faces swarming mosquitoes, a brief bear encounter, and a defensive porcupine - all while trying to figure out how to find food, shelter, and warmth. 

While the main plot unfolds, Brian also flashes back to the events which led to him being in the airplane in the first place. The reader learns about his parents' divorce and "The Secret" about his mother that he wasn't supposed to know. His mother had gifted Brian the hatchet before he left to visit his father, who works in the oil fields in Northern Canada. 

I haven't decided yet whether I would want to use this book as a read-aloud or assigned reading in my classroom. If I were to use it, the following are some activities/elements of fiction that would align with the reading:

Journal Activities

As students read/listen to this book, one activity that would support their comprehension is to keep a reading journal. As Brian tries to survive in the wilderness, he has many success and failures. Students may not be able to relate to his exact situation, but learning from our failure is an important lesson. At the end of each chapter, I would have students write about any successes/failures that Brian had and what he learned from each. This would lead to a class discussion about whether he learned more from his successes or his failures. How did he turn some of his failures into successes?

Foreshadowing

Paulsen uses strong foreshadowing throughout this novel. He hints at the pilot's death with the arm/stomach pain, and even foreshadows Brian having to land the plane himself when he briefly takes the wheel in the beginning. Finding examples of foreshadowing is like finding Easter eggs in a TV show, movie, or video game. It requires close reading and processing how the story unfolds. Some students will enjoy the task more than others, but this book is a great model for this element of fiction.

Source

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