PlotOverview

Briefly,butusingtheentirespace,discusstheplot,
conflict,andrisingactiontosummarizetheplot.
Useyourownwords.

Thestorystartsoutwiththe
narrator/protagonist,BrianRobeson,
providingbackgroundaboutthe
situation.Hismotherandfatherare
divorcedandBrianisvisitinghisfather
forthesummer.Heistravelingbyplane
andtheonlypersonthatis
accompanyinghimisthepilot.
Suddenly,thepilothasanunexpected
heartattackandtheplanecrashlands
intotheCanadianWilderness.Stuckin
thewilderness,Brianmustusethe
hatchetthatwasgiventohimfromhis
motherandhisknowledgeofhis
surroundingstofacethedangersofthe
wildernessandsurvive.Someofthe
obstacleshemustdealwitharefood,
water,andshelter.Healsomustdeal
withthewildanimalsthatheencounters
duringhissurvival.

AbouttheAuthor

NovelNotes

Hatchet

GaryPaulsen

Includeimportantinformationabouttheauthor.You
maywanttoincludewhatinspiredthem,other
workstheyhavewritten,significantlifeevents,what
timeperiodheorshewrotein,andhowthetime
periodinfluencedthewriting.

Theauthor,GaryPaulsen,wasbornonMay
17th,1939inMinneapolis,Minnesota.Paulsenhas
writtenover175novelsandover200articles.
SomeofhisfamousnovelsincludeHatchet,Winter
Room,andDogsong.GaryPaulsenalsojoinedthe
carnivalattheageof14toescapefromhishome
andtroubledchildhood.Hisnovel,Hatchet,is
ChristopherSibal
revolvedaroundhistroublechildhood,which

involvedconflictbetweenhismotherandfather.
5/20/2016

Addtwoquotesthatcapturetheessenceofthe

novel.Besuretocitethequotationsproperly.

Hewasalone.Intheroaringplanewith

EssentialQuotes

HistoricalContext

Includeinformationonthetimeperiod,social,
economical,cultural,andothersignificant
influencesthatcharacterizethisnovel.

Thebooktakesplaceduringmoderntimesandis
greatlyinfluencedbyGaryPaulsenschildhood.

nopilot.Hewasalone(Paulsen5).

Longtears,selfpitytears,wasted
tears(70).

AddWorkCitedHere:(googlehowtodothis)

Paulsen,Gary.Hatchet.NewYork:Scholastic,
2012.Print.

CharacterAnalysis

Identifyeachmajorcharacterinthenovel.
Describethemostimporttraitsthatcharacterize
thisperson.(
S
peech,
T
houghts,
E
ffectsonother,
A
ction,
L
ooks)

BrianRobesonBrianRobesonisthe
protagonistofthestoryandis13years
old.Hegoesthroughatoughphaseof
dealingwiththethoughtofhisparents
divorce.Inthestory,hefeelsasenseof
hopelessness,buteventuallygrowsinto
atoughindividual.Additionally,Brian
transitionsfromaNewYorkcityboyinto
amanofthewilderness.Brianalsois
verydirty,whichshowhistransitional
phasefromcivilizedlife.

ThePilotThepilotisthelastperson
Brianencounterswithbeforehehasto
liveonhisowninthewilderness.The
pilothasanunexpectedheartattackand
forcesBriantoattempttolandtheplane
thatresultsinthemcrashlandinginto
thewilderness.

BriansParentsBriansparentsarethe
reasonwhyBrianisonaplane.His
parentsaredivorcedandBrianflies
acrosstheCanadianForesttomeetup
withhisfatherforthesummer.

Themes

Identifyandanalyzesomeofthesignificantthemes
inthenovel.

Manvs.NatureManvs.Natureis
greatlyimpliedinthestory.Forinstance,
Brianmustfacethestrugglesof
survivingintheCanadianforest,suchas
gettingfood,shelter,andtheanimalshe
encounter.

LeaningtowardsmanhoodBrian,age
13,feelsthatheisnotreadytohandle
theresponsibilitiesandchallengesof
adulthood.Inthenovel,hemusteither
growupandbetough,ordieinthe
wilderness.

Remainingcalm/optimisticDespitethe
obstaclesthatcometohim,Brian
managestoremaincalmandremainin
anoptimisticstateofmind.This
mentalityallowshimtoovercomethe
challengeshefacesinthewilderness.

AppreciatewhatyouhaveWhenBrian
journeysthroughthewilderness,he
beginstorememberallthethingshe
tookforgranted,fromfriendstofood
andevensoapandcleanwater.

MotifsandSymbols

Identifyandinterpretsomeofthemajormotifsand
symbolsinthenovel.

TheRifleTherifleinthestory
representstheunwelcomenessof
civilizationandtechnologyinthe
wilderness.Whiletheriflewouldprove
tobeuseful,Brianrejectsitbecauseit
doesntBriansselfsufficiencythathe
haslearnedtoappreciate.

ThePlaneRideTheplaneride
representsBrianmovingawayfrom
civilizationtoalongtimesurvivalperiod
inthewilderness.Hislifeinstantly
turnedaroundwhentheplanecrash
landsintotheCanadianwilderness.

TheHatchetTheHatchetrepresents
Brianssurvivalinthestory.Itwasgiven
tohimbyhismotherandisusedforall
sortsofstuff,suchasmakinghis
huntingtoolsandstartingafire.His
multipleusesofthehatchetalso
representshisresourcefulness.