The Hatchet

Paulson , Gary . Hatchet . New York : Scholastic Inc , 1999

Gary Paulson 's Hatchet is set in Hampton , New York , but mainly in the north Canadian forests , in particular a region known as the Canadian Shield . The main characters of the novel are Brian Robeson , the protagonist , a thirteen year old boy his parents and two pilots , one of whom flies Brian into north Canada before giving up the ghost at the controls , and the second pilot who rescues the young boy stranded in the wilderness

The main events of the novel revolve around

Brian , who travels by airplane , Cessna 406 , from his hometown , Hampton , New York , to visit his father who is working as a mechanical engineer in a Canadian oil field The young boy 's parents are divorced , and this is the first summer that Brian is going to spend with his father after the divorce . Brian travels as a single passenger in the airplane , before the pilot of the plane dies of a heart attack leaving the young boy to crash land the airplane all by himself . The plane lands in an isolated lake somewhere in the north Canadian forests . And , Brian possesses nothing to face the tragedy , except a hatchet that his mother had presented to him before his departure . The hatchet thus becomes the boy 's tool for survival in the wilderness . He must figure out how to make fire by striking the hatchet 's blade against a rock . He must also figure out what to eat in to survive . Moreover , he must deal with unusual circumstances such as the presence of a bear , a porcupine , a moose , a skunk , in addition to a tornado . Eventually , the boy learns to hunt and fish after making special tools for himself

The events proving Brian 's ability to manage himself in the wilderness are very important in the novel . The last major event occurs after a violent storm that hits the forest and tosses the wreckage of the airplane to the land surface . The teenager manages to break into the airplane to recover the survival pack . He finds a transmitter in the pack , which , upon activation , connects him to a pilot who finally comes to rescue him in an airplane

The main conflict in the novel is between Brian , the protagonist and nature , the antagonist . The young boy must find a way to overcome the unusual circumstances he finds himself in . He must struggle against threats posed by wild animals as well as natural disasters . Similarly he must fight against his own natural tendency to give up in the face of the difficulties that confront him . Another conflict presented in Hatchet is between Brian 's natural , emotional weakness and the strength that he needs to gain emotional freedom . The boy knows a Secret about his mother that had led to his parents ' divorce . Time and again the Secret confronts him with emotional distress . Yet , Brian must learn to let go of the distress and face the challenge of...