hatchet book essay

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Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the below bulleted outlines. Cite details from the novel over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. How does Brian use knowledge from books, movies, and life experiences to his advantage?

A direct answer to this question should serve as your topic sentence.
Provide at least three examples of Brian’s reliance on his memory of information from books, movies, and life experiences. Analyze each example in a separate paragraph, explaining how the example supports the answer you provided in the topic sentence.
Finally, discuss in your concluding sentence or sentences how Brian’s use of knowledge connects to his overall success surviving in the wilderness .

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2. Brian often talks about luck. Does Brian have good or bad luck? What does the novel say about the concept of luck?

In your opinion, does Brian generally have good or bad luck? ( topic sentence )
What are three examples that support your assertion of whether Brian’s luck is good or bad?
Finally, describe in your concluding sentence or sentences the novel’s overall message about luck and survival in the wilderness.

3. What qualities or traits does Brian gain from his experience? How does his experience permanently change his perspective of himself, his life, or life in general?

How is Brian’s perspective changed by his experience in the woods? ( topic sentence )
What are two or three traits that Brian gains from surviving in the wilderness connected to his change in perspective ? Provide quotes and examples to support your assertions.
Finally, discuss in your concluding sentences how a teenager’s perspective might change if he or she had an experience today similar to Brian’s. Consider the ways technology has influenced the lives of modern teens (e.g., cellphones, social media, food-ordering apps, etc.) and how removal from technology might impact a teenager.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. How does Brian’s character change throughout the novel? Choose three moments or events from the novel, and in a separate paragraph for each event, explain how each one contributed to Brian’s character change or coming-of-age process. Use quotes and/or paraphrase key elements of text to support your assertions.

2. Considering the conflict category of Man versus Nature , how does Brian’s experience and the novel as a whole portray nature? How does it portray the human relationship to the natural world? Give support for your response to these questions using plot events as well as analyses of Paulsen’s use of literary devices such as symbolism, imagery, and connotation.

3. How would Brian’s experience have been different if he had retrieved the survival pack right away? What would he have learned, or not learned, if he had it? Although this question is asking for your opinion, your response should be rooted in the evidence of the novel. Identify one central way Brian would have been different if he had the survival pack from the beginning; discuss two to three points to support that reason. Cite evidence from the novel to support your assertions.

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Gary Paulsen

Welcome to the LitCharts study guide on Gary Paulsen's Hatchet . Created by the original team behind SparkNotes, LitCharts are the world's best literature guides.

Hatchet: Introduction

Hatchet: plot summary, hatchet: detailed summary & analysis, hatchet: themes, hatchet: quotes, hatchet: characters, hatchet: symbols, hatchet: theme wheel, brief biography of gary paulsen.

Historical Context of Hatchet

Other books related to hatchet.

Full Title: Hatchet
When Written: mid-1980s
Where Written: Unknown
When Published: 1987
Literary Period: Contemporary
Genre: Young Adult novel, bildungsroman, nature writing
Setting: The wilderness in Northern Canada
Climax: When Brian explores the plane, successfully obtaining the survival pack but also seeing the pilot’s deteriorating body.
Antagonist: The dangers of the wilderness, as well as the blindness of a human society that does not value nature.
Point of View: Third person

Extra Credit for Hatchet

Turtle Eggs. Although Paulsen had already personally experienced much of what Brian experiences in the book, he tried to eat a raw turtle egg as research for Hatchet , so that he could describe what Brian tastes as accurately as possible. Unlike Brian, however, Paulsen couldn’t make himself swallow the egg.

Survival Guide. In 2007, the father of a boy who was lost in the wilderness of North Carolina for four days credited Hatchet with helping his son survive. A fan of the book, 12-year-old Michael Auberry reportedly managed to find water and survive below-freezing nighttime temperatures during his ordeal.

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Essay Samples on Hatchet

The theme of never giving up in gary paulsen's "hatchet".

Gary Paulsen’s Young adult fiction story, Hatchet, takes place on a small island, an island with no people where he is alone. Brian got in this situation as the pilot of the plane he was on had died and Brian with no experience of flying...

Literature Analysis of the Young Adult Book 'Hatchet'

There are seven key characteristics of young adult literature. Some of these features include the book being written from the viewpoint of young people. Young people are expected to solve their problems even though they may get some support from adults. These stories are made...

Literary Devices
Youth Culture

The Theme of Survival in "Hatchet" by Gary Paulsen

In Gary Paulsen's novel, "Hatchet," Brian Robinson is a 13-year-old city boy who lives in Hampton, New York, and is going through a tough time as his parents are getting a divorce. Brian has to ride a plane all by himself from Hampton, New York,...

Book Review

Role of Hope and Perseverance in the Survival in the Novel 'Hatchet'

Survival. Humans have a weird way of them to persevere and overcome seemingly impossible opposition. Some may associate this with Charles Darwin’s theory “survival of the fittest.” Some may also associate this with the psychological term “the fight or flight response.” However, survival solely depends...