Book Title: The Hatchet by Gary Paulsen (PART II)

The Hatchet is more than an adventure story. It is a window to the world viewed to open the eyes of every adolescent. Though few adolescents would experience the actual challenges Brian had encountered during his period in the Canadian wilds, still, every adolescent encounters a comparable journey toward self-realization, struggles and independence. Moreover, in this journey, we should not entertain even a single hint of giving up, because life without hope is indeed meaningless. We should all be determined in our every ways, put all our trust to God and surely, all will be well.

All will be well

When you’re stuck in a place and nowhere to found,
When you’re lost and seem things don’t go abound,
When you can’t sleep because of the burdens residing in your heart,
And you just can’t escape the pain that freaks you out,
In these such times of great transition,
Don't get stuck in one position.

When things go wrong as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all rocky and uphill.
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you can’t; sigh.
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest then if you must, but don't you ever quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As everyone of us sometimes learns.
Don't give up though the tempo seems all so slow,
You may succeed with another blow.
Be sinuous, be bold,
Be tough, and don't fold.

Often the goal is nearer than
It seems to a weak and wavering man.
When you think you’re no good
Never give up
Because you might learned too late when the night came down,
How close you were to the golden crown.

No coward is in a soul with Christ
Believe in yourself and have trust in His might
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems afar.
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit,
It's when things seem worst that you must not quit.

Hold your spirit
in the course of veer;
Retain your vigor,
And remember you are all you have.
And all will be well,
As far as God can tell.

Book Title: The Hatchet by Gary Paulsen (PART I )

Hatchet is all about a story of a boy's survival between nature and himself. Through this story, I came to realize of the thought of never giving up. Throughout the story, it implies that without hope, life is meaningless. Though, at first, Brian's mindset leaves him frustrated, hopeless, and full of self-pity. He longs for home and focusing on the past rather than the future. But later on, Brian learns this the hard way, but it is what sustains him when he faces the most difficult challenges for his survival. This only shows that what your mind can conceive, you can achieve. This is especially seen in how Brian calls upon his intelligence, memory, and youth to overcome such experiences as creating fire, fighting off a moose, building shelter, and finding food. He learns to solve problems there in the uninhabited part of the Canadian woods, in which potentially really be life-threatening.

The idea of maturity is another thing. Patience, observation, appreciation for the natural world, and newfound optimism all contribute to Brian's emerging manhood, a major theme in the novel in which we should also develop within ourselves. It is not enough that Brian must grow up to sharpen his survival skills; he must also learn the compassion and maturity it will take to handle the issues and problems in his own sphere.

In this story, Brian faces many challenges in his chase for survival, but among those challenges, his toughest challenge is in his mind. One of his biggest mental challenges is to stay positive in an outwardly hopeless situation. Whenever negative thoughts will come out in his mind, Brian just thinks of his English teacher who would say, "Stay positive and stay on top of things" (49). Indeed many students have been in a situation like this when they feel that everything is useless and began to pity themselves including myself before. Though I haven’t yet experience the way Brian had, to be caught alone in the woods, several times before, I also cried to myself feeling full of self-pity even for some little things. But like Brian, I came to realize that feeling sorry for your self wouldn’t work (82). Crying and feeling pity for myself will not going to change my situation. Sometimes, it is good for us to know that we are not the only ones facing difficult situations or feeling helpless and alone. Even a fictional character, knowing someone else who feels the same way do makes our situation feel a bit more controllable. Moreover, we should also bear in mind that God is always with us in every challenges of our lives, and so, we can always make it.
However, thinking all the angles why Brian was caught up in the wilderness of Canadian woods, why is it that his mother looked for another man and replaced Brian’s father? Was she not happy in her husband that’s why she had an affair to that man with short blond hair? I also wonder what if Brian wasn't rescued in the end. Would he survive when winter comes? And another thing, what would have happened if Brian had found the survival pack much earlier before? Would he be the same person after those days in wilderness under the book's circumstances?

I wish Gary Paulsen could answer my questions right now but this is just a fictional story that could really trigger our senses. I think, if Brian wasn’t had rescued in the end, he would still survive when winter would come. I know that human beings are all intelligent enough that we can still make ways in every circumstance. One very good proof is the primitive men so long ago who still had learned to survive despite of the climates even before. And if Brian had found the survival pack much earlier before, he would not be fully the new Brian after the incident. He would not be that mature enough to realize and appreciate all the things in his life and discover his hidden strengths. Beyond doubt, time and experiences here in this story were really his teachers in his self- realization.

Lastly, I really do believe that there’s no secret that will never be untold. As it is in the book of Luke, chapter 12, verse 2—“For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known.” In God’s perfect time, the Secret he bears which burdens him that is, the knowledge that his mother is having an affair with another man would be revealed to her husband in God’s own way and so she may suffer then her consequence for committing that sin.

About the Author

Gary Paulsen

Gary Paulsen was born on May 17, 1939, in Minnesota. He constantly moved as a child, because his father was in the military. Both of his parents were alcoholics, and he often used books as an escape. Early in his adulthood, he held many jobs to support himself, including being a trapper and joining the army. He decided eventually to try writing and even became the associate editor of a men’s magazine in Hollywood, California.
His first book was Special War, published in 1966. This was followed by nearly forty more, as well as several articles and short stories. In 1977, he faced a lawsuit over his book, Winterkill, and even though he won it, it was at a high cost. During this time, he tried dog sledding which led to other books like Dogsong. A heart attack in 1990 has slowed him down, but has not stopped his interest in sledding, motorcycling, and sailing. He presently lives with his wife, Ruth, in La Luz, New Mexico, and Minnesota.

Plot ( The Hatchet )

Brian Robeson is a 13 year old who travels on a Cessna 406 bush plane to visit his father in the oil fields in northern Canada for the summer because his parents were divorced. During the flight, the pilot suffers a heart attack, causing Brian to try to land the plane, but ends up crash-landing into an L-shaped lake in the middle of the Canadian wilderness. He just manages to escape the plane before it sinks into the lake, saving nothing but his hatchet. Throughout the summer, Brian attempts to survive in the endless wilderness with only his hatchet, which was a gift his mother gave him shortly before his plane departed. He figures out how to make fire with the hatchet and makes himself eat whatever food he can find, such as snapping turtle eggs, fish, berries, fruit, rabbits, and birds. He deals with some animals like a porcupine, bear, skunk, moose and eventually becomes a good craftsman, crafting a bow, arrows, and a fishing spear. He also fashions a shelter out of the underside of a rock overhang. During his time alone, Brian struggles with memories of home, and the bittersweet memory of his mother, who Brian caught cheating on his father with somebody else.

When a sudden tornado hits the area, it draws the tail of the plane toward the shore of the lake. Brian makes a raft from a few broken off tree tops to get to the plane. When Brian is cutting his way into the tail of the plane, he drops his hatchet in the lake and dives into get it. Once inside the plane, Brian finds a survival pack with an emergency transmitter, many packs of food, a first aid kit, a pot, and a .22 rifle. Back on shore, Brian activates the transmitter, but he doesn't know how to use it, he thinks it is broken and throws it aside. Later, when Brian is cooking the food packs, a fur buyer arrives in a float plane some time after because he caught the transmitter's signal. He rescues Brian and he returns home after 54 days in the wilderness as a different person. He also becomes very thoughtful, thinking slowly on what to say before speaking. Brian later finds himself marveling at all the food, quantities and variety, at the grocery store. He finally reaches his father at the oil fields, yet he is still unable to talk to him about his mother's affair with another man.