PlotOverview

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

13yearoldBrianRobesonwasonhis
waytovisithisfatherwhenthepilotof
histwopersonplanehasaheartattack
anddies.Briansurvivesthecrashand
findshimselfintheunpopulated
Canadianwilderness.Allhehasto
surviveishisknowledgeandhishatchet
thathetookwithhim.Hismentalstate
deterioratesasheishauntedbyhis
past.Brianmustfindthecourageand
willtosurvive.

AbouttheAuthor

NovelNotes

Hatchet

GaryPaulsen

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

GaryPaulsenwasbornonM
ay17,
1939inMinneapolis,Minnesota.Hewas
introducedtowritingandreadinginhis
earlyteenageyears.Sufferingfroma
troubledchildhood,Paulsenranaway
fromhomeandjoinedacarnivalatage
14.Paulsenthenbeganwritingabout
hisveryownlifeexperiences.Hewrote
Hatchet
duringintimesofstruggle,and
itinfluencedhissurvivalthrillerthatwon
a
NewberyHonorAward.Hisnovels
havewoncountlessawardsforhis
writingandstillpeakstheinterestofthe
youthofAmerica.

EliasPimentel

3/29/16

EssentialQuotes

Addtwoquotesthatcapturetheessenceofthe
novel.Besuretocitethequotationsproperly.

HistoricalContext

Includeinformationonthetimeperiod,social,
economical,cultural,andothersignificant

Patience,hethought.Somuchofthis
waspatiencewaitingandthinkingand
doingthingsright.Somuchofallthis,so
muchofalllivingwaspatienceand
thinking(Paulsen136).

That'sallittooktosolveproblemsjust
sense(155).

Paulsen,Gary.
Hatchet.
NewYork:

influencesthatcharacterizethisnovel.

Thebooktakesplaceinmoderntimes.
SinceBrianisalone,therereallyisnt
anyeconomical,cultural,orsocial
influencesthatcharacterizethisnovel.

Scholastic,2012.Print.

CharacterAnalysis

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

Themes

Identifyandanalyzesomeofthesignificantthemes
inthenovel.

Donttakewhatyouhaveforgranted
SpeechInthebeginningofthenovel,
AssoonasBrianfindshimselfinhis
Brianspeakstohimselfinavulnerable predicament,hethinksofallofthe
andhelplessmanner.Asthestory
thingshetookforgranted.Fromthebig
progresses,hedevelopsthestrong,
thingstofoodandfriendsandtothe
survivalmentalitynecessarytolive.
smallthingslikecleanwaterandsoap.

Thisgoestoshowhowweshouldall
Thoughts(SinceitisfirstpersonPOV, lovewhatwehave,foritcanbegonein
hisspeechisthesameashisthoughts.) aninstant.

EffectsonOtherHehasnoeffectson StayoptimisticNomatterthestakes,
othersbecausehewastheonly
Briankepthiscoolandremainedinan
characterinthenovelfor95%ofthe
optimisticstateofmind.Thisoptimism
time.
kepthimfocusedandreadyforany

challenge.Thestoryurgesthereader
ActionBriandoeswhatittakesto
thatoptimismissuperimportantinlife,
survive.Hegathersfruitandplants,
foritprovidesthebestchanceat
hunts,fishes,andbuildsstuff.His
prosperity.
actionscomewithrepercussions

sometimesduetohisinexperiencein
Dontletyourpastaffectyourfuture
thewilderness.
Duringthestory,Briandealswithhis

parentsrecentdivorcetheconflictit
LooksBeforethestory,Brianlookslike brought.Thedivorcehauntshim,andit
anormalyoungman.However,thewild affectshisabilitytoremainoptimistic.
giveshimcuts,bites,andbruises,he
Thisshowshowyoucannotletyour
losesalotoffat,andheisalwaysvery pastgettoyou,foritmaynegatively
dirty.
affectyourfuture
.

MotifsandSymbols

Identifyandinterpretsomeofthemajormotifsand
symbolsinthenovel.

TheHatchetBrianfindshimselfinthe
wildwithonlyhishatchet.Thehatchet
symbolizeshissurvival,foritistheonly
thingthatkeepshimalive.Heusesitfor
makingtools,startingfires,andfor
hunting.Withoutthehatchet,hewould
beagoner.

ThePlaneRideTheplaneride
symbolizesBriansjourneyfromnormal
lifetoatimeperiodofsurvival.Before
theplaneride,lifewasnormalandBrian
hadeverythingeasy.However,afterthe
planerideabruptlyended,Brianwas
thrownintoadownwardspiralofdespair
aseverythingaroundhimdisappeared.