Wrapping it Up

Thanks for all your work on this Gilbert, I've enjoyed reading your entries!  I've noticed that your entries have gotten better and better each time. I REALLY look forward to your last few entries.

I hope that you check out Brian's Return and Brian's Winter as GREAT follow up books!  There is also a true account of the events written by Gary Paulsen that I will try to track down for you.

Chapter 19 and Epilogue

1) What is in the survival pack that is particularly useful?
2) Why does he not like the rifle?
3) What did you expect to happen with his mother and father?  Did you expect a "happy ending"? Are you surprised Brian doesn't talk about "the secret"?
4) What stands out to you in the epilogue about all the facts that are revealed about what he experienced?

Chapter 17 and 18 Deeper Thinking

1) Describe Brian's plan to get the survival pack from the plane and the steps he goes through to retrieve it. 

2) How do you think the survival pack would have changed Brian and his experience?

3) Describe your reaction to what has happened to the pilot.  What is Brian's reaction?

4)  Tell us about the last line in chapter 18, what do you think Brian is referring to?

5) The Hatchet.  It is not only the title of the book, but it is a symbol of how Brian feels, how he survives and how he grows and changes throughout the experience.  Explain how you think the hatchet is a symbol?

6) Pretend that the hatchet is a new product that you are marketing for a TV or radio ad.  What would you say about how great it is to sell it someone?

Chapter 14 ,15, 16

1) Put these events in the order that you think is the WORST of the WORST to the BAD, but Not TOO BAD:

The skunk spray
Having to build a new shelter
The insane moose
The plane crash
The tornado
The mosquitos
The porcupine
The cold
The heat
The bear and wolf


2) Page 157 describes a real turning point for Brian.  What is it?

3) What happens to give Brian hope again and makes him reflect on how lucky he is?

Chapter 13 Key Understandings

It has now been 47 days that Brian has been alone... surviving!

Describe what Brain means by the following key words:


1) clouddown -
2) mistakes -
3) tough hope -

Chapter 10 and 11/12 Contrast - Old Brian vs New Brian

1) In Chapter 10, Brian refers to himself as a "City Boy".  Even though he's really hungry he is still thinking that eating bugs and raw eggs is kind of gross.  Even though there is no one around him to see or judge him, he is still concerned about what he looks like.  And when he sees the turtle tracks in the sand he thinks about the animal as playing in the sand even though he knows that animals are normally working, not playing because they have to to survive.

Contrast this to Chapter 11 and 12 and some of the ways Brian is thinking and acting more "instinctively" or more "primal" instead of such a "city boy".  Give some examples.  How does this attitude of working and thinking change Brian's success?

2) Often the themes in novels fall into one or more of the following categories:
    Man vs Man
    Man vs Nature
    Man vs Himself
Can you give an example of each of these from Hatchet?

3) Brian begins to really think instead of just survive.  He is starting to think creatively and invent tools and strategies.  Describe his thinking as he worked on his spear.

4) At the end of Chapter 12 Brian is back to feeling hopeless.  What happens that shakes the confidence he has been building back to reality? 

Chapter 9 Thinking

Brian makes fire.  Describe what he learns are the most important things to making fire.

Why does Brian say he now has a friend?

What are some of the good things that will now be possible benefits to having fire? See if you can come up with at least 5 benefits.

Chapter 8 Reflection and Connections

1) This book makes me think of a couple of movies right away.  Watch these clips.  have you seen these movies?  What do you think of them? 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUM6YjaJTUU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkShPTH6SnA

What does this book remind you of? (movie, TV show, book etc)

2) Fire. Is Brian going about making a fire in the right way?  How would you do it?

Chapter 6 and 7 Comprehension and Connections

Ok, building a shelter and finding food always looks so easy on Survivor doesn't it.  This is probably more realistic. Don't you think? Do you watch that show ever?  Do you think they really have to "survive" on the show or is it all a set up / fake?

In this chapter Brain looks for food and builds his shelter:
    How do you picture his shelter to look?
    What kind of berries do you think he found?
    What kind of birds do you think those would be that he found? (Hint: there is a CFL team that has this bird as mascot and it is the title of a famous French folk song).

Brian eats too many berries and gets sick.  I know your dying to tell us a story about a time you got sick from eating too much of something or from eating something you shouldn't have. Not too graphic ok?

However, Brian also figures out what to do to get berries more successfully, save them better and not get sick from them.  A real success in survival.

Were you worried about Brian with the bear?  Why do you think it didn't attack him?

Survival Scenario Game

Scenario:

You and your companions have just survived a small plane crash. Both the pilot and co-pilot were killed in the crash. It’s mid-January, and you are in Northern Canada. The daytime temperature is 25 below zero, and the night time temperature is 40 below zero. There is snow on the ground, and the countryside is wooded, with several creeks crisscrossing the area. The nearest town is 20 miles away. You are all dressed in city clothes appropriate for a business meeting. Your group of survivors has managed to salvage the following items:

• A ball of steel wool
• A small axe
• A loaded .45-caliber pistol
• A can of Crisco shortening
• Newspapers (one per person)
• A cigarette lighter (without fluid)
• Extra shirt and pants for each survivor
• 20 X 20 ft. piece of heavy-duty canvas
• A sectional air map made of plastic
• One quart of 100-proof whiskey
• A compass
• Family-size chocolate bars (one per person)

TASK: Rank these items 1-12, with 1 being the most important to survival and 12 being the least important, then we’ll compare them to an expert’s ranking and see how you stack up in survivor skills.

ANSWERS (Rankings): are on this link as well as a scoring tool to find out how you did.  I scored a 32.
The Rankings

Chapter 5 Deeper Thinking

A) Brian starts to realize that the plane crash and his being stranded IS real.  Until know it has felt like a story on the news or a movie.  Think of a story you have seen recently on the news.  What was the story?  How did it make you feel? How can you connect with it? Put yourself in the situation and describe what you would do in the circumstance of the news story.

B) Brian thinks about being rescued.  He is sure that it will happen soon.  Watch the following famous rescue stories and describe how you would feel if this was you or one of your family.
1) Baby Jessica who fell down a well in Texas and was trapped for 58 hours.
Baby Jessica
2) Chilean Miners rescued from a collapsed mine after 69 days.
Miner Rescue

C) Survival.  Brian does not have some of the basic needs for surviving the woods.  He doesn't have food, matches to light a fire, blankets for warmth etc.  What do you think would be the MOST important items for him to have with him in an ideal situation?  Make a Top 10 list.  What does Brian actually have with him that might be useful?

Chapter 4 Connections

Here are some things from Chapter 4 that I'm sure you can connect to in some way.  Tell us a story about one of the following:
1) an injury (Brian is pretty badly beat up from the crash, describe his injuries and one you've had)
2) mosquitos (Brian calls them vampires.. everyone in Saskatchewan has mosquito stories!)
3) noise and silence (the noise of the city vs the quiet of nature or another situation about noise and quiet)
4) the secret (Brian remembers all the details of seeing the man and his mother... what memory do you remember so vividly?)


In a previous post I asked you about what the lake and spot he crashed looks like.  This chapter has quite a bit more detail.  Either describe in words or draw, scan and post a picture of what this spot looks like in your mind.

Chapter 3 Reflection

What do you imagine the lake and area to look like?  Where do you think this is?

What do you know about Cessna planes?  Look one up and learn a bit about them.  I have a friend who built one in his basement and I've seen how simple they are.  Then imagine something that simple heading towards the ground and through the trees.  I know I wouldn't feel very safe inside of it. Do you think any of the plane will survive the crash?

Have you ever been in any situation that the crash reminded you of?  I imagine it to be like a serious car accident and drowning at the same time.  Having been in both situations I know that it goes by in a flash and is crazy scary. It is like nothing I want to experience again.

I notice that Gary Paulsen keeps using a technique to really emphasize something and make his readers feel what he is writing.  Have you noticed what that technique is?

Chapter 2 Reflection

Brian's mind is hard at work.  On one hand he has thoughts of crashing and on the other he is trying to do his best to learn to pilot a plane on his own.  I found it interesting that he isn't wresting to keep the thought of crashing out of his mind.  Instead he seems to be preparing himself for the worst.  He seems almost comforted that he knows what might happen to him.

Have you ever prepared yourself for the worst by imagining the worst possible end to something? 

Brian is learning to pilot a plane really quickly.  What do you think the best things he did to learn how were? Do you have any other ideas of what to do in the moment to learn more quickly?

What are your thoughts about the pilot right now?  Would you be doing anything to help him?

Have a look back at my comments to you in the previous posts and make more comments back.  I will try to do the same. Mrs. Peterson might add in her thoughts too.

Chapter 1 Pause and Think

Where do you think this story is taking place? have you ever been to a place like that before?

What do you think of Brian so far?  Does he react like you would have in this situation?

What do you think the "secret" is that Brian keeps thinking about?

Make a prediction of what will happen as Brian takes control of the plane.

Pre Reading

Can you make some predictions with me about what you think the book will be about?
What does the the title and front cover make you think of?
What kind of a book is it? Fiction or non-fiction?
Is it an adventure, suspense, science fiction, sports genre? Or something else?
have you ever read anything like this before?
What do you think Gary Paulsen's purpose (reason) for writing the book was? 

Hatchet - Gary Paulsen

Hatchet Novel Cover

Gary Paulsen

Welcome Gilbert and Mrs. Peterson to our Blog about Gary Paulsen's novel Hatchet.  I love this book and have read the follow up novels as well.  You may want to check out those as well as the true survival stories that Paulsen has written.
I first read this novel with a class when the TV show Survivor came out.  We had a great time coming up with challenges for each other.  We didn't eat any bugs, but just about everything else! 
Please read along with me and keep a discussion going about what your reading and thinking about.
                                    Your first post to respond to is above.