Natasha Jean Cabuco
March 26, 2012
7B
Hatchet Response Essay
The Effects on Brian’s Life
In the novel Hatchet by Gary Paulsen, Brian Robeson is the main character. Brian is a 13-year-old boy who’s been living in the wilderness for more than 54 days. His parents have just recently divorced, and this conflict between them has deeply affected Brian. The deadweight of “The Secret,” which is his mother having an affair with another man, is intensely disturbing Brian as he tries to survive. Within the 54 days, Brian has managed to survive with the help of the hatchet, given by his mother. As Brian established animosity at the beginning of the novel, his experiences in the northern woods of Canada change his perspective on life forever.
Brian is an extraordinary boy with prestigious character. In the beginning of this novel, while he is in the north woods of Canada, he shows frustration, hatred, and vulnerability. His tragic experience in a plane crash had given him the knowledge to survive in the wilderness to fight for his life. It was the time that he proves to himself that there is nothing impossible, as his teacher says, “Being positive, thinking positive and staying on top of things” (Paulsen 47). It is those words that gave him the strength of his mind which has the power to control the body’s behavior to fight for survival.
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As Brian started to adopt and adjust, in his situation, straggling to survive and learn new ways of life, he develops the ability to be patient. He learns how to control his emotion and manage to accept his family situation. Which he thinks it will not help at all to get him out in the wilderness by staying frustrated and affected with the case of his parents’ divorce. Through his realization, he learns to become mature as he tried to work hard in completing the basic needs of survival and in facing different problems in the woods like hunting, fishing, and building a shelter. “Patience, he
Cited: Paulsen, Gary. Hatchet. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1987. Imprint.