“Hatchet” by Gary Paulsen follows Brian Robeson, a thirteen-year-old boy who survives a plane crash in the Canadian wilderness. Armed only with a hatchet salvaged from the wreckage, Brian must navigate the harsh environment, facing challenges like finding food, building shelter, and encountering wild animals. Through perseverance and resourcefulness, Brian learns valuable survival skills and discovers inner strength. The novel explores themes of resilience, self-reliance, and the power of the human spirit. It’s a gripping tale of adventure and survival that captivates readers with its realistic portrayal of wilderness survival and the emotional journey of its protagonist.
Hatchet Book Quotes
1. “The memory was like a knife cutting into him. Slicing deep into him with hate. The Secret.”
2. “Brian he once had an English teacher, a guy named Perpich, who was always talking about being positive, thinking positive, staying on top of things.”
3. “He was alone. In the roaring plane with no pilot he was alone. Alone.”
4. “For the first time since the crash he was not thinking of himself, or his own life. Brian was wondering if the bear was as surprised as he to find another being in the berries.”
5. “Many of the changes would prove to be permanent. Brian had gained immensely in his ability to observe what was happening and react to it; that would last him all his life. He had become more thoughtful as well, and from that time on he would think slowly about something before speaking.”
6. “I have a friend, he thought—I have a friend now. A hungry friend, but a good one. I have a friend named fire.”
7. “He could not play the game without hope; could no play the game without a dream. They had taken it all away from him now, they had turned away from him and there was nothing for him now. The plane gone, his family gone, all of it gone. They would not come. He was alone and there was nothing for him.”
8. “None of that used to be in Brian and now it was a part of him, a changed part of him, a grown part of him, and the two things, his mind and his body, had come together as well, had made a connection with each other that he didn’t quite understand.”
9. “But there is a difference now, he thought—there really is a difference. I might be hit but I’m not done. When the light comes I’ll start to rebuild. I still have the hatchet and that’s all I had in the first place.”
10. “In the city if he made a mistake usually there was a way to rectify it, make it all right…Now it was different, and all so quick, all so incredibly quick.”
11. “He was not the same. The plane passing changed him, the disappointment cut him down and made him new.”
12. “He was not the same and would never be again like he had been. That was one of the true things, the new things. And the other one was the he would not die, he would not let death in again.”
13. “He had changed, and he was tough. I’m tough where it counts—tough in the head.”
14. “He did not know how long it took, but later he looked back on this time of crying in the corner of the dark cave and thought of it as when he learned the most important rule of survival, which was that feeling sorry for yourself didn’t work.”
15. “Never. Never in all the food, all the hamburgers and malts, all the fries or meals at home, never in all the candy or pies or cakes, never in all the roasts or steaks or pizzas, never in all the submarine sandwiches, never never never had he tasted anything as fine as that first bite.”
