Literary Analysis
Fiction
Book: Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
1. Thirteen year-old
Brian is on a plane heading to his fathers house until the plane undergoes a
crash landing in a wilderness area near the Canadian border line. The young
Brian has to learn how to survive on his own in the hopes that he will be
rescued soon. Encountering many obstacles such as wild animals, lack of food,
and the upcoming winter Brian slowly but surely learns how to survive with the
natural resources given to him along with what he had on him. He started to lose
hope until a tornado passed by and made it possible for Brian to enter the
plane that had crashed into a lake and activate the radio. Only a few days
later someone answered the call. This story shows the authors intentional idea
that he tries to give, always keep your hopes up no matter the situation.
2. The major theme I
got out of this novel is that hope can bring out the best of us no matter the
situation.
The phrase “no hope” does not really exist and this novel brings
that out. A 13 year-old boy learned how to survive in the wilderness and only
survived because he had hopes that he would eventually be found and be able to
go back to society.
3. The authors tone
tends to change throughout the novel. For the most part his tone was suspenseful,
I could never guess what was going happen next and it kept me reading. For
example when Brian was trying to create a fire the author kept me thinking
because he kept mentioning the things that could happen if he did not get a fire
started. Also whenever Brian was attacked by a creature, such as the moose, he
gave great detail in describing Brian’s thought process and puts us in his
position. Same with the certain twists that occur, such as the tornado hitting
and Brian realizing that he can finally get into the plane that crashed in the
lake. A real page turner.
CHARACTERIZATION
1. Direct
characterizations happen when the author describes obstacles such as the
animals that attacked Brian. The descriptions were basic, such as saying the
bear was ready to strike with the angry look on his face or when saying the skunk
was frightened and with an anxious expression sprayed in its defense and ran
off. Indirect characterization is used more when describing Brian himself. Such
as Brians whole transition from a young boy to a man that can lookout for
himself. We see this transition through his actions, such as when he first
tries to make a bow and arrow he is this kid who doesn’t know what he is doing
and almost loses his vision because of that. Also when Brian finally does get
rescued, his offering to the pilot showed me that he has grown up a lot since
first being stranded. The author uses both of these strategies in order to
create an all around story, describing the main character in secrecy and describing
the surroundings in great detail.
2. The authors syntax
and diction change in an obvious way when he gets to describing actual
characters. This is mostly true when he begins to describe animals. He would
start off by giving the outer appearance of the animal, such as saying the
skunk is small and appears ready to strike, then he would get into how the
creature is thinking and what they are planning to do. Again with the skunk he
told us that it felt fear and tried running away instead of spraying but felt
it had no other choice but to spray.
3. Brian, the
protagonist, is both a dynamic character and a round character. He is dynamic
for obvious reasons, after having to survive in the woods at the young age of
13 who wouldn’t go through a huge change? He learned how to take care of
himself and man up. Surely it wasn’t easy but he was able to do it. Also I call
him a round character because he always thought of new ways to survive and was
not thinking in one way, such as he did not only think that he had to get out
of the woods. No, he instead accepted the fact that he was stranded and made an
effort to try and survive with what he had. He is one brave kid, and although
imaginary a great inspiration.
4. After reading the
novel I feel like I’ve actually met Brian in person. What gave me the sense of
Brian being a real person was the very end of the book. I found a real person because
the people I know have a sense of humor no matter the situation. When Brian was
finally rescued and the pilot came up to him the only thing Brian did was offer
him soup. Yes it is a huge relief but the worst of the situation is over, why
not laugh a bit? I’m sure after that remark they shared a laugh before leaving
the woods. He is a real person in my mind.
