Literary Analysis: Spring 1

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.