Literary Analysis #3

Book: Brian’s Winter by Gary Paulsen

FICTIONAL ANALYSIS

1. Brian Robinson is stranded in Canadian wilderness and the seasons are beginning to change. Winter is upon him and he must adapt in order to survive. Brian finds a survival pack inside the crashed plane and finds a gun he decides not to use due to the limited amount of bullets. Instead he decides to make weapons such as a bow and a lance. These weapons come to great use when a moose attacks Brian at his campsite. Also in order to survive the winter he created this leather clothing that was able to last him to the point where he found the Smallhorn family who lived by the frozen lake. They told Brian he could leave on the supply plane that comes by for them and Brian although resistant decides to leave on that plane in the end.

2. The theme of this novel is to never give in to what seems impossible. In this case the impossible seemed to be the upcoming winter and how Brian was not at all prepared for it. We all have this ‘upcoming winter’ in our lives and we all have that chance to overcome it.

3. The authors tone in this story is mysterious, he seems to always be leading up to something which made this book a real page turner.

CHARACTERIZATION

1. Direct characterization happened when the author told us about the season beginning to change, no clues given just told that winter was around the corner. Also when the author said that Brian was frightened, he did not know what to think of the upcoming winter. Indirect characterization happened when Brian first found the gun and did not use it against the bear, he knew that it wouldn’t help him and was smart enough to not use it and instead make new weapons. The author decides to use both because it adds on to Brian’s character when he uses indirect but also need to actually mention some things in order to get some sort of point across.

2. The authors syntax does not change considering the grand majority of the novel is based around this one character. He seems to focus on both Brian and his surroundings at about the same tone. The only real difference is that we know what Brian is thinking but not that the animals intensions are.

3. The protagonist, being Brian, is both a dynamic and a round character. He is dynamic because he teaches himself how to survive the changing seasons so he does go through his dramatic change and enjoys it to say the least. With that change he also became a round character, this is mostly seen when he found the gun. Instead of fully relying on it he decides to not even use it and instead makes his own weapons. Smart move by the young boy.

4. Again yes, after reading this book I do feel like I’ve met Brian once again. This time his character seems different, he is not the boy from The River, he has more instinct this time. When the moose was attacking it felt like I sat there and watched him defend himself against this moose. After it was killed it was like Brian looked at me and said, “Look, I’ve caught dinner.”