Hatchet:By Gary Paulsen
Review:
This coming-of-age book by Gary Paulsen was first published by Simon and Schuster for Young Readers in 1987 and has won many awards like Newbery Award. Hatchet is an enlightening and engrossing read about a young adolescent journey of self-discovery and appreciation of nature, family and societal values. It reinforces that we all have inherent survival instincts which surfaces during challenging and dangerous situation. The is a lot of speculation around Hatchet’s plot and few people are of the view that the plot was drawn from Paulson’s real life experience where he had witnessed a air crash incident during his stay in the Philippines.
The story’s as we read is about a thirteen-year-old protagonist, Brian Robeson who is on his way to visit his father at oil rig when the single-engine bush plane in which he is flying as a solo passenger crashes after the pilot suffers a heart attack and dies. Suddenly, Brian finds himself alone in the Canadian wilderness with a tattered windbreaker and the hatchet his mother gave him as a present and the dreadful secret and guilt of not sharing the information about his mother’s secret affair tearing him apart since his parents’ divorce. In the story we see how Brian overcomes his feeling of anger, self-pity and despair and with sheer determination and courage utilises all his know-how to survive the odds.
Hatchet regales a wonderful tale of teenager’s real life adventure. Paulson has used sensory details to conjure vivid description of surrounding and the emotions that the protagonist displays. As story progresses we see the character evolving where he not only overcomes his physical challenges but mentally sort himself out accepting his reality and embracing his life. The author mirrors the emotional and physical fears of all adolescents coming to age by drawing parallel to the grandeur and the danger of the wilderness thus evoking an awe and trepidation in the reader’s mind. While the plot focuses prim face on the survival challenges of the protagonist amidst wilderness. The author uses this as a backdrop of multiple internal conflict raging inside Brian. The protagonist is in constant conflict, questioning his new reality and blaming his own self, his mother and the surrounding people like the lawyer, judge, pilot for everything going wrong in his life. The reflections and flashbacks of Brian’s makes the reader realise that the Protagonist is blaming himself and his mother for his current stranded situation in wilderness. Brian contemplates that his situation would have been completely different and he wouldn’t have to fly out to his father for summer visits as his father would have got different visiting rights had he shared the secret of his mother having an affair during legal proceedings and blames himself for his emotional weakness and lack of clarity. He is bewildered by his loneliness and helplessness and blames his mother for the same. Finding himself truly on his own leaves Brian with a primitive urge to survive at all costs. The story is episodic step-by-step recounting how the protagonist unlearns and let go of his old values and beliefs embracing his new reality and relearns life skills for survival by how to find food, water, and shelter growing physically and emotionally stronger in the process. Hatchet is many ways symbolises life. In the beginning, hatchet symbolized young Brian who is embarrassed by the thought of being seen with a hatchet on his belt by the Pilot when he arrives at the airport conveying his immaturity., however, the same hatchet becomes his source of life helping him survive in the wilderness much like his mother had been his saviour protecting and taking care .Brian faces many setbacks because of unclear thinking and poor decision making and at one point of time even tries to quit by committing suicide. However, the inherent human instinct of survival makes him realise the magnificence and value of life and he slowly adapts and learns to cope with all adversities and natures calamity. He emotionally evolves and learns that life’s problems can be overcome with clear thinking and common sense. He draws on his inner strength and wisdom from the past learning gained from his mother, father, and teachers in the course of his adventure. When rescue workers finally arrive, Brian is not in a hurry to leave as he had started enjoying his new found independence and self-reliance.
Gary Paulsen does not romanticize the difficulties Brian faces and readers witness his gut-wrenching sickness from eating too many berries and his shock when he realizes he has never before heard total silence. His failures and triumphs are also presented as equal parts of one life-altering experience. His two months in wilderness is also a journey of countless emotional and physical changes. Many adolescents can relate with Brian’s anger, emotional highs and lows and the deep confusion. Facing a new problem at every success step makes Brian’s life unbearable only to becomes wonderful again. This message is one of great importance to relay to young adults who are facing the trials associated with coming-of-age. The little moments of sadness, happiness, perseverance, danger, fear and victory all add up to the idea of maturation and adapting to the world we live in.
5 reviews from other sources:
"A story of survival and of transformation, this riveting book has sparked many a reader's interest in venturing into the wild"- Critics
''A heart-stopping story...something beyond adventure, a book that plunges readers into the cleft of the protagonist's experience." —Publishers Weekly
“In a straightforward and compelling narration, Peter Coyote captures Brian’s terror, anguish and exultation as he learns to survive alone in the wilderness.”–AudioFile
“In a straightforward and compelling narration, Brian’s terror, anguish and exultation as he learns to survive alone in the wilderness.”–AudioFile
Plausible, taut, this survival story is a spellbinding account ." ... Kirkus Review
Heart-stopping...at every moment Brian is forced to face a life-and-death decision, and every page makes readers wonder at the density of descriptive detail Paulsen has expertly woven together. Poetic texture and realistic events are combined to create...a book that plunges readers into the cleft of the protagonist's experience.
Times