Hatchet
Chapter 1 — Teaching Companion
Gary Paulsen · Trailblazers 4th–6th
Coaching, not a script — and not an answer key: every question here has more than one defensible answer.
This chapter's big question
Brian is angry at his mother and keeps the Secret from her, yet her voice makes his eyes burn and he wears her gift. Is his silence a way of punishing her, or of protecting himself?
The tension Brian's hot white hate at his mother pulls against the tenderness in her voice that still reaches him.
Today's focus
Notice how Brian holds back: what he will not say, and what still gets through to him.
Two core ideas
- Brian carries a Secret he has told no one, and the chapter shows how it shuts him in before the plane does.
- Anger and care can sit side by side in one person: his hot anger at his mother and the tenderness that still makes his eyes burn.
The shape at a glance
Brian, thirteen, flies north in a bush plane with a quiet pilot, thinking over the divorce and the Secret he has told no one. A look back at the car ride shows his mother giving him a hatchet, which he still wears. In the plane, the pilot lets him try the controls, then has a heart attack and Brian is left alone.
A way in
Start with the repeated words. Ask which word keeps coming back to Brian and what it might be hiding.
Lesson plan
Retell The student tells the chapter back in order: the flight, the divorce, the car ride and the hatchet, the flying lesson, and the pilot's collapse.
Imitate the author After copying the passage, the student writes two sentences in the same pattern about a feeling someone tries to hide: what they do, then the small thing that gives it away.
Debate Take sides on the big question: does Brian stay silent to punish his mother or to protect himself? Each side must use at least one quote from the chapter.
Purpose Close by asking why Paulsen opens with Brian's thoughts about the divorce before the emergency in the plane begins.
Easier Read the car ride aloud together and talk through discussion questions 1 and 4 only.
On level Talk through all five discussion questions, then have the student write one critical-thinking answer with two pieces of evidence from the chapter.
Harder Ask the student to find one more place where Brian holds something back, and to add it to a critical-thinking answer.
Discussion
- Brian puts on the hatchet "to humor her." What else might be going on in him as he does it?Character
What it asks It asks the student to look past Brian's own reason for wearing the hatchet and weigh what else the scene shows about how he feels toward his mother.
One reading
Yes, he only goes along with her to end the moment.
and so to humor her he loosened his belt
it looked too hokey to have a hatchet on your belt
Another reading
No, he wears it because he cannot stay hard toward her when she sounds so breakable.
her voice was thin, had a sound like something thin that would break if you touched it
he still felt bad for not speaking to her
Listen for
- Separates the reason Brian gives from what else the scene shows.
- Points to her voice, not only to his own feelings.
If stuck
- What would Brian normally have said about a hatchet on his belt?
- What does her voice sound like when she asks him to try it on?
- What does he feel, even with the anger?
A strong answer Brian's own reason is to humor her, and the chapter gives him a reason to refuse: he would normally say it looked too hokey. But her voice is thin, like something that would break if you touched it, and even with the hot white hate of his anger he feels bad for not speaking to her. Humoring her may be the whole reason on the surface, yet it is also a small kindness from a boy who is furious. A strong answer weighs both and does not pretend the chapter says which feeling is stronger.
- Again and again Brian's mind comes back to short words: Divorce, Split, the Secret. Why might Paulsen repeat them instead of explaining?Author's choice
What it asks It asks why the author lets single words stand in for what Brian cannot say, and what the repetition does to the reader.
One reading
The repeated words show a mind circling the same wound and unable to move on.
The thinking started. Always it started with a single word. Divorce.
The words. Always the words.
Another reading
Leaving the Secret unexplained makes the reader wait and wonder, which pulls us into Brian's silence.
No, not secrets so much as just the Secret.
What he knew and had not told anybody
Listen for
- Names what the repetition does, not only that words repeat.
- Notices that the Secret is never explained in this chapter.
If stuck
- Which word does the chapter keep coming back to?
- What do we learn about the Secret in these pages, and what do we not learn?
- How would the page feel if Brian simply explained everything?
A strong answer The repeated words work like a sore spot Brian keeps pressing. The chapter says the thinking always starts with a single word, so Paulsen shows a mind that circles instead of explaining. He also leaves the Secret as one word, so the reader knows it matters before knowing what it is. Either way the repetition lets us feel the weight of something Brian will not say. A strong answer names what the repetition does to the reader, not just that it happens.
- Brian thinks the pilot's smell and pain are "Probably something he ate." Why might he not see the real danger sooner?Inference
What it asks It asks why Brian explains away the warning signs, and what that shows about how he sees things on this flight.
One reading
He has never faced anything like this, so he grabs the nearest ordinary explanation.
Probably something he ate, Brian thought.
Must have stomach troubles.
Another reading
He is wrapped up in his own thoughts and in being polite, so he looks away.
Brian turned back to avoid embarrassing the pilot
tried to catalog what had led up to his taking this flight
Listen for
- Points to what Brian does each time he notices the smell.
- Notices that he decides the cause is something small.
If stuck
- What does Brian do when he notices the smell?
- What does he decide is the cause?
A strong answer Each time, Brian picks a harmless cause: something the pilot ate, or stomach troubles. He even turns away so he will not embarrass a man who is obviously in some discomfort. That fits a boy who knows the pilot only as a quiet stranger and who is busy with his own thoughts. The chapter shows both his politeness and his distraction, and a strong answer says which one seems to matter more, with a reason.
- Brian's mother asks if they can talk this out, and he shakes his head. How might that silence look from her side of the car?Inference
What it asks It asks the student to sit in the mother's seat and read Brian's silence the way she might, using what she says and does.
One reading
She sees a son who is shutting her out.
Can't you tell me what's bothering you?
A drive in silence, a long drive in silence.
Another reading
She sees a hurting son and keeps reaching toward him gently.
I got something for you, for the trip.
My little scout.
Listen for
- Uses what the mother says and does, not only what Brian thinks.
- Notices that she tries again after he stays silent.
If stuck
- What does she ask him an hour into the drive?
- What does she hand him when they are close to Hampton?
- How does she speak to him when she gives the gift?
A strong answer From her seat the silence is hard to read. She asks him to talk and tell her what is bothering him, and he only shakes his head, so she may feel shut out. But she does not stop: she brings out a gift, speaks gently, and calls him her little scout. A strong answer reads her actions as well as her words, and notices that she cannot see the Secret Brian is holding, so she can only guess what his silence means.
- Brian sees the pilot as "Part of the plane, not human." What does that picture add to the mood at the start of the flight?Tone
What it asks It asks what mood the opening builds through the pilot and the noise, and what a reader feels before anything goes wrong.
One reading
It makes the plane feel cold and lonely, with no one to turn to.
Part of the plane, not human.
it ruined any chance for conversation
Another reading
It sets up a change: the cold pilot turns out to be a person after all.
the pilot seemed to open up a bit and he smiled
an all right guy
Listen for
- Names a feeling, such as lonely or tense, and the detail that causes it.
- Notices that the pilot does not stay a machine.
If stuck
- What does the engine do to conversation?
- How does Brian describe the pilot at first?
- What changes when Brian looks at him?
A strong answer The opening is loud and lonely: the engine ruins any chance for conversation, and the pilot seems part of the plane, not human. That shuts Brian in with his own thoughts. But the pilot then smiles, shows Brian the controls, and turns out to be an all right guy. So the mood moves from cold to warm, and the reader may begin to care about the man just before he collapses. A strong answer names the mood and the detail that makes it.
Critical thinking
- Using two pieces of evidence, explain what Brian gets from the moment when he flies the plane.
What it asks It asks what the flying lesson gives Brian in the middle of the divorce and the Secret: relief, a first small skill, or both.
One reading
It gives him relief: for a moment his mind is off his pain.
The burning in his eyes was forgotten momentarily as the vibration of the plane came through the wheel and the pedals.
It seemed almost alive.
Another reading
It gives him a small feeling that he can do something.
Brian turned the wheel slightly and the plane immediately banked to the right
At least this part.
Listen for
- Two separate pieces of evidence, not one told twice.
- Says what changes in Brian during the lesson.
If stuck
- What happens to the burning in Brian's eyes?
- What does Brian say once the plane turns?
A strong answer The lesson gives him relief and a small win. While the plane vibrates through the wheel and pedals, the burning in his eyes is forgotten momentarily, so his thoughts stop for a moment. And when the plane banks and comes back around he says it is easy and smiles, though he adds at least this part. A strong answer names one thing he gets and backs it with two different moments.
- Brian hates the judges and lawyers. Using two pieces of evidence, explain what he thinks they get wrong.
What it asks It asks what Brian blames the court for: not knowing the truth, or speaking about his life in a cold, formal way.
One reading
They decide his life without knowing what really happened.
Judges who did not know what had really happened.
listening to the lawyers talk
Another reading
They turn his breaking life into formal words that mean nothing.
Judges with the caring look that meant nothing as lawyers said legal phrases that meant nothing.
So formal.
Listen for
- Uses the court passage, not just the word hated.
- Explains what is missing in how they act, not only that Brian dislikes them.
If stuck
- What does the judge call Brian's time with his father?
- What look do the judges have when they ask where he will live?
- What does Brian think the judges do not know?
A strong answer Brian's complaint is that the court talks about his life without touching it. The judges did not know what had really happened, and their caring looks meant nothing; the lawyers said legal phrases that meant nothing while his home came apart. Even visitation rights is so formal for a boy losing his family. A strong answer uses one moment about what they did not know and one about how they spoke.
- At the end, Brian feels alone even with the engine roaring. Using two pieces of evidence, explain why.
What it asks It asks where Brian's aloneness comes from at the end: the empty pilot's seat, or something he has carried all chapter.
One reading
He is alone because the pilot, his only company, can no longer help.
a strange feeling of silence and being alone
In the roaring plane with no pilot he was alone.
Another reading
He was already alone with what he knew, and the plane only makes it plain.
What he knew and had not told anybody
Not that he had much to say.
Listen for
- Two pieces of evidence that truly differ, perhaps one from the end and one from earlier.
- A reason that explains the feeling, not only the word alone.
If stuck
- What happens to the pilot just before Brian feels the silence?
- Who has Brian told about the Secret?
A strong answer At the end Brian is alone in plain fact: the pilot has collapsed and the engine roars on with no one flying. But the chapter has shown him alone before that, carrying what he knew and had not told anybody, and saying little to the pilot or his mother. A strong answer can say the aloneness is both new and old, and backs each part with a different moment.