Chapter 1

Hatchet

Trailblazers · 4th–6th

Copywork

He didn't cry now. Instead his eyes burned and tears came, the seeping tears that burned, but he didn't cry. He wiped his eyes with a finger and looked at the pilot out of the corner of his eye to make sure he hadn't noticed the burning and tears.

Read the passage aloud. Why might Brian check that the pilot has not noticed?

Discussion

Narration Tell the chapter back in order: the flight north, the car ride that led to it, and how it ends with Brian alone in the plane.

1. Brian puts on the hatchet "to humor her." What else might be going on in him as he does it?Character

2. 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

3. Brian thinks the pilot's smell and pain are "Probably something he ate." Why might he not see the real danger sooner?Inference

4. 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

5. 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

Make a Connection Tell about a time someone you know kept quiet about something that was hard to say.

Vocabulary

Crossword

1				2
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5
		6


7
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	9



		10

Across

Across 1. Leaking out slowly.
Across 4. To list things one by one.
Across 7. To go along with someone to please them.
Across 9. Mild pain or unease.
Across 10. Gentle, loving feeling.

Down

Down 2. Became aware of.
Down 3. Empty, without real feeling.
Down 5. Moved suddenly and unsteadily.
Down 6. Twisting the face because of pain.
Down 8. Struck hard by a strong feeling.

The words in the chapter

seeping Instead his eyes burned and tears came, the seeping tears that burned, but he didn't cry.
noticed to make sure he hadn't noticed the burning and tears
catalog tried to catalog what had led up to his taking this flight
humor and so to humor her he loosened his belt
hollow But the words sounded hollow, even to Brian.

tenderness And there was the tenderness in her voice
grimacing who had both hands on his stomach and was grimacing in pain
discomfort who was obviously in some discomfort
lurched Now the plane lurched slightly to the right
stricken stopped and stricken with a white-flash of horror

Critical thinking

1. Using two pieces of evidence, explain what Brian gets from the moment when he flies the plane.

2. Brian hates the judges and lawyers. Using two pieces of evidence, explain what he thinks they get wrong.

3. At the end, Brian feels alone even with the engine roaring. Using two pieces of evidence, explain why.