Hatchet
Chapter 17 — 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 reminds himself that food comes first, then thought, then action, yet the picture of the survival pack keeps pulling at him. Is the pack a sensible goal, or a dream he is chasing?
The tension Brian's rule of food first, then thought, then action pulls against the picture of the pack that fills his mind and sends him back toward the plane.
Today's focus
Notice how Brian weighs a sensible rule against a picture that will not leave him.
Two core ideas
- Brian has rules he has learned the hard way: food first, then thought, then action, and sense solves problems.
- A picture can pull him past a rule: the thought of the survival pack in the plane keeps him at work when the job seems impossible.
The shape at a glance
After the tornado, Brian makes a fire, patches up his shelter, and falls asleep with a picture of the plane tail and the survival pack. In the morning he spears fish first, then works out how to weave a raft. He tries it, turns back, and tries again the next day. He ties the raft to the plane and lies there thinking the job looks impossible. He searches the plane for a way in and finds he is blocked.
A way in
Start with the picture of the pack. Ask what Brian hopes is in it, and what stands in his way.
Lesson plan
Retell The student tells the chapter back in order: the fire, the shelter, the picture, the fish, the raft, the evening, and the plane.
Imitate the author After copying the passage, the student writes two sentences in the same pattern: what someone fought off, and the rule they remembered.
Debate Take sides on the big question: is the survival pack a sensible goal or a dream Brian is chasing? Each side must use at least one quote from the chapter.
Purpose Close by asking why Paulsen ends the chapter with Brian blocked.
Easier Read the raft scene aloud together and talk through discussion questions 3 and 5 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 follows his rule or breaks it, and to add it to a critical-thinking answer.
Discussion
- Brian's first thought after the tornado is "First things first." What does he mean by it, and does he keep to it?Character
What it asks It asks what Brian chooses to do first, and whether he keeps that order once the plane picture arrives.
One reading
He keeps to it: fire, wood, shelter and then fish before he works on the plane.
First things first. He tried to find some dry grass and twigs
First food, because food made strength
Another reading
He bends it: the plane project is on his mind while he does everything else.
all the time he worked he sat looking at the tail of die plane sticking up in the air
his mind working on the problem of the plane
Listen for
- Names what he does first and what he does after.
- Notices that the plane is on his mind the whole time.
If stuck
- What does he do first the morning after the tornado?
- What does he do before he works on the raft?
A strong answer First things first means fire, wood and shelter, and the next morning he spears fish before he starts on the raft. But all the time he works on the spear he sits looking at the tail of the plane. A strong answer says whether he keeps the order, and what the plane does to it.
- Brian thinks of the survival pack as a way to be "rich." Why might the picture have such a hold on him?Inference
What it asks It asks what the picture of the pack offers Brian, and why it is so hard for him to put down.
One reading
It offers the things he needs most: food, knives, matches and warmth.
It probably had food and knives and matches. It might have a sleeping bag. It might have fishing gear.
I would be rich. So rich if I could get at the pack.
Another reading
It offers a way back to what he has lost, a bit of the old world.
A candy bar.
Even that—just a candy bar. It would be worth it.
Listen for
- Names what he hopes the pack holds.
- Notices how small the last thing he names is.
If stuck
- What does he list as he imagines the pack?
- What is the smallest thing he says would be worth it?
A strong answer The pack holds everything Brian lacks: food, knives, matches, a sleeping bag, fishing gear, so he thinks he would be rich. By the end he is asking only for a candy bar, which shows the pull is partly longing for the old world. A strong answer says what the pack offers and why that matters to him.
- Brian says "Sense" is all it takes to solve problems, and the raft only works once he sees the limbs. What does the raft show about how he thinks?Theme
What it asks It asks what the raft scene shows about how Brian solves a problem: by trying, or by stopping to think.
One reading
He solves it by stopping to think after trying and failing.
He tried wedging them together, crossing them over each other—nothing seemed to work.
At that point he sat back on the beach and studied the problem again.
Another reading
He solves it by remembering what he already knows how to do.
"weave" them together as he had done his wall, the food shelf cover, and the fish gate
Listen for
- Says what changes after Brian sits back.
- Uses the weave from earlier.
If stuck
- What is wrong with the logs he picked first?
- What does he decide he needs instead?
A strong answer At first the smooth logs just roll and separate, and Brian loses his temper a moment as he would have done in the past. Then he sits back and studies the problem, remembers the weave from his wall, shelf cover and fish gate, and chooses logs with limbs. A strong answer says what the raft shows about how he solves problems, using the chapter.
- Brian wishes he could share the beautiful sunset with someone. Why might that wish come right after thoughts of his mother?Tone
What it asks It asks what links Brian's picture of his mother's kitchen to his wish to share the lake.
One reading
The picture of home makes him feel how alone he is out here.
She would have the small television on the kitchen counter on and be watching the news
Amazing beauty and he wished he could share it with somebody
Another reading
The beauty makes him wonder if home might change him.
would it be just the opposite? Would he be sitting watching television and suddenly think about the sunset up in back of the ridge
Listen for
- Says what each place feels like to Brian, the kitchen and the lake.
- Notices his question about what he would think about at home.
If stuck
- What does Brian see his mother doing?
- What does he wish when the sunset comes?
A strong answer Brian pictures his mother in the kitchen with the news and cooking sounds, then pulls his mind back to the lake and its sunset, and wishes he could share it. The scene shows how alone he is, and it also leads him to a reverse question: if he got home, would he think of this? A strong answer says what mood the passage creates and which words create it.
- Brian lies on the raft and thinks the plane job "looked impossible." Why does he stay anyway?Moral reasoning
What it asks It asks what keeps Brian at the plane when he thinks the job is impossible: hope in the pack, or stubbornness.
One reading
The pack keeps him: even a candy bar would be worth it.
But the image of the survival pack kept him.
Even that—just a candy bar. It would be worth it.
Another reading
He has learned not to quit at the first wall.
To have any chance of success he would have to be strong when he started.
No openings. Three times he put his face in the water and opened his eyes and looked down.
Listen for
- Says what keeps him there, and what could send him back.
- Notices the effort he puts into looking.
If stuck
- What is he nearly tempted to do?
- What does he do three times?
A strong answer Brian is nearly at the point of swimming back to shore, but the image of the pack keeps him, and he searches the plane three times. A strong answer says whether it is hope in the pack or stubbornness that keeps him there, and gives a reason.
Critical thinking
- Brian makes a fire quickly after the tornado. Using two pieces of evidence, explain what lets him do it.
What it asks It asks the student to find what Brian learned that makes this fire so much faster than the first.
One reading
He now knows how to make a nest for the sparks.
then peeled bark from a nearby birch to shred into a fire nest
with his new skill he had a fire going in less than an hour
Another reading
He knows where to look for dry wood after the rain.
at last located some in a thick evergreen where the top branches had covered the lower dead ones, keeping them dry
Listen for
- Two separate pieces of evidence, not one told twice.
- Says what Brian knows that he did not before.
If stuck
- What does he shred from the birch?
- Where does he find dry wood after the rain?
A strong answer Brian has learned to shred birch bark into a fire nest, and the chapter calls it his new skill, so the fire is going in less than an hour. He also thinks about where dry wood might still be, and finds it under a thick evergreen. A strong answer says what lets him do it and uses two different moments.
- Brian ties the raft to the plane with torn strips of windbreaker. Using two pieces of evidence, explain how he comes to that idea.
What it asks It asks the student to follow what Brian uses and why, when he has no rope.
One reading
He takes stock of what he has and finds nothing that works until he thinks of the windbreaker.
He had no rope, only the bowstring and the other cut shoestring in his tennis shoes
Then he remembered his windbreaker and he found the tattered part he used for an arrow pouch.
Another reading
He knows the rope only has to be good enough.
It wasn't strong, he couldn't use it to pull a Tarzan and swing from a tree, but it should hold the raft to the plane.
Listen for
- Two separate pieces of evidence, not one told twice.
- Says what he already has and what he decides to use.
If stuck
- What does he have for rope at first?
- What does the rope only have to do?
A strong answer Brian first lists what he has for rope: the bowstring and the other cut shoestring, which will not do. Then he remembers his windbreaker, tears the tattered part into strips, and ties them into a tie-down. It is not strong, but it only has to hold the raft. A strong answer says how he comes to the idea and uses two different moments.
- Brian reaches the tail of the plane. Using two pieces of evidence, explain what he finds and what stops him.
What it asks It asks the student to see what the plane tail offers him and what blocks the next step.
One reading
He finds a place to tie the raft, but not a way in.
there he found a gap that went in up by the hinges where he could feed his rope through
All openings, even the small rear cargo hatch, were underwater
Another reading
What stops him is fear as well as water, for diving in means being trapped near the pilot.
Where he would be trapped.
Stop, he thought. Stop now. Stop that thinking.
Listen for
- Two separate pieces of evidence, not one told twice.
- Says what he can do at the plane and what he cannot.
If stuck
- Where does he tie the raft?
- What would diving inside the plane mean for him?
A strong answer Brian finds a gap by the hinges where he can feed his rope, so the raft is secure. But all the openings are underwater, and getting in would mean diving and coming up inside, where he would be trapped and near the pilot. A strong answer says what he finds, what stops him, and uses two different moments.