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Hatchet
Trailblazers · 4th–6th
Brian says dropping the hatchet is what he would have done before, and then he did it. Has he changed, or has he only learned to recover faster?
The tension Brian's claim that this is the old Brian's mistake and "Not now" pulls against the fact that he has just made it, felt sorry for himself, and only then gone after the hatchet.
Notice what Brian says about himself when he makes a mistake, and what he does next.
Brian finds that the plane's skin is thin enough to cut with the hatchet, then drops the hatchet into the water. He feels sorry for himself, then dives until he gets it back. He cuts a way inside the tail, searches underwater for the survival bag, and sees what has become of the pilot. He brings the bag to the raft and the raft to shore, and falls asleep on the bag at the shelter door.
Start with the moment the hatchet slips. Ask what Brian says out loud, and what he does next.
Retell The student tells the chapter back in order: no way in, the thin skin, the dropped hatchet, the dives, the bag, the pilot, and the haul to shore.
Imitate the author After copying the passage, the student writes two or three sentences in the same pattern: what someone did, a very short one saying why it was wrong, and what they knew they had to do.
Debate Take sides on the big question: has Brian changed, or has he only learned to recover faster? Each side must use at least one quote from the chapter.
Purpose Close by asking why Paulsen has Brian drop the hatchet just after he proves he can use it.
Easier Read the dropped hatchet and the first dive aloud together and talk through discussion questions 1 and 2 only. The teacher may decide how much of the scene with the pilot to read aloud.
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 speaks about himself and then acts, and to add it to a critical-thinking answer.
1. Brian says "Nothing is easy," and a moment later the plane's skin gives under his fist. What might that show about how he judges things?Inference
What it asks It asks what the surprise shows about how Brian reads a problem when he is frustrated, and what he does once he sees he was wrong.
He judges too fast when he is discouraged, and gives up on a way in before he has tried everything.
Stupid, he thought. I was stupid to think I could just come out here and get inside the plane.
He couldn't believe it.
He is learning to test things, and the testing is what finds the way.
He hit it again, and once more it bent and gave
took an experimental swing at it
A strong answer Brian has just told himself nothing is easy, and the plane proves him wrong: the skin gives easily when he hits it, and then he tests it again and pushes. His discouragement made him judge too quickly, but his testing found the way in. A strong answer says what the moment shows about how he judges, using one of his actions.
2. Brian dives for the hatchet until his lungs are "ready to explode." Was that wise, or too big a risk?Moral reasoning
What it asks It asks the student to weigh what Brian stands to lose without the hatchet against what the dive puts at risk.
It was wise: without the hatchet he has nothing, so the dive is not really a choice.
Without the hatchet he had nothing—no fire, no tools, no weapons—he was nothing.
he knew that he had only one course of action
It was too big a risk: he came close to breathing in water.
he had flashes of color in his brain, explosions of color
he would have to take a pull of water, take it into his lungs
A strong answer Brian says without the hatchet he has no fire, no tools and no weapons, and he sees he has only one course of action, so the dive is hard to call foolish. But the second dive ends with flashes of color in his brain and his mouth open to take in water. A strong answer says what he risked and what he stood to lose, and does not pretend the chapter calls one side plainly right.
3. The end of the second dive is told in three sentences from the grab to the surface, and the last runs very long. Why might Paulsen write it that way?Author's choice
What it asks It asks what the long last sentence does to the reader during the moment Brian is nearly out of air.
It makes the reader hold a breath too, with no place to stop until he is up.
Bad air triggers were starting to go off in his brain and he knew he was limited to seconds now
just as he ran out of air, knew that he was going to have to blow soon, he saw the handle sticking out of the mud
It piles up the grab, the push and the rescue into one rush, so the danger and the relief arrive together.
He made one grab, missed, reached again and felt his fingers close on the rubber.
in one motion slammed his feet down into the mud and powered himself up
A strong answer The last sentence runs without a stop from his lungs ready to explode to the surface, so the reader has no place to catch a breath, just as Brian has none. It can also be read as the grab and the push, in shorter sentences, building into one rush at the end. A strong answer says what the long sentence does for the reader and compares it with a shorter one near it.
4. Brian realizes the fish he has been eating "had to eat, too." How might that change the way he sees the lake?Theme
What it asks It asks what Brian takes from seeing what has become of the pilot, and whether it joins him to the lake or only horrifies him.
It joins him to the lake: he eats the fish, and the fish eat too.
The fish. He'd never really thought of it, but the fish—the fish he had been eating all this time had to eat, too.
The peace finally came to him and he settled his breathing.
It is only horror, and he cannot bear it for now.
Too much. Too much. His mind screamed in horror
fighting to clear the picture of the pilot from his mind
A strong answer Brian has been eating the fish for weeks and never thought that they have to eat, too, so when he sees the pilot he sees how the lake is connected. His first answer is horror, and the picture does not leave quickly. Later the evening sounds bring peace. A strong answer says what he learns about the lake and how he feels about it, and does not have to settle one view.
5. The chapter ends with "He had done it" for the third time. What does the repeating do for you as a reader?Tone
What it asks It asks what the repeated line feels like after such a long, hard day, and what it shows about Brian.
It sounds like pride and relief, a boy who finished something hard.
He had done it.
That's all he could think now.
It sounds like exhaustion, as if he can hold only one thought.
so weak he couldn't stand, had to crawl
finally to drop across the bag and to sleep when he made the sand in front of the doorway
A strong answer Three times the chapter says he had done it, and the second time it adds that this is all he can think now. It can sound like pride, since he got into the plane and out with the bag. It can also sound like a mind too tired for anything else, as he crawls and falls asleep on the sand. A strong answer says what the repeating feels like and what words make it so.
1. Brian is afraid of being trapped in the tail, yet he goes in. Using two pieces of evidence, explain what changes his mind.
What it asks It asks the student to find what makes Brian willing to go into a place he fears: what he has seen of the tail, or what he has done to it.
What he has seen: the tail has stayed up for days, so it seems safe.
it hadn't gone back down
It seemed pretty solid.
What he has done: he has opened it up, so going in looks possible.
he had cleaned away the whole side and top of the fuselage that stuck out of the water
after chopping some braces away there was room for him to wiggle through and get inside
A strong answer Brian first worries the tail will settle back to the bottom with him inside, but he reconsiders: it has been up for two days and he has been hammering and climbing on it, and it seems pretty solid. He has also chopped away the braces until there is room to wiggle through. A strong answer says what changes his mind and uses two different moments.
2. Brian searches for the bag underwater with his feet. Using two pieces of evidence, explain how he finds it.
What it asks It asks the student to follow how Brian finds something he cannot see, and what he does after each try.
He finds it by feel, since the inside of the plane is too dark to see.
It was very dark inside the fuselage and he could see nothing
feeling for some kind of fabric or cloth—anything—with his bare feet
He finds it by going back again and again, a little surer each time.
He touched nothing but the floor plates.
definitely canvas or heavy nylon
A strong answer It is very dark inside the fuselage, so Brian has to feel with his bare feet for fabric or cloth. On the first try he touches only the floor plates, but on later dives he feels canvas or heavy nylon and something hard inside it. A strong answer says how he finds the bag and uses two different moments.
3. Brian gets the bag to the raft and the raft to shore. Using two pieces of evidence, explain how hard that last part is.
What it asks It asks the student to weigh what makes the trip back hard: the bag, or Brian's own body.
The bag makes it hard, since it will not come out of the plane.
The bag fought him. It was almost as if it didn't want to leave the plane.
he had to change the shape of it, rearranging what was inside by pushing and pulling at the sides
Brian's own tiredness makes it hard, and he is a long way past strong.
he was getting weaker all the time
so weak he couldn't stand, had to crawl
A strong answer The bag fights him, so Brian has to change its shape and squeeze it through an inch at a time. Then, with the extra weight and a body getting weaker all the time, the raft barely moves, and when he reaches the bank he is so weak he has to crawl. A strong answer says what makes the last part hard and uses two different moments.