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Hatchet
Trailblazers · 4th–6th
Brian is excited by the rifle and the lighter, yet says they take him away from where he is. Do the gifts in the pack make his life better, or take something from him?
The tension The pack gives Brian everything he has wanted, yet each gift that makes life easier also makes him feel removed from the woods he has learned.
Notice what the pack gives Brian, and what it takes from him.
Brian wakes after the haul from the plane and goes through the survival pack: a sleeping bag, cook pots, a knife, a first-aid kit, a fishing kit, a rifle, lighters and food. The rifle and the lighter give him mixed feelings. He finds an emergency transmitter that seems to do nothing, and cooks a feast. In the middle of it a floatplane lands, and the pilot says he heard the transmitter.
Start with the rifle. Ask what Brian feels when he holds it, and why he puts it aside.
Retell The student tells the chapter back in order: the contents of the pack, the rifle and the lighter, the transmitter, the feast, and the plane.
Imitate the author After copying the passage, the student writes two sentences in the same pattern: how something changed them and a doubt, then a careful thing they did about it.
Debate Take sides on the big question: do the gifts in the pack make Brian's life better or take something from him? Each side must use at least one quote from the chapter.
Purpose Close by asking why Paulsen shows Brian's doubts about the pack before the plane arrives.
Easier Read the rifle scene aloud together and talk through discussion questions 2 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 something helpful also feels like a loss, and to add it to a critical-thinking answer.
1. Brian thinks of the pack's contents as "presents." Why might he think of them that way?Tone
What it asks It asks what the picture of birthdays and holidays says about Brian's mood and what the pack means to him.
It shows joy: for the first time in weeks, he is surrounded by good things.
Incredible wealth. It was like all the holidays in the world, all the birthdays there were.
pulled the presents—as he thought of them—out one at a time
It shows how little he has had, so even a fork and a cap feel like gifts.
it actually even had a fork and knife and spoon
A cap that said cessna across the front in large letters. Why a cap? he wondered.
A strong answer Brian pulls the items out one at a time, turns them in the light, and compares the pack to all the holidays and birthdays there are. The joy is plain, and it grows out of how little he has had, since a fork and a cap are treasures. A strong answer says what the word presents shows about his mood and how it connects to the list.
2. Brian feels the rifle "somehow removed him from everything around him." What do you think he means?Character
What it asks It asks what Brian gives up when something makes the work easier, and why that might matter to him.
He means he would no longer have to understand the woods, only shoot.
With the rifle, suddenly, he didn't have to know; did not have to be afraid or understand.
He didn't have to get close to a foolbird to kill it
He means he would no longer be part of the woods, but above them.
Without the rifle he had to fit in, to be part of it all, to understand it and use it—the woods, all of it.
It somehow removed him from everything around him.
A strong answer Without the rifle Brian had to understand the woods, fit in, and learn how a foolbird would stand if he moved off to the side. With the rifle he would not have to know any of that, and so he feels removed. A strong answer says what the rifle takes away and why Brian might care about it, using the chapter's words.
3. Brian puts the rifle aside and says he "could deal with that feeling later." Was it wise to wait?Moral reasoning
What it asks It asks the student to weigh putting off a hard feeling against facing it, at a moment when Brian is full of the joy of the pack.
Yes: he does not have to decide today, and the rifle is not going anywhere.
He set it aside, leaning it carefully against the wall. He could deal with that feeling later.
Up and down, he thought.
No: the same feeling comes back with the lighter, so waiting does not make it go away.
As with the rifle, he wasn't sure he liked the change.
feeling again that the lighter somehow removed him from where he was
A strong answer Putting the rifle aside lets Brian enjoy the rest of the pack and think about the feeling later, which seems sensible. But the same feeling comes back with the butane lighter, so it is not going away. A strong answer says whether waiting was wise, using both moments.
4. Brian meets the plane at the moment his "mind full of home" smells the cooking beef. Why might Paulsen time it that way?Author's choice
What it asks It asks what the timing does for the reader, and why the rescue comes while Brian is thinking of home.
It makes the rescue a surprise, arriving when he is least expecting it.
He had only a moment of warning. There was a tiny drone but as before it didn't register
fairly exploded into his life
It puts home and rescue side by side, so the reader feels how close he is to what he has been missing.
made him think of home, his mother cooking, the rich smells of the kitchen, and at that precise instant, with his mind full of home
A strong answer Just as Brian's mind fills with home, the plane appears, and the chapter says he has only a moment of warning. The timing makes the rescue sudden, and it also puts the thought of home and the arrival of rescue in one sentence. A strong answer says what the timing does for the reader and gives a reason from the chapter.
5. When the pilot arrives, Brian asks if he would like something to eat. What might that tell us about who Brian is now?Theme
What it asks It asks what the last line shows about how Brian meets rescue, and how he has changed since the first plane.
It shows he has become a host of this place: he offers what is his.
My name is Brian Robeson,
Would you like something to eat?
It shows how stunned he is, so he reaches for the nearest ordinary thing.
His tongue seemed to be stuck to the roof of his mouth and his throat didn't work right.
not quite knowing yet that it was over
A strong answer Brian says his name, then offers food, like a host. He is also dazed, with his tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth, and he has not yet understood that it is over. A strong answer says what the last line shows about Brian and gives a reason from the chapter.
1. Brian finds food in the pack and says he will have a feast first. Using two pieces of evidence, explain what he is deciding.
What it asks It asks the student to see what Brian is weighing: being careful with the food, or letting himself celebrate.
He is deciding to put care off for one meal.
If I'm careful, he thought, they'll last as long as... as long as I need them to last.
First I am going to have a feast. Right here and now
He is deciding to be careful after, and promises himself so.
No. Not yet. I won't be careful just yet.
eat until I drop and then I'll be careful
A strong answer Brian sees that the food could last as long as he needs it to if he is careful, and then decides not yet: first a feast, and then he will be careful. A strong answer says what he decides and why, using two moments.
2. Brian carries water to the fire in a pot. Using two pieces of evidence, explain why such a small thing amazes him.
What it asks It asks what a pot lets Brian do that he could not, and what that shows about how much he has done without.
It is something he has not been able to do for almost two months.
Just that amazed him—to be able to carry water to the fire in a pot.
Such a simple act and he hadn't been able to do it for almost two months.
It lets him cook as people do, which changes the food.
put the beef dinner and peach dessert on to boil
Just add water, it said on the packages
A strong answer Carrying water in a pot is something Brian could not do for almost two months, so such a simple act amazes him. It also lets him cook the dinner and mix the drink. A strong answer says why the small thing matters and uses two different moments.
3. The pilot says Brian's search was given up long ago. Using two pieces of evidence, explain how Brian reacts.
What it asks It asks what the chapter shows of Brian's reaction to being found, from his body and from his words.
He is stunned: he cannot move or speak at first.
He had not moved. It had all happened so fast that he hadn't moved.
His tongue seemed to be stuck to the roof of his mouth and his throat didn't work right.
He is steady enough to see how he looks and to speak.
He looked at the pilot, and the plane, and down at himself—dirty and ragged, burned and lean and tough
"My name is Brian Robeson," he said.
A strong answer At first Brian does not move or speak, and his tongue seems stuck to the roof of his mouth. Then he looks at the pilot, the plane and himself, coughs to clear his throat, and says his name. A strong answer says how Brian reacts and uses two different moments.