Hatchet
Chapter 8 — 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 cries in the dark until he is cried out, and later decides that feeling sorry for yourself did not work. Was the crying a waste, or part of how he learned?
The tension The crying leaves his leg, the dark and his loneliness exactly as they were, yet Brian later counts that hour as where he learned his most important rule.
Today's focus
Notice what Brian does with his fear and his tears in the dark, and what he carries out of the night by morning.
Two core ideas
- Fear fills the dark: Brian meets a real animal, but his mind first meets monsters, and he cannot tell the two apart until he feels the quills.
- A hard night can turn into a new idea: the sparks that flew in the dark come back as a plan when the morning sun hits the hatchet.
The shape at a glance
A smell of rot wakes Brian in the dark. He throws the hatchet at a slithering sound, and a porcupine leaves him with eight quills in his leg. He pulls them out, cries until he is cried out, and sleeps lightly. A dream in which his father tries to speak and Terry points at a fire, and then the morning sun on the hatchet, lead him to strike sparks from the dark stone in his shelter.
A way in
Start in the dark with the smell. Ask what Brian can know and what he can only guess.
Lesson plan
Retell The student tells the chapter back in order: the smell, the porcupine, the quills, the crying, the dream, and the sparks.
Imitate the author After copying the passage, the student writes two sentences in the same pattern: a list of things that have not changed, then what a feeling accomplished.
Debate Take sides on the big question: was Brian's crying a waste, or part of how he learned? Each side must use at least one quote from the chapter.
Purpose Close by asking why Paulsen puts the crying right before the dream and the sparks.
Easier Read the porcupine scene 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 learns by trying, and to add it to a critical-thinking answer.
Discussion
- Before Brian knows it is a porcupine, he thinks of the bear, Bigfoot and fright-movie monsters. What is the dark doing to his thinking?Inference
What it asks It asks why Brian's mind jumps to bears and monsters in the dark, and what the dark takes away from him.
One reading
The dark takes his sight, so his fear fills the gap with the worst things he can imagine.
It was too dark, too hard dark with clouds covering even the small light from the stars, and he could not see.
He thought of the bear, thought of Bigfoot and every monster he had ever seen in every fright movie he had ever watched
Another reading
The signs are real, so he is reading something true, only wrongly.
But the smell was alive, alive and full and in the shelter.
Then he heard the slithering.
Listen for
- Uses the dark and the smell, not only the word fear.
- Notices that Brian cannot yet see what is there.
If stuck
- What can Brian see in the shelter?
- What does he think of first when the smell hits him?
A strong answer With no light and a strong smell of rot, Brian has almost nothing to see, so his mind supplies what it fears most: the bear, Bigfoot, every monster from a fright movie. Yet the chapter also shows real signs, a living smell and a slithering sound near his feet. A strong answer says what the dark takes away and what his mind adds, and notices that his guess about what is in the shelter turns out to be wrong.
- Brian kicks out and throws the hatchet at the sound in the dark. Was that foolish, or just what a frightened person does?Character
What it asks It asks whether to judge Brian's throw as a mistake or as fear taking over, and what a reader should expect of him at that moment.
One reading
It was foolish: he throws away his hatchet at something he cannot see, and it misses.
kicked out and threw the hatchet at the sound
But the hatchet missed, sailed into the wall where it hit the rocks with a shower of sparks
Another reading
It was natural: terror moved him before any thinking could.
terror took him, stopping his breath
a noise coming from his throat
Listen for
- Separates what Brian did from whether it was wise.
- Uses what Brian could and could not know in the dark.
If stuck
- What can Brian see when he throws it?
- What happens to the hatchet?
- What was making the sound?
A strong answer In the dark Brian can hear a slithering and smell something rotten, but he cannot see, so he kicks out and throws the hatchet. It misses and strikes the wall, and what he threw it at was a porcupine that had stumbled in. A strong answer weighs what a frightened person can know against what throwing his hatchet risks, and says which weighs more.
- In the dream, Brian's father and Terry try to tell him something without words. Why might Paulsen send the message that way?Author's choice
What it asks It asks why the author gives Brian's idea to him through a silent dream instead of letting him think of it plainly.
One reading
The dream is Brian's own mind working: he already knows about fire, so the message is his.
I know about fire; I know I need a fire.
Fire. The hatchet was the key to it all.
Another reading
The dream ties the idea to the two people he misses, so it feels like help from outside.
it was so important to understand his father, to know what he was saying
That's what his father and Terry had been trying to tell him.
Listen for
- Says what the dream does for the reader, not only what it shows.
- Notices that Brian cannot understand it until he wakes.
If stuck
- What does Terry keep pointing to?
- When does Brian work out what the dream meant?
A strong answer Brian's father cannot be heard and Terry only points, so the message has to be worked out and cannot simply be told. Brian grows frustrated, saying he knows about fire, and only after waking, when the hatchet flashes like fire in the sun, does he see what the dream meant. A strong answer can say the dream is Brian's own mind at work, or that it ties the idea to the people he misses, and gives a reason for the choice.
- "So fast things change," Brian thinks after the porcupine. What does the night show about how safe he is in the shelter?Theme
What it asks It asks whether the shelter keeps Brian safe or only seems to, and what the night's surprise teaches him about the place.
One reading
The shelter is not safe: it has a doorway, and anything can walk in.
A porcupine had stumbled into his shelter and when he had kicked it the thing had slapped him with its tail of quills.
When he'd gone to sleep he had satisfaction and in just a moment it was all different.
Another reading
The danger was small and accidental: a porcupine stumbled in and left.
A porcupine had stumbled into his shelter
it moved away, slithering and scraping it moved away
Listen for
- Separates what actually happened from what Brian fears might happen.
- Notices how Brian felt just before he slept.
If stuck
- How did Brian feel when he went to sleep?
- What does he say could come next time?
A strong answer Brian went to sleep with satisfaction and woke to a surprise: something walked into the shelter through the open doorway. It was a porcupine that stumbled in and moved away, so the real danger was small. But Brian cannot know that in the dark, and he fears that next time it might be a bear. A strong answer weighs what really happened against what Brian fears might come next.
- Brian thinks "I can't do this" again and again in the dark. What might he mean by it?Character
What it asks It asks what Brian is giving up on when he says he cannot do this: the night, the woods, or something larger.
One reading
He means he cannot survive out here alone, with no fire and no light.
I can't take it this way, alone with no fire and in the dark
and next time it might be something worse, maybe a bear
Another reading
He means he cannot go on feeling this much at once; the pain and fear are too much to carry.
It was all too much, just too much, and he couldn't take it.
Not the way it was.
Listen for
- Uses what Brian says he lacks: fire, light, company.
- Notices the words "too much."
If stuck
- What does Brian say he does not have?
- What does he worry could come next?
A strong answer Brian lists what is wrong in one breath: he is alone, in the dark, without a fire, and next time it might be a bear. So "I can't" may mean he cannot survive like this. It may also mean he cannot bear so much at once, since he calls it all too much. A strong answer says which meaning seems nearer and gives a line for it.
Critical thinking
- Brian pulls the quills from his leg. Using two pieces of evidence, explain how he gets through it.
What it asks It asks the student to follow how Brian forces himself through a painful job, and what that shows about him.
One reading
He gets through by method: breathe, pause, jerk.
He breathed deeply twice, let half of the breath out, and went back to work.
Jerk, pause, jerk—and three more times before he lay back in the darkness, done.
Another reading
He gets through by forcing himself, and it costs him.
It sent pain signals to his brain in tight waves, but he grabbed another, pulled it, then another quill.
The pain had gone from being a pointed injury pain to spreading in a hot smear up his leg and it made him catch his breath.
Listen for
- Two separate pieces of evidence, not one told twice.
- Says what Brian does and what it costs him.
If stuck
- What does Brian do before he pulls each quill?
- What happens to the pain after the first four?
A strong answer Brian does not rush: he holds his breath and jerks, and when four are out he stops, breathes deeply, and goes back to work, jerk, pause, jerk, until he lies back, done. But it costs him, because the pain spreads in a hot smear up his leg and some quills tear as they come out. A strong answer says how he gets through it and backs it with two different moments.
- Brian tests the dark stone with the hatchet. Using two pieces of evidence, explain how he gets from a few weak sparks to flying sparks.
What it asks It asks the student to trace the steps in Brian's testing, and whether he learns by trying or by thinking.
One reading
He learns by trying again, harder each time.
Too gently, and nothing happened. He struck harder, a glancing blow, and two or three weak sparks skipped off the rock and died immediately.
He swung harder, held the hatchet so it would hit a longer, sliding blow, and the black rock exploded in fire.
Another reading
He learns by thinking first: he studies the wall and turns the hatchet to the right side.
Brian went back into the shelter and studied the wall.
Brian turned the head backward so he would strike with the flat rear of the hatchet and hit the black rock gently.
Listen for
- Two separate pieces of evidence, not one told twice.
- Says what Brian changes each time.
If stuck
- What happens when he strikes too gently?
- What does he change about how he holds the hatchet?
A strong answer Brian begins with thought: he studies the wall, finds where the steel nicked the dark stone, and turns the hatchet to strike with the flat rear. Then he learns by trying. Too gently gives nothing, harder gives a few weak sparks, and a longer, sliding blow makes the rock explode in fire. A strong answer says what Brian changes and uses two different moments.
- After the porcupine Brian sleeps lightly. Using two pieces of evidence, explain how the night has changed the way he acts.
What it asks It asks the student to find where Brian is already acting differently, since the chapter says his patterns are changing.
One reading
He is more watchful: even asleep he listens.
already his patterns were changing and the sleep was light, a resting doze more than a deep sleep, with small sounds awakening him twice in the rest of the night
Another reading
He is more practical: he plans for the next animal.
He should keep it in his hand, and make a tool of some kind to help push an animal away.
Make a staff, he thought, or a lance, and save the hatchet.
Listen for
- Compares how Brian sleeps and acts before and after the porcupine.
- Two separate pieces of evidence, not one told twice.
If stuck
- How does Brian sleep after the quills?
- What does he decide to make after he sees the nick in the hatchet?
A strong answer The night changes Brian's habits. His sleep is light, a resting doze, and small sounds wake him twice. In the morning he looks at the nick in the hatchet and decides to keep it in his hand and make a staff or lance to push an animal away. A strong answer says whether he is more watchful, more practical, or both, and uses two different moments.