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Chapter 8

Hatchet

Trailblazers · 4th–6th

Copywork

When he sat alone in the darkness and cried and was done, was all done with it, nothing had changed. His leg still hurt, it was still dark, he was still alone and the self-pity had accomplished nothing.

Read the passage aloud. What do you notice about how often the word "still" comes back?

Discussion

Narration Tell the chapter back in order: the smell in the dark, the porcupine, the night of crying, the dream, and the sparks from the hatchet.

1. 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

2. Brian kicks out and throws the hatchet at the sound in the dark. Was that foolish, or just what a frightened person does?Character

3. 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

4. "So fast things change," Brian thinks after the porcupine. What does the night show about how safe he is in the shelter?Theme

5. Brian thinks "I can't do this" again and again in the dark. What might he mean by it?Character

Make a Connection Tell about a time something went wrong at night and looked different in the morning.

Vocabulary

Crossword
123
4
56
7
8
Across
  • Across 1. Got done; achieved.
  • Across 6. Set firmly into something.
  • Across 8. Scurried quickly and lightly.
Down
  • Down 2. Smelling old, damp and stale.
  • Down 3. Feeling sorry for yourself.
  • Down 4. Very carefully, to avoid pain.
  • Down 5. Very strong.
  • Down 7. Rough and scratchy sounding.
The words in the chapter
  • accomplished the self-pity had accomplished nothing
  • self-pity came new waves of self-pity
  • musty some musty rot
  • skittered and skittered on his backside
  • rasping pulled a rasping breath in
  • gingerly His fingers gingerly touched
  • intense made the pain more intense
  • stiffened which had stiffened like wood
  • imbedded imbedded in it were large pieces
Define These Words
  • stiffened: Became hard and hard to bend.

Critical thinking

1. Brian pulls the quills from his leg. Using two pieces of evidence, explain how he gets through it.

2. 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.

3. After the porcupine Brian sleeps lightly. Using two pieces of evidence, explain how the night has changed the way he acts.