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Chapter 9

Hatchet

Trailblazers · 4th–6th

Copywork

I have a friend, he thought—I have a friend now. A hungry friend, but a good one. I have a friend named fire.

Read the passage aloud. What does Brian do with the word "friend" each time?

Discussion

Narration Tell the chapter back in order: the failed sparks, the twenty-dollar bill, the birch bark, the spark nest, the fire, and Brian's last thoughts.

1. Brian tears up the twenty-dollar bill, calling it "Worthless paper out here." What does that choice show about how his world has changed?Theme

2. Brian leaves the birches for "a full half-minute" before they "registered." Why might the answer be in front of him so long without his seeing it?Inference

3. Brian thinks of the sparks as starving, "like me." Why might he see himself in them?Character

4. Paulsen ends the chapter with three short thoughts about his father and his mother. Why might he end it there?Author's choice

5. Brian says "I would kill" for a book of matches. What might that show about how he is feeling just then?Tone

Make a Connection Tell about a time you worked a long time on something before it finally worked.

Vocabulary

Crossword
1
2
3
45
6
78
9
Across
  • Across 1. Someone who is on your side.
  • Across 2. Made weak spitting sounds, then stopped.
  • Across 6. Burned slowly with smoke and no flame.
  • Across 9. The back legs, or the hips and thighs.
Down
  • Down 2. Long, thin, small pieces.
  • Down 3. Dry stuff that catches fire easily.
  • Down 4. A channel that carries smoke up and away.
  • Down 5. Pleased and satisfied.
  • Down 7. Easy to set on fire.
  • Down 8. Wanting food badly.
The words in the chapter
  • friend A hungry friend, but a good one.
  • hungry A hungry friend, but a good one.
  • tinder some kind of tinder or kindling
  • sputtered just sputtered and died
  • haunches He settled back on his haunches
  • flammable They seemed flammable, dry and nearly powdery.
  • slivers cutting the bark in thin slivers
  • smoldered grew, smoldered and caused the bark to take on the red glow
  • gratified was gratified to see them take
  • flue an almost perfect drawing flue that carried the smoke up

Critical thinking

1. Brian's first tries at fire fail. Using two pieces of evidence, explain what he learns from them.

2. Brian blows on the sparks twice. Using two pieces of evidence, explain what he learns about blowing.

3. Brian calls the fire "a friend and a guard." Using two pieces of evidence, explain why each word fits.