Hatchet Group at eNotes

By chapter 19, Brian is unknowingly coming to the end of his journey. ...

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 20:34:24 PST

By chapter 19, Brian is unknowingly coming to the end of his journey. Following a terrible storm Brian realizes the plane has been lifted partially out of the water, and the tail section is above the waterline. After working on his shelter, trying to gather wood and supplies, which were scattered along the beach, he makes a plan to get into the plane. He is going to get the survival pack. When he finally gets to the tail section he...

Brian is stranded in the wilderness. He is alone, scared, no supplies...

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 21:22:00 PST

Brian is stranded in the wilderness. He is alone, scared, no supplies except for his hatchet that his mother gave him. The pilot died in flight and the plane crashes in the lake. Brian has every right to feel sorry for himself, but he realizes that self-pity won't feed him, keep him warm, or get him out of the situation he is in. He tries to stay focused on what needs to be done and he problem solves by thinking things through. If he...

What do you think Brian means when he tells himself that self-pity...

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 21:06:40 PST

What do you think Brian means when he tells himself that self-pity dosen't work?

He can't help it. Because he knew something about the cause of his...

Fri, 29 May 2009 19:50:02 PST

He can't help it. Because he knew something about the cause of his parents divorce, he feels as if he should have been able to make things right. One side of him knows that, as a child, he really couldn't fix things, but that doesn't make him stop thinking about it. It is also a diversion--most of his mental energy has to be on surviving, but when he does have some time to think, that is what is going to pop into his head. After all, if his...

In "Hatchet", Why does Brian continue to think about the secret?

Fri, 29 May 2009 19:20:02 PST

In "Hatchet", Why does Brian continue to think about the secret?

Like any child his age, Brian is very hurt by his parent's decision to...

Wed, 27 May 2009 05:34:02 PST

Like any child his age, Brian is very hurt by his parent's decision to divorce and is having a difficult time coping. When the story opens, Brian is on his way to visit his father in Canada. Brian realizes that this is the first of many school vacations and holidays that he will spend being shuffled back and forth between his parents. Brian's struggle is compounded by his knowledge of his mother's infidelity. One day while out playing with a...

What was still troubling Brian about his parents' divorce in "Hatchet"?

Tue, 26 May 2009 19:52:53 PST

What was still troubling Brian about his parents' divorce in "Hatchet"?

Throughout the novel , Brian is haunted by the memory of his mother's...

Wed, 20 May 2009 06:08:09 PST

Throughout the novel , Brian is haunted by the memory of his mother's "secret". The secret that continues to invade Brian's memory is the affair that his mother had while still married to his father. Readers are never given the specifics of this affair, but we do know that this is probably the reason Brian's parents are now divorced. It is possible that the reason the affair has affected Brian so much is because he was witness to it. Brian...

What memory kept haunting Brian in "Hatchet"?

Tue, 19 May 2009 18:22:16 PST

What memory kept haunting Brian in "Hatchet"?

Is anyone interested in an interactive board game as a learning aid for...

Mon, 11 May 2009 19:52:12 PST

Is anyone interested in an interactive board game as a learning aid for Gary Paulsen's book Hatchet?

brain fails to signal the search plane because his fire on his rock went...

Mon, 4 May 2009 15:52:08 PST

brain fails to signal the search plane because his fire on his rock went out

In chapter 19 and the Epilogue, what does Brian get from the plane?

Mon, 4 May 2009 15:48:49 PST

In chapter 19 and the Epilogue, what does Brian get from the plane?

A Guide for Using Hatchet in the Classroom

The most important rule of survival Brian learned in Chapter 8 was that...

Mon, 13 Apr 2009 22:02:09 PST

The most important rule of survival Brian learned in Chapter 8 was that "feeling sorry for yourself didn't work..It wasn't just that it was wrong to do, or that it was considered incorrect. It was more than that - it didn't work". Brian has a couple of difficult experiences in his first few days alone. He gorges himself on gut berries, and becomes violently sick, and he panics when he finds a porcupine in his shelter and is slapped...

What was the important rule of survival Brian learned in either Chapter...

Mon, 13 Apr 2009 21:39:07 PST

What was the important rule of survival Brian learned in either Chapter 7 or 8 of Hatchet?

Chapter 5 Brian wakes up and is surprised by his unquenchable hunger and...

Mon, 23 Mar 2009 15:36:58 PST

Chapter 5 Brian wakes up and is surprised by his unquenchable hunger and thirst. He drinks water from the lake and realizes that he is surrounded by vast wilderness, but hopes that he will be rescued on that very day. Brian remembers his English teacher who taught lessons about the power of positive thinking, and takes that advice to the fullest. Brian notices the difference between the silence of the wilderness and the loud sounds of...

What are Chapters 5 and 6 about in Hatchet?

Mon, 23 Mar 2009 13:52:28 PST

What are Chapters 5 and 6 about in Hatchet?

Although Brian had figured out how to make fire by the time the search...

Tue, 17 Feb 2009 17:33:05 PST

Although Brian had figured out how to make fire by the time the search plane flew by (after seeing sparks in the dark when the hatchet struck the shelter wall), he did not have the signal fire ready. When he first heard the sound of the plane, the fire was not big enough. He tried to generate enough smoke to be seen, but the plane flew on by. Brian realized that there was not likely to be another, as he was so far off the original course of...

Why does Brian fail to signal the search plane?

Tue, 17 Feb 2009 15:30:42 PST

Why does Brian fail to signal the search plane?

Brian’s parents have recently divorced. Under the court order, Brian...

Sat, 14 Feb 2009 17:36:07 PST

Brian’s parents have recently divorced. Under the court order, Brian spends the school year with his mother and the summers with his Dad. His father is in Canada, and Brian is bringing him some special equipment to assist with his work in oil drilling. Brian’s father doesn’t understand why Brian’s mother wanted a divorce, and he is opposed to it. Brian carries the uncomfortable burden of knowing that his mother is having an affair....