Brian is the sole active character throughout the story. Two pilots make brief appearances—one whose demise leaves Brian stranded and another who rescues him—at the beginning and end of the novel. Brian's parents are frequently mentioned but only appear through his memories.

At the novel's outset, Brian is a typical teenager. He is average in both physical and intellectual aspects. His understanding of life comes from school, playing with friends, watching TV, going to movies, reading magazines, and listening to his parents. He is also typical in that his parents are divorced, like many couples in the 1980s and 1990s. The one unique aspect of Brian is his knowledge of the Secret—his awareness of his mother's lover, whom he saw her kiss in a car at the mall.

Despite this, Brian demonstrates remarkable resilience in the wilderness. Bearing the Secret has made him unexpectedly self-reliant. He recalls bits of information from books, TV shows, and games about finding food, building shelter, and understanding animal behavior. These serve as his reference guides for navigating his current situation. He invents new methods for routine tasks like telling time and marking days. He remembers advice and motivational slogans from his parents and teachers: "You are the best asset you have." Although Brian's situation seems insurmountable—being alone, without supplies except for a hatchet, lost in an area where rescuers are unlikely to search, and inexperienced in outdoor survival—he has one key advantage: his ability to observe and learn.

Learning through experience is challenging but is Nature's way of teaching. It sometimes involves suffering, such as when Brian becomes ill after eating too many gut cherries. It also involves understanding small details, like discovering how to start a fire when the hatchet sparks against a rock. Additionally, it requires recognizing clues, such as following birds to a raspberry patch. Learning also means seizing opportunities, even unpleasant ones; Brian forces himself to enter the confined space of the sunken plane to retrieve the survival kit. Modern urban life often separates thought from sensation, but wilderness survival demands their integration. Brian realizes that "so much of all living was patience and thinking."

The hatchet symbolizes this reality. Literally, it is the tool that enables his survival; in Brian's hands, it cuts, carves, pounds, and creates sparks. Psychologically, it represents a connection to his mother. She gave him the hatchet just before he left, as an unspoken token compensating for the pain of the divorce. She gave it with love and as an acknowledgment of Brian's maturity. It is a gift for a man, not a boy. Symbolically, the hatchet embodies the painful strength of the Secret. The harsh realities of adulthood can be painful, but learning to endure them builds the strength to withstand even greater challenges.