Discussion Topic

Brian's Dreams and Memories in Hatchet

Summary:

In Hatchet, Brian's dreams and memories reveal his inner turmoil and contribute significantly to the plot. His dreams, especially about his parents' divorce and "the Secret" of his mother's affair, highlight his emotional struggles and guilt. These dreams also symbolize his initial self-absorption and disconnection from nature, which changes as he learns to survive in the wilderness. Gary Paulsen uses these elements to contrast Brian's past life with his current challenges, enriching the narrative and deepening the reader's empathy for Brian.

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How does Brian's dream in chapter 8 of Hatchet contribute to the plot?

In chapter 8 of Hatchet, Brian has a number of disturbing dreams. In the first dream, his father is trying to communicate something to him yet is unable to do so. Brian tries desperately to hear what his father's trying to say, but he can't. Eventually, his old man vanishes in a fog.

In the next dream, Brian sees his friend Terry sitting on a park bench looking at a barbecue pit for what seems like an eternity. After a while, Terry puts some charcoal on the barbecue pit, pours some starter fluid on it, and manages to get a good fire going. He then looks at Brian and smiles, pointing at the fire as if to say, “See, a fire!”

Terry points a couple more times at the fire, making Brian feel ever more frustrated that he himself is unable to get a fire going.

Both of these...

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dreams are vital to the plot as they show that Brian, despite being stuck in the wilderness, is still focused on himself and his troubles rather than the natural world around him.

In due course, Brian will communicate and engage more deeply with the environment, developing in the process a connection with nature. But for now, he's preoccupied with himself and his problems, the problems he left behind at home and the problems he has to deal with out in the wilderness.

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What do Brian's dreams and memories reveal about him in Hatchet by Gary Paulsen?

From Brian’s dreams and memories, we learn he is overwhelmed with guilt about his mother’s affair.

Brian does not fully understand what is happening to his family. It is difficult to comprehend why his mother would have an affair. He just knows it is a secret and it is tearing him apart. The secret is so traumatic to him that, despite being stranded in the wilderness, he keeps dwelling on it. 

No, not secrets so much as just the Secret. What he knew and had not told anybody, what he knew about his mother that had caused the divorce, what he knew, what he knew — the Secret (Chapter 1). 

Brian often dreams of his mother and the Secret. He saw his mother kissing a blond man who was not his father. It is because of this that his parents are getting divorced. He does not tell them what he knows. 

Brian has vivid, recurring flashbacks of these memories. He was at the mall on his bike with his friend Terry. He saw his mother and a strange man in a car. 

Brian remembered everything in incredible detail. Remembered the time on the bank clock in the mall, flashing 3:31, then the temperature, 82, and the date. All the numbers were part of the memory, all of his life was part of the memory (Chapter 4). 

Although Brian has important things about which to worry, such as how to keep himself alive, he keeps coming back to this memory. Brian feels guilt for having seen it, and for not telling anyone he saw it. When he left his mother, he was not even really able to talk to her. She gave him the hatchet, he got on the plane, and that was it. The entire incident was very awkward for both of them.

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How does Brian's dream contribute to the plot of Hatchet?

Brian often dreams of the secret, and it is because of the secret that he was headed to Canada.

As with many kids, the divorce of Brian’s parents hit him hard psychologically.  He was young enough not to understand everything, but old enough to be troubled by the details he knew.  The hardest thing for Brian was the fact that he knew the Secret.

No, not secrets so much as just the Secret. What he knew and had not told anybody, what he knew about his mother that had caused the divorce, what he knew, what he knew—the Secret. (Ch. 1) 

To Brian, divorce is an ugly word.  He seems to blame his mother for the divorce, and when he gets into the little plane to go see his father, he is almost in a daze.  He is having a hard time trusting her because of the divorce.  To Brian, his mother having an affair was a betrayal to him and his father. 

Brian has seen his mother kissing the “man with short blond hair.”  He does not know how to tell his mother this.  The vision and the Secret haunt him. 

And there were the words again. Divorce. Split. The Secret. How could he tell her what he knew? So he had remained silent, shook his head and continued to stare unseeing at the countryside, and his mother had gone back to driving only to speak to him one more time when they were close to Hampton (Ch. 1). 

Brian later has another dream where he sees his father and a friend, and he feels like they are trying to tell him something.  He gets frustrated, but feels like he needs a fire.  He decides to use the hatchet to create a fire.  After that, Brian dreams of food a lot.  It makes sense when you are starving!

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Why does the author recall Brian's dreams and memories in Hatchet?

By recalling Brian's dreams and memories in Hatchet, Gary Paulsen is able to contrast Brian's current circumstances with his previous life.

Rather than simply telling the reader how different Brian's life in the woods is to his life before the plane crash, Paulsen (the author) can show the reader just how different it really is. This builds a richness of understanding and empathy for Brian. This technique also creates a more dynamic and exciting narrative for the reader.

Overall, the technique of recalling dreams and memories gives readers a deeper understanding of Brian as a whole individual. Readers also gain a truer understanding of exactly how frightening Brian's current challenges must be for him, since his current circumstances are so different from his pre-crash life.

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