Book Report: Hatchet

Brian Robeson, on his way to visit his dad in Canada, catches the pilot suffering from a heart attack, and thus, crashing in the woods with little to no resources to survive. This story mainly takes place in the Canadian wilderness where Brian has to fend for himself. This affects the plot because Brian has no experience in the wilderness and will come across many wild animals and dangers which he has to overcome.

The inciting incident of this story is when Brian’s plane crashes in the wilderness and he is forced to find a way to survive. Because of this, Brian had to get used to the wilderness which includes killing wild animals, starting a fire, and getting food. Also, he had to think twice before every move he made because the wilderness was dangerous. This led to the climax because when a tornado occurred, it dislodged the plane from the bottom of the lake, and from this, Brian was able to make it into the tail of the plane where all the upgraded tools, weapons, and aid kits lay. The main events connect to the overarching problem because all of Brian’s moves have been to help him survive, and the conflict of this story is mainly if Brian can withstand the wilderness. For example, one of the main events showed how Brian was making a bow and arrow. This would help him survive in the wilderness because it would be easier for him to kill wild animals for food. The main problem is solved when Brian gets used to living in the wilderness with his upgraded weapons and his smarter mind because now Brian doesn’t struggle to survive like he used to. The story ends when a drone lands near Brian’s campsite and the pilot comes out to introduce himself. He states that he heard Brian on the transmitter and they eat and talk together.

Brian Robeson is thirteen years old and was visiting his dad, but his plane crashed in the Canadian woods. From this, Brian learnt many values such as bravery and productivity. Brian had shown many acts of bravery throughout the story. For example, when Brian witnessed the pilot suffer from a heart attack, he showed bravery by taking control of the plane and landing it in a lake. If Brian had not done this, he might have possibly died. Brian had done many productive things as well. When Brian realized he would encounter many wild animals, he decided to make a bow and arrow and a spear to help him kill them. In this, he was successful because he killed many fool birds, and got bird meat which was something different from his usual berries. As the story progressed, Brian changed. He developed his mind and knowledge and now knew his way around the wilderness. He had become more independent and innate to the wilderness. I have learnt many things from Brian’s choices such as, that if I want to achieve anything, I need to be productive to get it. Brian was productive while trying to get the fish and even made an enclosure to trap the fish. As a reward, Brian got to eat many fish.

A major life-enhancing theme in this story is perseverance. An example of perseverance from this story was when Brian thought all hope was lost and even tried to kill himself with his hatchet. But when he realized he was still alive the next morning, he persevered and continued with his life, except now he was more motivated than ever. He knew it was hard surviving in the wilderness all by himself, but he had come such a long way and didn’t want to stop now. And when he persevered, everything seemed to go better because he was motivated. I can apply this theme to my own life because when I am ever feeling down, I shouldn’t just give up because I know there is still a lot in front of me and I can still succeed.

In this book, my favorite part was when Brian got the kit from the tail of the plane because I felt that after coming this far, Brian really deserved the goods that were in there and it was right for him to treat himself to a feast. My least favorite part in this book was when Brian got attacked by the moose because Brian got hit twice and was in much pain after. He has encountered many animals, but the moose was the worst of them all. Overall, Hatchet was a great story and I would definitely recommend it to a friend. The book teaches a valuable theme that would benefit many people when they see the upside of perseverance. Also, it teaches people some skills to use when you don’t have any resources around you like Brian. I would love to see people learn from this story!