User:Bo ericson/sandbox

Coming of age
Hatchet can be classified as a coming of age novel. Brian undergoes much change over the course of the novel, as his character grows and develops while the story progresses. These changes are made apparent to the reader, as a heavy emphasis is placed on the changes Brian undergoes, and they are even referred to directly by the author throughout the novel.

Change in demeanor
One such example of this occurs when Brian encounters a wolf in the wild for the first time. He is not frightened, but instead regards the beauty of the animal, and it is stated that, "He was not the same now-the Brian that stood and watched the wolves move away and nodded to them was completely changed". The notion that Brian has transformed into a new individual is even more clear when he reflects on the amount of time he has been in the wilderness. The author writes that Brian thinks to himself, "Forty-two days, he thought, since he had died and been born as the new Brian". It is stated how a few days after the plane crash, Brian had become so discouraged and felt so hopeless that he wanted to die. He managed to survive however, and after becoming more experienced in the woods, he grew comfortable with living on his own in nature.

One particularly difficult struggle Brian endures which contributes largely to his coming of age is one that is strangely mature compared to the rest of the novel’s content. It is not dwelled upon, but mentioned almost casually in passing. It is stated that Brian almost gave in to despair early on during his time in the wild. His outlook was so bleak that he wanted his life to be over, and it is described how he cut himself with the hatchet. It is later stated that Brian hated himself when he awoke the next day and saw the dried blood on his arms. This depicts the hatchet as an important symbol in the novel, since this tool proves to be the key to his survival, but it almost establishes the opposite outcome.

It is expressed frankly how Brian has gone through many changes during his time spent in the wilderness. It is written that Brian even thinks to himself, “I am not the same”. It is then explained how Brian views things in a way that is different than he ever had before. It is demonstrated that he both sees and hears things differently, and stated, “None of that used to be in Brian and now it was a part of him, a changed part of him, a grown part of him, and the two things, his mind and his body, had come together”.

Becoming self-sufficient
When his plane first crashes into the lake, Brian has very little knowledge about wilderness survival. He initially survives based on instinct, and also on some blurry memories of information he viewed on television. As time passes, he begins to adapt more efficiently to his surroundings and teaches himself how to successfully live off the land.

Perhaps the most essential part of Brian’s survival is his discovery of how to successfully make fire. In a moment of distress, he throws the hatchet at a porcupine, and it hits a rock wall which results in a shower of sparks. He does not even recognize the significance of this at first, but after having a dream containing his father he begins to put it all together, and he realizes that the hatchet is the key to creating a fire. He then utilizes the sparks the hatchet can make along with various materials for kindling to meticulously produce a fire.

Brian realizes that there is other equipment he needs in order to survive. The first tool that he is able to come up with in his mind is a spear. He constructs a spear and intends to use it to hunt for fish and small animals.

Brian soon realizes that the spear he has fashioned is not adequate enough to yield the amount of food that he requires. He realizes that he must “invent” a bow and arrow and this of course at first seems impossible to him. He tested the limberness of multiple trees until he settled on the appropriate type of wood to use. The first bow that he created exploded in his hand when he first tested it, sending shrapnel into his face, but he persisted in redesigning it until it worked.

Although he successfully created a bow and arrow, Brian still had trouble with shooting fast moving targets. He created the bow with the intention to shoot fish in the lake, but every time he released an arrow, he would miss and he could not understand why. Finally Brian remembered that he had learned about the principle of refraction in class, and understood that the fish were not actually where they seemed to be, and that he had to aim below them. Once Brian grasped this concept, he was able to successfully hunt for fish.

Loneliness
On the back cover of the 1999 revised cover edition, the word ALONE is printed in large font along the top edge.

Brian feels alone before he even gets lost in the wilderness. Before he leaves on the plane, he is angry with his mother and cannot connect with her, although he also feels bad about choosing not to speak to her. When the pilot passes out and Brian is left on his own, the author repeats the word over and over: alone.

Loneliness is what propels Brian into the furthest reaches of despair. He becomes hopeful one day when he hears a plane flying overhead, but it continues on without noticing him. In this moment he realizes how alone he is, and this feeling supersedes all that he has accomplished, including the tools he has made, food he has harvested, and shelter he constructed.

Divorce
The catalyst for the plot of the novel is the separation that has occurred between Brian’s parents. The reason for his traveling by bush plane is that he is going to visit his father in Canada. Divorce is the first thing Brian is shown thinking about as he looks out the window of the plane, and the author uses here his technique of repeating a single word repeatedly, or using it to punctuate a passage. The words “divorce” and “secret” are the ones that are repeated. The secret is repeatedly referred to in the first few chapters of the book, but it is not made explicit what is actually is until later on, after the plane has already crashed. It is revealed that Brian caught his mother parked in a car, kissing another man and cheating on his father. Throughout the novel, Brian copes with this terrible memory and the stress of the separation of his parents.