Character Analysis On Hatchet

Hatchet Essay

The scent of the damp earth and its fallen leaves fill the air. Water trickles through the rocks in the stream. Wind whistles through the tall pines in the air and there was no sign of human life. It has been almost 4 months since Brian Robeson, age 13, crashed a bush plane into a lake, but a lot has changed since then. Brian has emerged from his experience, a humble, and competent individual that has much respect for nature after being stranded for many lonely days. Over the course of the story, Brian’s character changed from a whiny, incompetent boy to a determined and competent young man. When Brian first crashes the plane in the lake he is fearful. Fearful that no one will find him. Fearful that when they find him it will be too late. Fearful that The Secret his mother was hiding in the shadows would come into the light. His father would be crushed. He was all alone in the wilderness and scared to death of the situation at hand. No one to hold his hand and tell him it was all right. No comforting light from the street lights back home to show him the way. He had lost all hope. All hope of being saved or even surviving. Nothing, Brian had nothing… but the hatchet.

For example, in the book Brian tries to catch fish, but perceives that he can only catch fish if they are in the shallows and it is possible that the fish could move back into the deep water and he would not be able to get food. So instead of giving up, Brian gets an idea, an easy idea to catch the meat he has been stalking for a while. Fish. He was going to build a corral to lure them in and trap them there for easy, accessable meat. Brian was starting to accomplish tasks that would allow him to work on his main goal, getting