I enjoyed Hatchet all the way up until the end. I believe that Paulsen was trying to show how much Brian had truly changed by lessening the importance of the Secret and his parents' split at the end. However, it was very frustrating. The entire book it seems like such a big deal and you are constantly wondering about it and at the end it's like it doesn't even matter anymore. It seemed like he kept talking about it through the book because the Secret was so important, yet it was like it meant nothing when Brian was finally found. The ending overall just seemed very depressing and dark. It seemed to me like Brian struggled and will struggle the rest of his life due to being stranded on his own. It is very realistic, but very sad as well. I like happy endings better! I guess those don't always happen, though. Another part of the book that was very surprising and sad was when Brian sees the pilot again in the plane. No thirteen year old would ever come out of that situation not affected. Even as an adult, I can't imagine seeing fish eating a dead body of someone I once saw living. I would never be the same. Also, the fact that Brian didn't want to leave when the man in the plane had finally found him. That made me sad. He had finally found comfort in such a terrible situation and it was like living on his own and struggling each day had become who he was and easier than facing the real world with human interaction. He truly began to define himself by the amount of fish he caught, how many troubles he could get through, and being alone. It made me sad that he was so hesitant on leaving.
This book ended exactly the way I wanted it to. Brian gets rescued – and before winter! We continue to see Brian’s ingenuity throughout the book – in his makeshift bow and arrow, his rebuilding of his dwelling, and more. We also see how much he has changed since the beginning of the book – he is so much more patient and perseverant when it comes to getting things done. We even see him reminding himself that he is not the old impatient boy anymore. Even after he is rescued, his whole outlook on life has been changed, as evidenced by his continued amazement at how much food there is when he goes to the grocery store. Though I read this when I was a kid, I did not remember anything other than the part where the plane crashes, so many of the events in the book were kind of a surprise. I really enjoyed this book, though, and I would like to go back and read the other books in the series.
I didn't really like the epilogue that much, especially knowing there's a sequel. I can tell that Paulson probably didn't plan on writing a second book. He tried to sum up the rest of Brian's life in the epilogue which i feel like that gets rid of the point of reading a novel, let alone an adventure novel. it's all about showing the reader everything going on, not just telling. and in the epilogue, that is exactly what Paulson did. He told us everything going on for the rest of Brian's life. There's no room for imagination as to what Brian would do. This is probably me on my soap box because i made the same mistakes in my own book. Not showing the reader and simply telling them what's going on is a big turn off for a book to me. I really want to read the rest however. If Paulson would have just left the last chapter where it was and not added the epilogue, i would have loved every word in the book.
After the rescue plane did not find him Brian lost hope and tried to kill himself I loved the way that when he woke up he said he was a new person and that he was not only tough physically but tough mentally. I liked the way the book ended because he got rescued! I did like the epilogue because I got to see that he was alright and that he moved on from that terrible time. I found it interesting that Brian made such a big deal about his mothers affair but in the end he still didn't tell his father about "the secret." I think he didn't tell because he knew that he knew life was too short and that it wouldn't change anything. I think that showed how much he really did change from a boy to a man while he was stranded in the wilderness. Kaitlyn
I think in the end, I better understand why Brian is okay with keeping “the secret” to himself. Before, when his mom was dropping him off at the plane he was going through a lot and I’m sure he felt completely helpless, wanting to do anything to change that. Then he is stranded in the middle of nowhere with essentially nothing but the clothes on his back and a hatchet so he has to rely on himself; he can’t be helpless. In the second half of the book, Brian proves that he is extremely adept and resilient: nothing fazes him. A moose attacks him, a tornado destroys his shelter and all the food he has stored, but he jumps right back the next day, thinking “is that the best you can do?” By the end of the book, Brian has defied many odds and he is capable of so much more than before. “The secret” is also on his mind much less often, and he becomes more aware of the world around him. Surviving alone for 54 days changes Brian. I believe he realizes telling his dad what he knows will not help anything, and the situation is beyond his power. He has accepted this. Yet he knows now that he is not helpless and he can move on a much stronger person than before.
I really liked the ending of the book because you really got to see the transformation from the boy to being man. I was kinda disappointed with the ending of the book though. I didn't like how he went through all of the work to find the survival kit, then he didn't even get to use it. I'm glad that he was saved but they should have put it off a few days so that he could use some real survival tools.He had the opportunity to make a really nice meal for himself that would that awhile and he wouldn't have to struggle anymore. But they found him within minutes of turning on the transmitter. I felt that the author just ended the story. Other than that I really enjoyed the book, the author knew how to keep you entertained and reading.
The ending to this story really pleased me because I half expected for Paulsen to allow Brian to just die without any rescue. I really enjoyed how Brian evolved into a man in some ways and trained his mind and his actions to fight off any negative thoughts and to keep pushing no matter what. In my personal opinion I think I would have been done after the tornado destroyed everything I had worked hard to build but Brian persevered and rebuilt everything. I guess you can see the tornado as blessing because it revealed the plane which cause Brian to be able to retrieve the survival pack. I thoroughly enjoyed this book because it has a great story and as a person I like Brian. I think I will read the other books in this series.
The second half of the book really showed how Brian was an imperfect character. I liked the way he notices when he messes up and learns from it. He began to make lists for himself to keep himself motivated and positive. When the plane passed by I saw a darker side of Brian that I really hadn't seen before. I liked that after he tried to hurt himself he said that he would never be the same and he would not let death in again. After this, Brian said that he was listing his mistakes in his mental journal to tell his father. This really stood out to me because he changed his mentality even more. He built "tough hope"; hope in his knowledge and in himself. I was really disappointed that Paulson just left the secret up in the air and did not go into it more. I do not know why he talked about it so much to leave it so vague.
I enjoyed Hatchet all the way up until the end. I believe that Paulsen was trying to show how much Brian had truly changed by lessening the importance of the Secret and his parents' split at the end. However, it was very frustrating. The entire book it seems like such a big deal and you are constantly wondering about it and at the end it's like it doesn't even matter anymore. It seemed like he kept talking about it through the book because the Secret was so important, yet it was like it meant nothing when Brian was finally found. The ending overall just seemed very depressing and dark. It seemed to me like Brian struggled and will struggle the rest of his life due to being stranded on his own. It is very realistic, but very sad as well. I like happy endings better! I guess those don't always happen, though.
ReplyDeleteAnother part of the book that was very surprising and sad was when Brian sees the pilot again in the plane. No thirteen year old would ever come out of that situation not affected. Even as an adult, I can't imagine seeing fish eating a dead body of someone I once saw living. I would never be the same.
Also, the fact that Brian didn't want to leave when the man in the plane had finally found him. That made me sad. He had finally found comfort in such a terrible situation and it was like living on his own and struggling each day had become who he was and easier than facing the real world with human interaction. He truly began to define himself by the amount of fish he caught, how many troubles he could get through, and being alone. It made me sad that he was so hesitant on leaving.
This book ended exactly the way I wanted it to. Brian gets rescued – and before winter! We continue to see Brian’s ingenuity throughout the book – in his makeshift bow and arrow, his rebuilding of his dwelling, and more. We also see how much he has changed since the beginning of the book – he is so much more patient and perseverant when it comes to getting things done. We even see him reminding himself that he is not the old impatient boy anymore. Even after he is rescued, his whole outlook on life has been changed, as evidenced by his continued amazement at how much food there is when he goes to the grocery store. Though I read this when I was a kid, I did not remember anything other than the part where the plane crashes, so many of the events in the book were kind of a surprise. I really enjoyed this book, though, and I would like to go back and read the other books in the series.
ReplyDelete~Sheridan Weinbrenner
I didn't really like the epilogue that much, especially knowing there's a sequel. I can tell that Paulson probably didn't plan on writing a second book. He tried to sum up the rest of Brian's life in the epilogue which i feel like that gets rid of the point of reading a novel, let alone an adventure novel. it's all about showing the reader everything going on, not just telling. and in the epilogue, that is exactly what Paulson did. He told us everything going on for the rest of Brian's life. There's no room for imagination as to what Brian would do. This is probably me on my soap box because i made the same mistakes in my own book. Not showing the reader and simply telling them what's going on is a big turn off for a book to me. I really want to read the rest however. If Paulson would have just left the last chapter where it was and not added the epilogue, i would have loved every word in the book.
ReplyDeleteJacob Poettker
After the rescue plane did not find him Brian lost hope and tried to kill himself I loved the way that when he woke up he said he was a new person and that he was not only tough physically but tough mentally. I liked the way the book ended because he got rescued! I did like the epilogue because I got to see that he was alright and that he moved on from that terrible time. I found it interesting that Brian made such a big deal about his mothers affair but in the end he still didn't tell his father about "the secret." I think he didn't tell because he knew that he knew life was too short and that it wouldn't change anything. I think that showed how much he really did change from a boy to a man while he was stranded in the wilderness.
ReplyDeleteKaitlyn
I think in the end, I better understand why Brian is okay with keeping “the secret” to himself. Before, when his mom was dropping him off at the plane he was going through a lot and I’m sure he felt completely helpless, wanting to do anything to change that. Then he is stranded in the middle of nowhere with essentially nothing but the clothes on his back and a hatchet so he has to rely on himself; he can’t be helpless. In the second half of the book, Brian proves that he is extremely adept and resilient: nothing fazes him. A moose attacks him, a tornado destroys his shelter and all the food he has stored, but he jumps right back the next day, thinking “is that the best you can do?” By the end of the book, Brian has defied many odds and he is capable of so much more than before. “The secret” is also on his mind much less often, and he becomes more aware of the world around him.
ReplyDeleteSurviving alone for 54 days changes Brian. I believe he realizes telling his dad what he knows will not help anything, and the situation is beyond his power. He has accepted this. Yet he knows now that he is not helpless and he can move on a much stronger person than before.
Marianna Mercer
I really liked the ending of the book because you really got to see the transformation from the boy to being man. I was kinda disappointed with the ending of the book though. I didn't like how he went through all of the work to find the survival kit, then he didn't even get to use it. I'm glad that he was saved but they should have put it off a few days so that he could use some real survival tools.He had the opportunity to make a really nice meal for himself that would that awhile and he wouldn't have to struggle anymore. But they found him within minutes of turning on the transmitter. I felt that the author just ended the story. Other than that I really enjoyed the book, the author knew how to keep you entertained and reading.
ReplyDeleteThe ending to this story really pleased me because I half expected for Paulsen to allow Brian to just die without any rescue. I really enjoyed how Brian evolved into a man in some ways and trained his mind and his actions to fight off any negative thoughts and to keep pushing no matter what. In my personal opinion I think I would have been done after the tornado destroyed everything I had worked hard to build but Brian persevered and rebuilt everything. I guess you can see the tornado as blessing because it revealed the plane which cause Brian to be able to retrieve the survival pack. I thoroughly enjoyed this book because it has a great story and as a person I like Brian. I think I will read the other books in this series.
ReplyDeleteThe second half of the book really showed how Brian was an imperfect character. I liked the way he notices when he messes up and learns from it. He began to make lists for himself to keep himself motivated and positive. When the plane passed by I saw a darker side of Brian that I really hadn't seen before. I liked that after he tried to hurt himself he said that he would never be the same and he would not let death in again. After this, Brian said that he was listing his mistakes in his mental journal to tell his father. This really stood out to me because he changed his mentality even more. He built "tough hope"; hope in his knowledge and in himself.
ReplyDeleteI was really disappointed that Paulson just left the secret up in the air and did not go into it more. I do not know why he talked about it so much to leave it so vague.