In the book Hatchet by Gary Paulsen, the main character Brian Robeson is a thirteen-year-old boy from Hampton, New York. Brian’s parents just got a divorce. Brian is on his way to visit his father in Canada when the pilot has a heart attack.
Brian manages to crash the plane in a lake in the Canadian wilderness in the middle of nowhere. Brian is average height and weight for his grade, maybe a little bit husky and a bit shy. Brian is very smart and able to get himself out of problems by thinking with his head. He is very resourceful and strong. Brian is lost without food or shelter for fifty days and that experience changed him for the rest of his life.
He made the best of his conditions and learned many things about the wild and he had great respect for it. Brian felt that if it were not for the wild he would not have survived. Throughout the whole time, Brian never lost hope. Had he not been rescued before winter his survival would have been slim and he knew that. But he never lost hope of being rescued.
The whole time he remained strong and his ability to react quickly helped him in many ways. I read this book in sixth grade and I still remember everything about it. The entire time I read the book I was constantly amazed at Brian’s ability to come through in tough situations. He never thought that he would not be rescued. He felt that sooner or later he would get home.
I love his strong will and positiveness. Instead of looking back at what happened and being mad, he realizes how much it taught him.
