Gary Paulsen's The Hatchet

No book has stuck out to me more from my childhood than The Hatchet. Simply put, Paulsen's work is a masterpiece. I grew up in an urban setting, not knowing much about the wild or islands or survival. Paulsen's work places teenage Brian on an island alone after his bush pilot has a heart attack. When I first read this book I must've been 12. Now, twice that age, this book has an even deeper connection to me. Brian is a boy that never gives up hope, even facing some of the most difficult adversities a person can deal with. He becomes a man throughout the novel. He is a young boy that any reader could look up to. Most people in his situation would be completely hopeless, but Brian knows that he must see his parents again. Adding on to his difficult situation, he holds a secret about his parent's divorce that tears him up emotionally. The Secret, it is revealed, is that his mother cheated on his father. His father doesn't know this and Brian seems to plan on telling his father, although in the end he chooses not to do so. I alluded to many themes present in the text on my website, but I have always wondered why he never told his father.

As he matured on the island, he must've realized how much of an impact the secret would have on his father emotionally. He was bright enough to realize that this could create further disparity between his parents. Interestingly, the Secret was kind of what kept Brian going. He had something to cling to, something that only he knew, and that maybe, just maybe, if he survived it wouldn't be his secret anymore. Whatever the reason Paulsen created the secret for, it was an important part of Brian's coming-of-age. He is no closer at the beginning of the book to telling his father about the affair, but everything else about his has changed. He is far more pensive, thinking about every little thing and scrutinizing every action. He marvels at the mass consumerism around him. It's funny, Paulsen probably didn't write this book to teach young adults about the effects of consumerism on their demographic, but it certainly teaches a lesson that we should not take for granted what we have available to us. Every day I think about this. I am not giving the book full credit for this, but it definitely helped in my formative adolescence. Its interesting to think that I have grocery stores down the block from my house, but then I watch a documentary on other cultures in remote areas of the world and see how some people risk their lives daily to provide family for their food. It is demoralizing, but I have become so desensitized by the media that it hardly affects my emotions at all. However, books like Paulsen's really spread great messages to young adults, and I really believe that this inspiring, thoughtful, moral tale can teach young adults quite a bit about growing up.