Hatchet: Themes and Characters

Hatchet There are many themes to the book of Hatchet that help the reader understand better what the moral of this story is. These themes are Man Versus Nature, The Power of Positive Thinking, Initiation into Manhood, and lastly Contrast between Urban and Wildlife. Thought this story Brian undergoes many challenges that he has to deal with and overcome, in order to survive in the wilderness. Each of these themes give examples of the challenges that Brian undergoes and how he deals with each of these challenge’s. The first theme of this book is Man versus Nature, where Brian faces many obstacles in the wilderness. He has many encounter’s with wild animals his first encounter was with a bear where Brian stiffens with fear but then realizes that the bear doesn’t intend to harm him. Brian also has an encounter with a porcupine, while sleeping, the porcupine strikes Brian with hundreds of quills leaving him in severe pain. Another animal encounter that Brian faces is when a skunk gets near the eggs that Brian has stored, the skunk sprays Brian in the face leaving him blind for nearly two hours. The last animal encounter that Brian deals with is when he is face to face with a moose. The moose attacks him throwing him into the water, tossing him around injuring Brains ribs and shoulder. In this theme not only does Brian face’s challenges with wild life animals but also challenges with the weather. While sleeping in the middle of the nigh a tornado demolishes Brains shelter leaving him in the open with everything that he had built completely destroyed. The second theme of this story is The Power of Positive thinking. In this theme Brian realizes that having a positive attitude towards the situation he is dealt with, is his best option in ordered to survive in the wilderness. Brian recalls the words of his English teacher Mr. Perpich where he encourages his student to think positively and to motivate themselves, “You are all you have.” This helps Brian overcome some