Diary of HatchetBy Gary Paulsen

H A T C H E T
By Gary Paulsen

10/01
Brian Robeson, the main character, is a very interesting kid. After the first few pages you could tell that he was strong-minded, twelve or thirteen year old kid. His parents were divorced and he spent some time with his dad. He lived far away so Brian had to take a plane. From the back of the book I knew that he gets in to a plane accident and has to survive on his own. I was surprised that the author went right to the plane wreck. I thought it would have a somewhat boring beginning like most other books I read. Brian keeps talking about how his parents got divorced and he cries every time he thinks about it. He calls it the big "secret." Brian keeps describing visions of his mom kissing some new man, not his father. You can tell that he takes the divorce very seriously and sometimes gets emotional.
10/05
In this part of the book, Jake, the pilot, has a heart attack and dies. To be honest, I, myself, have thought about what I would do if I was on plane and the pilot died. I really don't know what I would do, I don't know how to fly a plane. Luckily, Brian had been taught by Jake how to fly the plane. Brian didn't know how to land so he flew the plane into a lake. This part of the book was hard to believe, there was a lot of "coincidents." Brian showed his intellectual side when he realized that when Jake was suffering from his heart attack he turned the plane to the left. That could greatly increase the time it would take for a search party to find him. I have to admit, so far this is one of the best opening parts I have ever read. No dull pages.
10/08
After Brian crashed he was hurt pretty badly. He ad no energy so he just slept on the shore. I consider him very luckily that he did not blow up or something. After awhile he was extremely hungry. He found a gut cherry bush. He ate so many he threw up. This is another part that seems strange to me, I mean I wouldn't have clue to know how to survive in a deserted place. However, Brian did. He had seen some TV show about how to live in the wilderness. He wove together sticks to make a door for the cave he found. He tried to make a fire but he failed. Brian already got in some trouble with the wildlife, a bear chased him. I am glad that I have never had to go through what Brian is going through. It would seem impossible for me to live in the woods.
10/12
Brian was very cold. He couldn't figure out how to make a fire. There was a small animal in his cave and he through his knife that his mother gave him before he left at it and he hit the wall, it made a shower of sparks. This is where Brian's wit came into play. He put two and two together and used the sparks to make a fire. I am very impressed with the way he is handling the problems he is running into. He is showing me that he is brave. The fire kept him warm and misquotes away. It sounds like to me that Brian is starting to make a home for himself. I wonder if he is going to survive and make it home back to his family.
10/16
I noticed that Brian is starting to have physical and emotional changes. His wounds have healed and his stomach has caved in. He is going to have to get some more food or he is going to die. He made spear to catch fish in the lake. He is trying to make a bow and arrow to catch birds. I think he really misses home now. A plane flew near him and he tried to make a smoke signal but it was to late. This really depressed him. I mean think about it, he has a good chance of dying, he is hungry, basically he is miserable. After the plane didn't see him, he wanted to commit suicide. He cut his wrists, not enough to kill him and then went to sleep. When he woke up, he had dried blood all over him. He hated what he did. I think it made him a stronger person though. It made realize he is going to try his hardest to survive. I don't know how he is going to get home.
10/19
In this part of the book Brian is experiencing animals of the wild. He eats many fish and now can catch birds. To me, everything seems to be going pretty good. Things are starting to work out. He gets in a fight with a big animal. I t hurts him pretty badly. The worst possible thing happens to him. He changes everything. It makes him just want to give up. A huge storm comes over him and ruins everything. He has to start all over again. Everything he made is gone. I think that would be the point where I would give up.
10/21
All he had was his hatchet. I think the hatchet is a symbol of starting over again. That is all he had in the beginning too. Good things come out of bad things though. The storm moved part ofthe plane out of the water. He eventually makes a raft and makes a hole the plane. Inside he finds a survival pack. He eats the food and looks at all the stuff. He plays with a S.O.S. gadget. A plane picks him up and saves him. It is weird to Brian having all the stuff in the survival pack that made life so much easier. There was a gun in it, but I don't think he would of used it over the spear and bow and arrow he made. I think that using the things he made from nature is fair to the animals. It was hard for him, but he eventually learns. A gun would be unfair, it seems so barbarian even though it is modern compared to the spear and bow and arrow. I think Brian s now a man, his life has took a complete U-Turn. I have respect for him even if he is just a character in a book, he is a brave man.