Hatchet Style

Hatchet Style

Point of View

Hatchet is told in third person, but everything is seen through Brian's eyes. He is challenged physically, mentally, and emotionally on a daily basis and finds ways to rise up and succeed.

Nature, nurture, and survival in the wild are all viewed from only his perspective. Brian's way of life and living are drastically changed and challenged when he is forced to rely only on himself for basic necessities. He learns quickly that what he thought was a difficult challenge, being the child of divorced parents, was nothing in compared to keeping himself alive. Paulsen uses flashback and dreams to introduce other characters. Even Brian's mother - a pivotal character in terms of how she helps to keep him alive - is seen only in flashback.

In Hatchet, Paulsen continually pulls readers down a path of "what-if," daring them to wonder what they would do in a similar situation. Divorce...
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