Hatchet

Brian’s experience of nature is limited before he crashes into the lake. He is a self-described city boy, and it takes him quite a while to acclimate to living in the wilderness. He must learn to distinguish between foreign sights, sounds, and smells to survive. He must learn to think like an animal to protect himself. When he achieves this change in perspective, he states, “I am not the same […] I see, I hear differently” (100). He finds that all creatures are similarly motivated. They each have simple desires—to find food, water, and shelter. Once he understands the similarities between himself and the animals of the forest, Brian finds a peaceful clarity about his position in the ecosystem: “Brian knew the wolf for what it was—another part of the woods, another part of all of it […] he knew the wolf now, as the wolf knew him” (115).

Brian also learns to differentiate blind fear from keen awareness. This transformation is most apparent after Brian’s attempted suicide. After succumbing to isolation and hopelessness, Brian wakes to realize he failed to kill himself. This moment represents a rebirth: Hating “what he had done to himself when he was the old Brian and was weak,” Brian resolves to never “let death in again” (117). This new Brian redoubles his efforts to live off the wilderness, mastering the bow and arrow and achieving other victories, like hunting for meals and designing a fishpond. Brian learns that the wilderness is often more supportive of his life than not, and the longer he survives, the deeper his connection to and appreciation for nature becomes.

By the time of his rescue, Brian has acclimated to the woods. He identifies with the hatchet, recognizing that without this man-made tool, “he was nothing. The hatchet was, had been him” (162). However, he also identifies with the natural world—he “knew the wolf” (115) and “was the water” (113). His parents, friends, teachers, and urban experiences help him survive, but his assimilation into the wilderness allows him to thrive. This is why retrieving the survival pack, full of other man-made tools like a rifle, a lighter, and a fishing pole with lures and hooks, provokes conflicted emotions. Brian is ecstatic to have these convenient tools, but he recognizes that their presence causes an immediate disconnection from nature. If he had begun this journey with all these tools, they would have kept him apart from nature, and he would have never learned as much or become as attuned to it. The author reinforces this idea in the Epilogue when he implies that Brian’s powers of perception and appreciation for nature are permanent positive changes.