Hatchet Chapter 13 Summary
At the opening of the chapter Brian is at the end of the long part of
the lake looking for what he calls “foolbirds” for food. He suddenly senses
that he is not alone. When he looks away from the lake he sees a wolf, the
size of which disturbs him. After a moment of watching each other, Brian
realizes that he his accepted by the wolf as part of the woods and he no
longer feels afraid. Brian now realizes that he has changed. The failure of
not being spotted by the plane had made him want to die. He had tried to
hurt himself one night. By the next morning he hated himself for being
weak. He learned two truths: he was not the same, and he would not die.
Walking back along the shore Brian remembers his past failures to make
fire and his first attempts to fish. The bow he made shattered and he had
almost been blinded by the splinters. When he remembered that water
refracts, or bends light, he made his first hit. That day became his first feast
day. He must have eaten twenty fish. By the end of the day he had new
hope; not that he would be rescued. He now had tough hope that he could
learn, survive, and take care of himself. He would not let death in again.