Hatchet Study Guide:​
Each group will need to answer the following sentences on a separate sheet of paper and share
them with the class by typing them out on the classroom google doc.
Group 1:
Chapters 1-2
1.
Why is Brian flying north to Canada? What feelings do we see Brian trying to deal with?
a. Brian is flying North to Canada to go and see his dad because his mom and dad are divorced. His dad
works at an oil mine. Brian is dealing with the feeling at having to go to see his dad and he can’t see his
mom and dad at the sametime.
2. What are the two main examples of foreshadowing in chapter 1?
a. Foreshadowing-is when the pilot rubbing his chest and he said “my chest is moving apart”.It
foreshadowed the heart attack.
b. Foreshadowing- is when Brian was the only passenger on the plane and it foreshadowed it will crash
and he will have to fly the plane.
Chapter 3-4
3. Describe the crash in your own words. Use good describing words to paint the picture of the crash. Where did
he land?
a. Brian was in the plane and felt like his chest is going to pop out, The plane is going down he looked
around to find a lake but he didn’t find are he kept cursing. He was going down like a rocket fire to
wrong way. He felt as if he had a heart attack while the pilot. the found a lake shaped little and L and
he tried to land in it he landed and he couldn’t breathe and the he broke the window with his hatchet
his mom gave him andand get out got to the store and fell asleep.
4. What annoying and painful creature was Brian not prepared for?
a. Brian was not prepared for the mosquitoes when he got up a lot of mosquitoes and bugs were biting
him and his face was swollen like tomatoes after two bites.
Group 2:
Chapter 5-6
5. After finding shelter Brian needs to find food. What did he do? What is the first type of food he eats?
a. When he had to find food, he began thinking back to how he and his friend Terry found berries in the
woods. The first food that Brian ate was berries. He four pounds of berries.
6. Brian starts thinking about fire. Please describe his thoughts about a fire.
a. While Brian was trying to fight off the porcupine, he threw his ax against the cave walls and sparks
emerged. He began thinking that it was time to make a fire.
Chapters 7-8
7. Who did Brian dream about that night? What were they trying to tell him?
a. Brian dreamt about his dad and friend (Terry). They were trying to tell him to make a fire.
8. What are the types of tools that Brian has to reinvent?
a. Brian has to reinvent bow and arrow and a spear.
Group 3
Chapters 9-11
9. Instead of feeling sorry for himself, Brian tries to stay active. He begins by trying to light a fire. Explain the
process he went through and the materials he uses. Name three ways how he used the fire.
a.
When Brian started making a fire, he failed many times. First he tried it out with dried grass, $20,
small twigs, and combined them as well. He uses the fire for keeping warm, cooking, keeping bugs away,
and making signals to be found by another plane.
10. Brian hears a plane for the first time since he has been stranded. How does he react after he missed the
plane? What does he try to do? Describe what he does and tell me how he has changed.
a. For the first time since the plane crash, brian was excited. He began yelling and shouting and made
signals. The plane passed by and Brian went into a deep depression. He tried to commit suicide with his
hatchet, but realized that he needs to keep trying and to keep going. Ever since then, Brian began
changing his perspective on life.
Chapters 14-15
11. Brian realizes he’s made mistakes so far in trying to deal with nature. He’s already been stung by a porcupine
and he’s seen a bear (who didn’t bother him because he was eating berries). Now what happens to him and his
precious turtle eggs? Why does Brian take four baths that day?
a. Brian finds a skunk eating his eggs in his shelter. He tried to get them back, but he was sprayed
instead. He was blinded by the spray and went to the lake for four hours to get rid of the smell.
12. Living in the wild has taught Brian how to see, smell, and hear in a different way than he had in the city. He
also learned many things from nature and changed in many ways. Explain what this statement means to Brian:
“So much of all living was patience and thinking.”
a. This statement means that Brian had to be patient, calm, and relaxed. For example, when he was
making a fire, he was yelling and was frustrated. After a while he learned patience. So he learned how
to be patient in the wild.
Group 4:
Chapters 16-17
13. Describe two disasters that happened in the same day. What was a result of the one of those disasters that
was helpful to Brian?
a. Two disasters that happened in the same day were a moose attacking Brian and a tornado. The tornado
helped Brian because it made the plane that crashed float on top of the lake which made Brian focus
on retrieving the survival pack.
14. After the tornado Brian felt like he had nothing, but there was a difference to how he reacted. What was the
difference?
a. In the beginning of the story if something bad happens he wanted to commit suicide but now after
the tornado hit Brian was patient and kept going on with the day. He knew he could fight the wild and
win.
15. Why does Brian build a raft? What is he trying to find and why?
a. Brian built a raft to get to the plane in the lake. He was trying to find the survival pack because he
wanted to make his life in the woods easier. (matches, food, sleeping bag, fish pole, etc.)
Group 5
Chapters 18-Epilogue
16. What accidently happened while Brian was trying to get the survival pack? Why is it so important to him?
a. Brian accidently dropped his hatchet deep in the water. It is important to him because the hatchet
was the one thing that was constantly help him to survive and he couldn’t let it go. With all his effort
and energy, he got it back. It was the last thing his mom gave him before he left.
17. How did Brian get into the plane?
a. Brian gets into the plane by using the hatchet and peeling off bits of aluminum at a time, large enough
to get in.
18. When Brian finally drags the pack to shore he goes through its contents. Why doesn’t Brian like the rifle or
lighter?
a. Brian doesn’t like the rifle or lighter because he​
feels that they are not natural and he would not have
​
learned how to understand and make a fire if he had the lighter. He would have never understood the
birds/animals if he had a rifle.
19. Brian is finally rescued after 54 days alone in the forest. How do you think Brian has changed as a character?
Be specific and cite examples from the text.
a. Brian has changed as a character in many ways. For example, when Brian first came to the woods he
was impatient and associated with himself with family and the outside world. Later he matured and
didn’t depend on those things anymore and learned how to be patient, positive, and content on his own.
Group 6:
Additional Questions:
20. What was the theme of this book?
a. Brian initiates himself to adulthood while living in the wilderness. Observation, patience, organization,
and survival were all main keys to surviving in the wilderness. This also hints to transitioning to
adulthood.
b. The power of being positive. When things got tough, brian always tried to occupy himself and stay
positive. He would remember his teacher, who taught him how to be positive.
21. What was the type of conflict presented in the story? Provide specific examples and details from the story.
a. The type of conflict was external which is person vs nature situation. Brian would face animals,
nature, weather, finding food, finding shelter.
b. Internal conflict: Man vs. Self: trying to be positive. For example, he constantly reminds himself to be
strong like after the tornado. He was able to pick up and rebuild without feeling sorry for himself.
Define these words:
a. Onomatopoeia:​
words that mean like they sound.
b. Simile: comparison of two unlike things using like or as.
c. Metaphor: Comparison of two unlike things that does not use like or as.
d. Personification: human qualities to non-human things.
e. Hyperbole: ​
figure of speech that uses exaggeration.
f. Imagery: ​
mental picture created by words that appeal to the five senses.