Hatchet
Chapters 3 and 4
Note: Please remember to do the following:
o Answer each question thoroughly
o Respond to all of the questions (some have two or
more)
o Reference the text and add quotations when appropriate
o Please type your answers or write them on a separate
sheet of paper
o Check for spelling errors (I will deduct one point for
each spelling mistake)
o Please don’t use the following pronouns: I, me, my,
you, your, yours, etc.
CHAPTER THREE
1. The following quote is an example of personification:
“The plane went into a glide, a very fast glide that ate
altitude…” (25). There are many examples of personification
in this novel. Why do you think Paulsen does this?
2. Authors use the dash, (—), for the following: to show a
sudden break in a sentence, to emphasize a word, or to show
that someone’s speech or thoughts are being interrupted.
How does Paulsen use the dash in the following excerpt?
“Brian looked out to the side and saw a small pond and at
the edge of the pond some large animal—he thought a moose—
standing out in the water” (26).
3. How is he able to land safely? Do you think this is
realistic?
4. At the end of Chapter 3, when the plane crashes, Paulsen
uses animal imagery to describe Brian: “clawed up into the
blue,” “screamed tight animal screams,” and “he saw nothing
but sensed blue” (28). Why does he do this?
5. Speculate on the type of injury Brian sustains in the
crash. The narrator says, “A color came that he had never
seen before…” (30).
6. Paulsen often repeats words and phrases. For instance,
the narrator states, “If he had to turn – if he had to turn
he didn’t think he could keep the plane flying” (26). Why
do you think he does this? In other words, what effect is
he trying to achieve?
CHAPTER FOUR
7. In Chapter four, Brian has another flashback in the form
of a dream. Briefly identify the two new characters
introduced in this chapter.
8. Describe Brian’s injuries. How does he know nothing is
broken?
9. At first Brian thinks the lake is quiet, unlike the city
noises of home. What does he hear that changes his mind?
10. Describe how Brian feels about the wild life around
him. The beaver? The mosquitoes? The fish? The birds?