t’s safe to say that being alone and afraid in an unknown location is no one’s ideal situation. However, in Gary Paulsen’s novel, Hatchet, that is exactly what happens to thirteen year old Brian Robeson when the plane he is flying in crashes due to the pilot’s sudden heart attack. Brian is isolated and stranded in the Canadian wilderness with nothing but a hatchet and himself. However, despite his limited resources, Brian manages to survive, and he is rescued after a grueling fifty four days. After carefully reflecting upon Brian’s situation and my own traits and attributes, I unfortunately believe, unlike Brian, I would not be able to survive this scenario and make it to see day fifty four.
The first reason why I believe I would not be…show more content… Throughout the novel, there are several moments when Brian utilizes prior knowledge that he has gained in life, particularly school and science class, in order to survive. One moment when this knowledge proves useful is when he attempts to catch fish with a spear and is successful after he remembers a fact he learned in biology. On page 118 through 119 the text states, “...he had forgotten that water refracts, bends light. He had learned that somewhere, in some class, maybe it was biology....” When I was in school, I did poorly in science, and it was a subject that just did not capture my interest. I certainly would not be able to recall specific facts that would be useful to my survival. I am a right brained person who leans strongly towards the creative side, and I believe my lack of left brain qualities would be harmful out in the wild. I do not think that my brain would have ever been able to crack the secrets or really the science of the water. In the end, I would have no fish, which was a major source of Brian’s diet. Truthfully, I would more than likely end up dying of hunger before I made it to day fifty four due to my lack of scientific knowledge.
When examining all the facts and truly considering who I am as a person, I stand by my belief that I would not survive out in the Canadian Wilderness like Brian because of certain qualities
