Hatchet — Chapter 12

About This Passage

This passage is the hinge of chapter twelve — the exact second Brian's hope of rescue collapses. Paulsen compresses the physical frenzy (Brian scrambled up like a cat, blew on the flame) and the devastating reversal (the sound moved away, abruptly) into back-to-back sentences. Brian shields his eyes not merely because of sun-glare but because he is still trying to hold the plane in existence by sheer will — 'tried to make the plane become real in his eyes.' Paulsen's phrasing is crucial: he does not write 'tried to see the plane' but 'tried to make the plane become real,' which registers Brian's awareness that the plane is already ceasing to be real for him.

Narration Prompt

Retell chapter twelve in 8-10 sentences. Begin with Brian's failure to catch fish with his carefully-crafted spear — the fish were simply too fast, and his body 'telegraphed' every motion before he thrust. Move through Brian's recognition that he must 'invent' the bow and arrow, his eating of one turtle egg, his walk up the lake to find springy wood for a bow, and his near-encounter with the grouse that flushes 'like a feathered bomb' from under his foot. Narrate Brian's discovery of the right bow-wood, his careful chopping, and the persistent whine of the airplane engine that he does not recognize until it is inside his head. Follow his frantic run to camp with 'legs liquid springs,' his scramble up the ridge to the signal-fire, his bonfire 'as high as his head,' and his whispered plea 'Look back.' Close with the plane's departure, Brian's tears 'cutting through the smoke and ash on his face,' and his shattering realization that survival without hope is not possible for him.

Discussion Questions

1. Paulsen writes that Brian's fish spear 'had become more than just a tool' — that Brian had 'spent hours and hours on it' through the night. What is Paulsen claiming about the relationship between labor invested in an object and the object's meaning to the one who made it? How does this claim change the stakes of the spear's failure?
2. Brian's 'invention' of the bow and arrow is placed in quotation marks by Paulsen — an ironic punctuation that signals Brian is not inventing but reinventing. Yet Paulsen then claims 'maybe it was always that way, discoveries happened because they needed to happen.' Critique Paulsen's theory of invention-by-necessity. Does this theory explain all invention, most invention, or only the inventions that matter for survival?

+ 3 more questions in the complete study guide

Paulsen's claim that Brian's spear 'had become more than just a tool' is not casual — it is load-bearing for the chapter's emotional architecture. Examine what the spear had become if not only a tool. Candidates include: a symbol of Brian's competence, a proof of his ability to plan and execute, a deposit of faith in his own survival. Argue which reading best explains Brian's swift move to the bow-and-arrow plan — was Brian replacing a failed tool, or repairing a damaged self-image?