Hatchet — Chapter 20

About This Passage

Paulsen ends the novel by telling us which changes in Brian are permanent — the careful watching, the slow thinking, the wonder at food. For trailblazers, this passage is the book's quiet answer to the question 'was it worth it?' Brian did not just survive — he became a different and better kind of person, and the changes never wore off.

Narration Prompt

Retell the epilogue as Paulsen arranges it: the pilot was a fur buyer drawn by the transmitter Brian 'unwittingly' left on; Brian had been alone for 54 days and lost 17 percent of his body weight; many changes proved to be permanent — better observation, slower thinking; food never lost its wonder and Brian stopped in grocery stores for years; Brian researched the real names of the animals and plants; Brian had dreams about the lake that were not frightening; had he faced fall or winter it would have been much worse; his parents almost got back together for a week but then did not; Brian tried to tell his father the Secret but never said a word.

Discussion Questions

1. Paulsen tells us the pilot was drawn by Brian 'unwittingly' turning on the emergency transmitter. What does 'unwittingly' mean here, and how does knowing that Brian was saved by something he did by accident — not on purpose — change the meaning of the rescue? How do you know Brian's survival was real even though the rescue was partly luck?
2. The book says 'many of the changes would prove to be permanent' — better watching, slower thinking, wonder at food. What in the story shows that these are gifts from the lake, not just things Brian would have learned at school? How can you tell Paulsen wants us to see the 54 days as a gift and not only as a hard time?

+ 3 more questions in the complete study guide

Paulsen tells us in the epilogue that Brian's rescue happened because he 'unwittingly' left the emergency transmitter on. What does this mean about Brian's own part in his rescue? Is a rescue less real when it is partly an accident?