Brave & Faithful

Hatchet is an inspiring survival story written by Gary Paulsen. It is about a boy, Brain Robeson, who had a plane crash on his way to visit his father. He was trapped all alone in the Canadian forest with only a hatchet and some allowance given by his mom. In the beginning he felt frustrated, being hopeless and helpless, but soon he made up his mind to survive. At the beginning, he built himself a lean-to shelter against the cliff so he could have a place to rest in safety. Next, he set up a fire which can bring brightness and expelled parasites. The fire can also serve as a signal when aircrafts flew by. After several days trapped in the wildness, he made bows and arrows to hunt for fish, birds and rabbits. Before he had been rescued, he was hit by the tornado which destroyed almost everything he had, he built a raft to get to the plane to take the bag with supplies in it. He had lived for fifty-four days by himself until another plane found his existence.

Among the whole story, my favorite is the part when he just went through a plane crash. After the plane crash, he was attacked by pests and suffered from hunger. Despite the tough situation he had come across, he showed his persistence and resolved to keep himself alive in such a perilous wilderness. Similarly, when I am at a competition with the odds against me, I face it with a positive attitude and fight to the last moment. Just like Brain, I never give up in face of something that is out of my control.

I think the positive attitude is the reason why Brain could stay alive and made through it. A positive attitude can give him hope and perseverance with which he conquered the obstacles he encountered, never to abandon himself to despair. According to the book, The Secret, what people think is what their future will be like. It teaches that people have the power to bring out what they think and the dream will be realized soon. Because of that, having a positive attitude may bring good luck to you just as it did to Brian.

Moreover, when Brian was thrown into a panic, he stayed calm and listed out what he had and what to do. The what-to-do list which made him do things that were favorable obliging Brain to enrich himself. To me, I will consider the list a well-planned schedule when I’m overwhelmed by essays and activities from school work or extracurricular clubs. This way, I can ensure how many things I should do and make an arrangement of time distribution.

Frankly speaking, scouting skills are vital for his survival. If Brain hadn’t learned those scouting skills, he would have been dead in the wilderness. Without the scouting skills, he wouldn’t be able to single out edible berries for food. He might get a sitotoxism from poisonous berries or plants. He might not be able to set up a fire without matches because he didn’t know what the elements to set up a fire are. To sum up, knowing scouting skills stands an essential factor in his survival. That is the knowledge that I’m going to absorb.

Hatchet contains a lot of methods to survive in the wild and the mentality I should have while facing obstacles. Stay positive in whatever situations. I assured you that this book will do goods to you if you have a plane crash. Who knows, anything can happen.