Hatchet And Lord Of The Flies Comparative Essay

The structure of Hatchet follows the most common structure of young adult novel. Brian experience a separation, an initiation, and a return all within this one book. Brian’s separation begins when he is on the plane with the pilot, thinking about his parents’ divorce and ‘the Secret.’ It is when the pilot dies and the plane crashes that Brian’s initiation begins. The initiation portion is majority of the story then finally, Brian is rescued, denoting his return. Instead of just ending with Brian’s rescue, Gary Paulsen also gives an epilogue, explaining what happened to Brian after the rescue. Being stuck in the wilderness after being in a plane crash helps naturally set of this structure. By being in the plane crash, Brian is forcibly separated from his family and society. Brian is then …show more content…
Due to the survival aspect, Lord of the Flies by William Golding could be a good companion piece. Both Hatchet and Lord of the Flies both discuss the difference between wilderness and civilization. They both also discuss how quickly humans will quickly change when separated from society and those changes will last even after the event. With Lord of the Flies, how the boys solve problems and how they learned to survive could be compared to the way Brian learned. Another book that could be a good companion would be My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George. This story is very good because this is a story also about a boy who leaves the city to go live in the wilderness. Both protagonists learn how to survive in the wilderness, although in My Side of the Mountain, the main character is not completely isolated and he voluntarily chose to live in the wilderness. Both books also addresses an issue with family for the protagonists, and them having to work through it.With My Side of the Mountain, the topic of man versus nature could be discussed, along with the theme of city versus