Hatchet Symbolism

Hatchet Hatchet is about a boy named Brian who gets stuck on a deserted island after a plane crash. Brian has to learn how to survive with very minimal supplies, food, and no fresh water. Throughout the story, the reader can identify many different elements of symbolism. These symbolic elements represent how Brian has changed throughout the course of the story. Throughout the entire story, Brian is constantly with a hatchet, hence the title. Besides the fact that the hatchet helps him survive, it represents Brian’s hope. Brian is alone on the island. He had almost nothing except for the hatchet. The tool was his hope of survival. The reader can infer this when the author states, “But there is a difference now, he thought—there really is a difference. I might be hit but I'm not done. When the light comes I'll start to rebuild. I still have the hatchet and that's all I had in the first place” (Paulsen 57). This quote shows that Brian’s hope lies in the hatchet and only with the hatchet. …show more content…
The wolf does not get much time in the book but it plays a major role in symbolism. The wolf represents Brian’s newfound connection with the wilderness. At the beginning, Brian hated the island. After he saw the wolf, it was almost as if he connected with it. The reader can infer this when the author states, “Brian looked back and for a moment felt afraid because the wolf was so... so right. He knew Brian, knew him and owned him and chose not to do anything to him. But the fear moved then, moved away, and Brian knew the wolf for what it was— another part of the woods, another part of all of it. Brian relaxed the tension on the spear in his hand, settled the bow in his other hand from where it had started to come up. He knew the wolf now, as the wolf knew him, and he nodded to it, nodded and smiled” (Paulsen 45). This shows how the wolf symbolizes Brian’s connection with the