Brian's Hunt

“He had gone hungry so long when he had first come to the bush…. Food had been everything and the thought of wasting any of it went against every instinct in his body.”

Brian’s gratitude towards food demonstrates both his Respect for Nature and the ways which he has undergone Personal Growth Through Experience. Brian reveres the basic necessities of life, demonstrating a connection that contrasts against the easy convenience of modern day living.

“South was cities, people, and he was fast coming to think that people, and what people did with their lives, with their world, were not good, were in most cases ugly and wrong. That was south. Ugly and wrong. And north was country to see, natural country that man had not yet ruined.”

Paulsen juxtaposes north and south, society and wilderness, ugliness and beauty. This juxtaposition draws a stark divide between Brian’s life and what he views as society. Paulsen posits that humanity has “ruined” the world, equating society with unsustainable practices and inauthentic living. This juxtaposition directly places society and wilderness at odds. The contrasts of this passage places people like Brian and the Cree trappers outside of society and in a more harmonious relationship with the world. This passage stresses the Value of Simplicity. 

“He had a great thirst to understand, to know things as he’d known them in the bush, to know.”

The emphasis on “know” suggests a distinction between Brian’s school book learning and genuine knowledge. Brian came to see the value of knowledge after his survival experience two years ago, and it changed his perspective on education. This passage provides a major way in which Brian has changed because of his experiences in nature. 

“He’d wanted to see if there was some way he could make the two worlds work together, but he could not; their world was ugly to him and was filled with awful tastes and smells and people who all wanted what he thought were the wrong things; wanted just that, things, and money, and the right cars and the right girls and the right clothes.”

Brian provides some specific examples of the aspects of society that he views as vain: Money and status. Paulsen invites readers to question their own pursuits to see whether they are worthwhile. He also creates a contrast between the beauty of nature and the ugly side of society, suggesting that nature, when free from human influence, is pure.

“He had learned long ago that to hurry is to lose. Patience was the key, the absolutely most important part of hunting anything, from fish to moose. You needed to take the time required.”

Brian’s view of time contrasts with western culture’s mindset regarding time. For Brian patience and slowness are the keys to success in the wilderness. For most people today, speed, efficiency, and hustle are equated with success. Through Brian’s hunting tactics, Paulsen offers an alternate perspective on time distinctly different from modern day society’s understanding of time.

“He lay down to rest, listening to the evening cry of loons calling to each other across the mirrored water. A perfect day among many perfect days and the last thought he had before slipping into sleep was that he was in exactly the right spot at exactly the right time in his life. Perfect.”

Paulsen uses vivid imagery to highlight the beauty and peace of nature and Brian’s enjoyment of it. His repetition of the word “perfect,” however, suggests that things will likely not remain perfect for long. This quote closes Chapter 3, and at the beginning of Chapter 4, the conflict begins with the inciting incident of the noise on the shore, which Brian learns is coming from a dog. Paulsen uses the over-emphasis on perfection to build a sense of foreboding that trouble is coming.

“Here, now, every odd sound or color or line or smell meant something. He had watched wolves hunting once and they would trot or walk along and stop every few feet and look and smell and listen and they checked everything out. Everything. Any little rustle in the grass, any soft whisper of sound, every scent.”

Brian learns through observation. He watches and listens to animals to learn their survival methods and tendencies, and he collects his own bank of knowledge and techniques based on what he observes. This shows that Brian has a humble attitude; He doesn’t see himself as superior to nature, but instead recognizes that he can learn from it.

“This was all very strange, and strange things in the bush often deserved more study. The dog was here, she greeted Brian as a friend, but why? Why a dog? What was it here? Was there more to it, more people here, something possibly not good waiting for him on the bank?”

The use of rhetorical questions provides the feeling that Paulsen is revealing Brian’s thought process to the reader through free and indirect discourse. The questions also show Brian’s careful attention to detail and desire to fully understand the situation before choosing his course of action. Brian demonstrates his caution and intelligence; He knows from experience that when something is out of place, it deserves attention and consideration. He demonstrates maturity in wanting to understand the logic behind the situation.

“Later, much later, he would remember talking to the dog that first night as if she were a person and would not think it odd, never thought it odd. He talked to all animals, deer, birds, wolves, sometimes even fish. But only the dog seemed to understand, seemed to know what he meant.”

Because of the time Brian spent in nature, he has built a connection to the environment, including the animals. However, he realizes that his bond with the dog is closer and more meaningful than with other animals. Paulsen shows that some animals, like dogs, are more suited to human companionship than others. He also uses the dog to show that nature can provide fulfillment and companionship.

But more to the point, the scream—and this was probably why it had evolved—alerted all animals within a quarter mile that a predator was hunting and that was the end of hunting, for two reasons. One, all the small animals went into hiding and the deer left the area. Two, the scream brought other predators that were curious about the kill.”

Paulsen often provides asides such as this to explain interesting facts about animals. He weaves these educational portions seamlessly into the narrative, maintaining Brian’s point of view to suggest that this knowledge is coming from Brian. This information about the rabbit’s scream also shows Brian’s frustration at needing two shots to kill the rabbit. He not only wants to quickly and cleanly kill his prey, but also wants to keep a low profile among the animals in the woods.

“He skinned the rabbit and stretched the skin high in a tree to dry. The hide was thin and fragile and very far from prime and would not wear well, but he had in mind trying to make some lures with the hair and tiny hooks he had brought to see if he could use a willow as a pole and fly-fish some of the streams between the lakes for trout.” 

Paulsen often incorporates step-by-step details of the processes Brian uses for tasks such as hunting, fishing, and processing animals. Through these descriptions, Paulsen provides a look at the many steps involved in reaching a result such as making a meal. Brian must spend hours preparing before eating. Brian’s process to acquire food deeply contrasts against the modern convenience of grocery stores and restaurants, which are part of the “ugliness” of the modern world to Brian.

“But he would need more food now than he did for just himself, and for that reason, he thought, he felt a sense of urgency that he had not felt before. A need to go, to move. But there was no real reason for it. And yet it was there, the odd feeling, the odd push in his mind.”

Paulsen draws attention to Brian’s instincts through the situation with the dog. Even though Brian does not fully understand why he feels the need to go north, he knows from experience that trusting his instincts in the woods is valuable. Paulsen also uses Brian’s feeling of unsettledness to create tension and suspense.

“Clearly, Brian thought, the dog had been in canoes before—as she would have done if she had been a Cree camp dog.”

This quote is an example of Paulsen’s use of foreshadowing. By this point, Brian already considered the possibility that the dog came from a Cree camp. The dog’s comfort in the canoe supports his hunch and foreshadows Brian’s later discovery that the dog escaped from the Smallhorns’ camp during the bear attack. Paulsen uses many of Brian’s guesses about the dog and her injuries as foreshadowing.

“The Cree family had thought him strange at first because he still used a bow while they had 30-30 rifles. But then they had seen him shoot and seen how much a part of the kill he became, with the bow and arrows he had made for himself, not with these modern laminates and truly straight shafts, and they had thought him like the Old Ones, the ones who knew the Old Ways, and had respected him for it.”

Brian is talented with his bow and arrows, and his choice for traditional weapons makes him unique, even among fellow outdoorsmen. Paulsen shows that Brian is traditional, preferring simplicity to modern convenience. This supports the theme of The Value of Simplicity and shows how intentional Brian is with his hunting practices. The emphasis placed on “Old Ones” through capitalization implies the purity of Brian’s connection to nature through his use of handmade tools.

“Thank you, Brian thought, thank you again, and still he stood and still the other deer did not run although the bigger buck came over and smelled the young one as it lay dead.”

Brian expresses gratitude to every animal that he kills. He understands how precious food is because he went without it for long periods during his first wilderness survival experience in Hatchet. Brian learned not to take food for granted and understands that for him to survive, another living thing must die. He does not take this understanding lightly, evidenced by the gratitude motif.

“It was all new, the bond, and he wondered how he could have lived his whole life and never had this, never had this closeness with another species, with a dog. It had been a great loss. He decided he would never be without a dog again. In some way, the dog filled a hole in his life, filled a loneliness he hadn’t even known existed, and he wondered if it had always been the same for men.”

This quote introduces the companionship motif, demonstrating the basic human need for companionship that Brian discovers. Brian realizes that the friendship of the dog enriches his life in significant and unexpected ways. Surviving out in the wilderness by himself is not enough; Brian also needs a companion to enrich his life. 

“North. Where he thought the dog had come from—something pulled him north. And now there was a distinct urgency he still could not understand except that it had something to do with the dog and the wound and the fact that he was sure a bear had done it and there was no reason for the dog to leave its camp simply because a bear had hurt it…Unless.”

Paulsen uses a combination of short, one-word sentences and long run-ons to mimic the pace of Brian’s thoughts. As Brian mulls over his instinct to go north, his thoughts run in a stream-of-consciousness-like pattern before stopping on the word “Unless.” Paulsen’s deliberate choices in diction and syntax in this quote convey Brian’s uncertainty and unsettledness, which in turn create tension in the narrative.

“All right, he thought. All right. They left some meat here and something broke into the cabin and got at it and let the flies in and...and…and…It was all wrong. So wrong. He had never felt anything so powerfully wrong in his life and everything in him wanted to run, get away from this place, but knew he had to go on, to go in the cabin....”

Brian’s thoughts reveal his growing sense of panic as he approaches the cabin, creating a mood of foreboding. Paulsen’s diction shows Brian’s initial attempt to remain calm and how it gradually gives way to dread. The use of repetition and pauses mimics the realistic flow of human thoughts during intense situations.

“God, he was playing with Susan. She was working the canoe along the shore, trying to get away from the bear and get back to camp from the other side, and the bear was playing with her, teasing her, jumping toward her whenever she came too close to shore.”

As Brian studies the sign on the island, he pieces together what happened during the bear attack. His realization that the bird taunted Susan as she tried to return to the island makes it clear that this bear is exceptionally cruel. Paulsen shows that nature is not always beautiful and peaceful. It can be harsh and merciless.

“Brian stared at him, started to say that they had tracks, they knew the bear by his sign, they could find him, but he held his tongue. It wasn’t the same for everybody, the bush. They had planes and guns and radios and GPS but in some ways they had no knowledge because they had all the gadgets; they missed the small things because they saw too big.”

Paulsen shows that Brian’s traditional, simple way of connecting with nature is superior to methods of outdoorsmanship that involve modern technology. He suggests that modern equipment such as GPS is not effective for truly knowing and understanding nature. Brian can easily track and find the bear because he is connected to nature.

“Susan came out of the cabin with a canvas bag full of her things and they hugged and she saw what he was thinking, what he had to do, because she whispered in his ear, ‘You must be careful. He is not like other bears. He is a devil muckwa, a devil bear. Be careful....”

Susan uses the Cree word for bear in her warning to Brian. Her words show that this bear is not typical, but it is exceptionally cruel. This assertion helps show the unpredictable and wild side of nature. The cruelty of the bear shows that nature deserves both caution and respect, and helps Paulsen draw a contrast between the nature of the dog and the nature of the bear.

“It was the bear. The Bear. And it was following him, tracking him. Hunting him. Hunting him. And for just that second, that long, long second, Brian went from predator to prey, felt a coldness on his neck, felt as a deer must feel when the wolves pick up its scent, as a rabbit must feel when the fox starts its run…cold, no breath, everything stopped. No thinking. Just that long second of something even more than fear, something very old, very primitive. The bear was hunting him.”

Paulsen creates a dramatic moment when Brian realizes the bear is hunting him; for all of Brian’s expertise and connectedness with nature, he is not exempt from becoming the bear’s prey. Paulsen’s use of diction, such as the capital letters on “The Bear,” use of italics for emphasis, and a mixture of short and long sentences, help emphasize the drama of Brian’s realization.

“The bear snapped at his chest, at the arrow, broke it off, and Brian tried to get away in that instant but the bear wasn’t done and grabbed him by a leg, pulled him back, and as he slid over the ground he came across another arrow and he grabbed it and turned and jammed it up into the middle of the bear and it still wasn’t enough and the bear cuffed him, slammed him alongside the head, and he went down and the last thing he saw was an enormous wall of fur coming over him and he thought, All right, this is how it ends.”

Paulsen highlights the climactic moment of the bear’s attack on Brian with specific, moment-by-moment detail. He uses long, run-on sentences to capture the chaotic feeling of the attack. The events roll into one another as they occur, which Paulsen conveys through his use of commas and conjunctions to link clauses.