Top 4 Hatchet quotes

  • He was not the same. The plane passing changed him, the disappointment cut him down and made him new. He was not the same and would never be again like he had been. That was one of the true things, the new things. And the other one was that he would not die, he would not let death in again.”

    - Brian, Chapter 13

    This is a quote from Brian after he has spent nearly two months in the forest. Brian experiences his lowest emotional point in the book when he fails to bring to himself the attention of the search plane. That night, Brian sinks into the depths of grief and tries to kill himself. He is unable to do it, but he wakes the next morning with a resolve to continue. He experiences disgust at his previous self and begins to think of himself as born anew. Brian continues to experience hardships but he never again allows his resolve to be broken.

  • Never. Never in all the food, all the hamburgers, and malts, all the fries or meals at home, never in all the candy or pies or cakes, never in all the roasts or steaks or pizzas, never in all the submarine sandwiches, never never never had he tasted anything as fine as that first bite.”

    - Brian, Chapter 15

    This is a quote from Brian after his first successful hunt of the foodlbirds. Brian burns a lot of the bird in his attempt to cook it, and so it is obvious to the reader that Brian isn't talking about taste when he compares it to all the foods that he mentions. He experiences this bliss in his food because he has struggled so fiercely to find it, and bring it down. Brian feels that first bite is amazing because it forms the conclusion of an extremely long period of learning.

  • Come on, he thought, baring his teeth in the darkness—come on. Is that the best you can do—is that all you can hit me with—a moose and a tornado? Well, he thought, holding his ribs and smiling, then spitting mosquitoes out of his mouth. Well, that won't get the job done. That was the difference now. He had changed, and he was tough. I'm tough where it counts—tough in the head.”

    - Brian, Chapter 16

    These are Brian's thoughts after he has been attacked by a moose and after his shelter has been destroyed by the tornado. No longer does Brian curl up in his shelter and cry in self-pity, he accepts the ways of nature and chooses to focus on surviving and going on. This sequence truly displays the great mental change that has come about in Brian as he has been forced to survive on his own in the natural world.