Gary Paulsen

Biography: Early Life Born May 17, 1939 in Minneapolis, MN His father, a major in the U.S. Army, stationed in Europe during WWII His mother, like a single parent Closeness with his grandmother Met father at age 7 in Philippines

Biography: Early Life Witnessed a plane crash and shark attack Bonded with his first dog, Snowball Struggled in school Introduced to reading through a public librarian Became a risk taker

Biography: Mid-Life to Later Life Entered Army for three years Worked in aerospace industry Worked as Hollywood editor and screen writer Married three times Became an alcoholic and then went sober Lived in many places: Ranch in New Mexico, onboard a sailboat, in Minnesota, in Alaska Trained and raced in Iditarod Became prolific writer-wrote over 200 books

Paulsen’s Books: Brian Robeson novels Newbery Honor Book

Literary Analysis of Hatchet Genre: Fiction, Realism, Survival Story Plot Development: Conflict develops early in text Suspense Flashback Characters: Methods of development Author shows what character thinks and how he acts Style: Author sometimes uses incomplete sentences Theme: Nature deserves respect, but people can find ways to coexist peacefully with nature. Survival situations help one develop self-confidence.

Paulsen’s connections to his books “Personally, I have never found the line that separates reckless from adventurous. Of course, I have never really looked that hard for it.”