1. Gary Paulsen

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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 books

5. Paulsen’s Books: Brian Robeson novels
Newbery Honor Book

6. 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.

7. 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.”