Hatchet and The Cay
Hatchet
by Gary Paulsen and The Cay by Theodore Taylor are both books based around the
theme of survival. Both have intricate characters and plot. Hatchet is about
Brian Robeson, whose parents are divorced. Brian is going to his father's house
for the summer, so his mother gives him a hatchet before he leaves. He thinks
nothing of it.
While on the small plane, the pilot has a heart attack, and Brian crash
lands the plane into a lake. He must find food and shelter. Over time, he learns
to make fire, a bow and arrow, a spear, a fish pond, and a signal fire. Then, a
big tornado hits and everything is destroyed or strewn everywhere. Brian keeps
on going, and rebuilds everything. He has changed from the whiny city kid he was
when he first arrived there.
When Brian finds
the survival pack from the plane that contains a transmitter, he unknowingly
leaves the transmitter on. Later, a pilot who is nearby hears the signal and
rescues him.
The Cay is about Phillip Enright who is living in Willemstad during World
War II. When German submarines surround the island, people are scared. Phillip
and his mother set sail for Virginia and are torpedoed by a U-boat. While
escaping in a lifeboat, a board hits Phillip on the head knocking him
unconscious. Phillip wakes up and finds himself on a lifeboat with a big,
black man named Timothy, and the cook's cat, Stew. Soon they land on a cay in
Devil's Mouth, a group of islands that is very dangerous to navigate. Timothy
makes a hut out of palm fronds and boards from the lifeboat. He also makes a
signal fire, a guide rope for Phillip, and a rain catchment, while Phillip makes
sleeping mats. A hurricane hits and Timothy dies protecting Phillip from the
fury of the storm with his body. Soon afterward, a ship rescues Phillip.
The theme of both books is
survival, and both characters are struck by natural disasters. The fact that
both characters have to survive makes them both feel alone and helpless, but in
the end it makes them both become tougher and more independent. Each reacts
differently to disasters. Brian kind of has a nervous breakdown that makes him
change and become stronger emotionally and physically. Phillip breaks down as
well, but he does not recover as quickly because he is mourning the loss of
Timothy, the man who taught him to look a black people in a whole new way.
A difference in the books is the boys' ages. This matters because Brian,
in his early teens, has been through more emotionally because of the divorce.
Phillip, at 10, is younger and has never been under very much emotional stress.
Before leaving for Virginia, he was still pretending to be a pirate.
Even though only a few
similarities and differences are listed, there are still many more. Both books
are very interesting reads and both writers bring the best out of each.