Pilot Character Analysis in Hatchet

The pilot is an unnamed man in his mid-forties who flies Brian in a small plane to see his father in Northern Canada. The pilot is brusque but kind, making little conversation with Brian but encouraging him to enjoy the flight and even to try his hand at controlling the plane. Brian notices that the pilot is so engaged in flying that he seems to be an actual part of the plane rather than a separate being. The pilot suffers a fatal heart attack midflight, leaving Brian alone to land the plane and survive in the wilderness. The memory of the pilot’s death and the knowledge that his body remains in the lake haunts Brian throughout the book, sometimes frightening him and sometimes inspiring him to remain strong on his own.

Pilot Quotes in Hatchet

The Hatchet quotes below are all either spoken by Pilot or refer to Pilot. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

“Help! Somebody help me! I’m in this plane and don't know… don’t know… don’t know…” And he started crying with the screams, crying and slamming his hands against the wheel of the plane, causing it to jerk down, then back up. But again, he heard nothing but the sound of his own sobs in the microphone, his own screams mocking him, coming back into his ears.

Related Characters: Brian Robeson (speaker), Pilot

Page Number and Citation: 18

Explanation and Analysis:

After the pilot’s death, Brian desperately tries to call for help on the plane’s radio, not realizing that he needs to release the microphone switch in order to hear any response. He loses control of his emotions again, giving in easily to panic, in contrast to the way that he will learn to respond to challenges calmly later in the book. He terror in this moment even causes him to change the course of the plane, highlighting how little control he has. However, Brian is ultimately brought back to his senses by the sound of his own voice, which reminds Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occ

Luck, he thought. I have luck, I had good luck there. But he knew that was wrong. If he had had good luck his parents wouldn’t have divorced because of the Secret and he wouldn’t have been flying with a pilot who had a heart attack and he wouldn’t be here where he had to have good luck to keep from being destroyed.

Related Characters: Brian Robeson, Pilot, Brian’s Father, Brian’s Mother

Page Number and Citation: 37

Explanation and Analysis:

Looking at the rocky ridge and thinking about how narrowly he missed hitting it during the crash, Brian at first thinks that he is lucky to have survived. Then, however, he changes his definition of the word “luck,” rethinking the situation to decide that he is not lucky after all. With this train of thought, Brian essentially uses language to remove an asset—in this case, luck—that he might otherwise have had. Brian will revisit this method of shaping reality with language multiple times throughout the book, and this particular instance stands in contrast with the more positive interpretations that he Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. V

Pilot Character Timeline in Hatchet

The timeline below shows where the character Pilot appears in Hatchet. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...window into a blurry green wilderness. The only other person is the plane is the pilot, a quiet middle-aged man. The two do not talk over the roar of the plane’s... (full context)

...that he refers to internally as the “Secret.” Brian begins to cry, hoping that the pilot won’t notice. (full context)

Brian looks over at the pilot and notices how attuned he is to the plane, almost as if he is an... (full context)

The pilot turns his attention back to flying, and Brian is again alone with his painful memories... (full context)

...after all, but notices that the smell in the plane is getting worse, and the pilot looks increasingly unwell. Still distracted, Brian remembers driving to the airport outside New York City... (full context)

Brian realizes that the pilot’s pain is getting worse. The pilot tries to talk, but is in too much pain... (full context)

Brian remains frozen for a minute, reliving what he saw and wishing desperately for the pilot to wake up. He decides that he has to help the pilot, but finds that... (full context)

Brian takes the headset from the pilot, even though he is horrified to touch his body, and uses the microphone to call... (full context)

...will run out of fuel if he does not land soon. He also remembers the pilot knocking into the controls and understands that the plane is no longer on its original... (full context)

...or has other serious injuries. Brian is grateful to be alive and then remembers the pilot’s death again, thinking of his body submerged in the lake. (full context)

...and the insect bites, Brian looks over his surroundings, trying not to think about the pilot sunken in the lake. He is overwhelmed by the green of everything around him, seeing... (full context)

...ignore a nagging realization about his time in the plane. Slowly, he remembers that the pilot had knocked the plane off course and is forced to admit to himself that the... (full context)

...He realizes that the object is the tail of the submerged plane. Thinking of the pilot sunken in the water, he walks along the shore to the plane and focuses his... (full context)

...of the openings are underwater and is unsure how to proceed. He thinks of the pilot’s body still sitting in the cockpit, but feels unable to give up his chance at... (full context)

...and grabs the cloth bag. Eyes open, Brian catches sight of what was once the pilot’s head, now a nearly bare skull with the flesh eaten away by fish. Horrified, Brian... (full context)

...rescued but the dreams are “never bad.” The government sends a team to recover the pilot’s body, and reporters photograph the campsite. Seeing those pictures often jogs Brian’s memory and triggers... (full context)

Pilot Character Analysis

Pilot Quotes in Hatchet

Chapter 2 Quotes

Chapter 4 Quotes

Pilot Character Timeline in Hatchet