Character Analysis
(Avoiding Spoilers)
Grew Up… in New York state, with his mother and father. Just recently, though, his parents divorced and his father moved to Canada, leaving Brian split between his mother during the school year and his father in the summer. The divorce occupies his thoughts daily.
Living… somewhere in the woods. Brian had initially been excited to fly in a single-engine plane on his way to visit his father in rural Canada, but when the pilot had a heart attack and the plane crashed, Brian found himself alone in the middle of nowhere.
Profession… survivalist, until he can figure out a way home. At only 13 years old, Brian’s “job” used to be going to school, but now even making it through the day is a full-time occupation.
Interests… hunting, making fire, avoiding bears. At first Brian only has movies and TV to guide him, but he starts to learn how to survive in the woods through painful trial and error.
Challenge… surviving. Shelter, clean water, food, and safety are no longer guarantees for Brian, and he is ill-prepared to deal with the woods. Armed only with a hatchet, he must adjust himself to nature and learn how to fend for himself. More than that, he needs to conquer his own emotions and the thought patterns that are holding him back.
Personality… thoughtful, perceptive, and flexible. Brian starts his time in the woods as miserable as anyone would be, stranded alone and hungry. But he quickly begins to adjust, figuring out the rhythm of forest life and trying to keep a positive attitude. In the forest, he learns, there is no use or room for self-pity.
Get to Know him in...
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Thirteen-year-old Brian Robeson, haunted by his secret knowledge of his mother’s infidelity, is traveling by single-engine plane to visit his father for the first time since the divorce. When the plane crashes, killing the pilot, the sole survivor is Brian. He is alone in the Canadian wilderness with nothing but his clothing, a tattered windbreaker, and the hatchet his mother had given him as a present. At first consumed by despair and self-pity, Brian slowly learns survival skills—how to make a shelter for himself, how to hunt and fish and forage for food, how to make a fire—and even finds the courage to start over from scratch when a tornado ravages his campsite. When Brian is finally rescued after fifty-four days in the wild, he emerges from his ordeal with new patience and maturity, and a greater understanding of himself and his parents.
