41 pages 1 hour read

Gary Paulsen

Brian's Hunt

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2003

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Important Quotes

Quotation Mark Icon

“He had been…young then, more than two years ago. He was still young by most standards, just sixteen. But he was more seasoned now and back then he had acted young—no, that wasn’t quite it either. New. He had been new then and now he was perhaps not so new.”


(Chapter 1, Page 2)

Brian reflects on his first wilderness survival experience at age 14 and thinks about how much he has changed since then. His knowledge of the outdoors and his survival skills have grown immensely in the last two years as he pursued time in the woods. This passage introduces the theme of Personal Growth Through Experience and highlights the way Brian’s experiences changed his sense of identity. Paulsen uses free and indirect discourse to project Brian’s internal thoughts and uncertainty into the narrator’s voice about what has changed in him.

Quotation Mark Icon

“He had gone hungry so long when he had first come to the bush…. Food had been everything and the thought of wasting any of it went against every instinct in his body.”


(Chapter 1, Page 5)

Brian’s gratitude towards food demonstrates both his Respect for Nature and the ways which he has undergone Personal Growth Through Experience. Brian reveres the basic necessities of life, demonstrating a connection that contrasts against the easy convenience of modern day living.

Quotation Mark Icon

“South was cities, people, and he was fast coming to think that people, and what people did with their lives, with their world, were not good, were in most cases ugly and wrong. That was south. Ugly and wrong. And north was country to see, natural country that man had not yet ruined.”


(Chapter 1, Page 8)

Paulsen juxtaposes north and south, society and wilderness, ugliness and beauty. This juxtaposition draws a stark divide between Brian’s life and what he views as society. Paulsen posits that humanity has “ruined” the world, equating society with unsustainable practices and inauthentic living. This juxtaposition directly places society and wilderness at odds.

Related Titles

By Gary Paulsen

Study Guide
logo

Brian's Return

Gary Paulsen

Brian's Return

Gary Paulsen

STUDY + TEACHING GUIDE
logo

Brian's Winter

Gary Paulsen, Terry Pratchett

Brian's Winter

Gary Paulsen, Terry Pratchett

Study Guide
logo

Canyons

Gary Paulsen

Canyons

Gary Paulsen

Study Guide
logo

Dogsong

Gary Paulsen, Leigh Bardugo

Dogsong

Gary Paulsen, Leigh Bardugo

Study Guide
logo

Guts

Gary Paulsen

Guts: The True Stories Behind Hatchet and the Brian Books

Gary Paulsen

STUDY + TEACHING GUIDE
logo

Harris and Me

Gary Paulsen

Harris and Me: A Summer Remembered

Gary Paulsen

STUDY + TEACHING GUIDE
logo

Hatchet

Gary Paulsen, Hillary Rodham Clinton

Hatchet

Gary Paulsen, Hillary Rodham Clinton

Plot Summary
logo

How Angel Peterson Got His Name

Gary Paulsen

How Angel Peterson Got His Name

Gary Paulsen

Study Guide
logo

Lawn Boy

Gary Paulsen

Lawn Boy

Gary Paulsen

Study Guide
logo

Liar, Liar: The Theory, Practice and Destructive Properties of Deception (Liar, Liar, #1)

Gary Paulsen

Liar, Liar: The Theory, Practice and Destructive Properties of Deception

Gary Paulsen

Plot Summary
logo

Masters of Disaster

Gary Paulsen

Masters of Disaster

Gary Paulsen

Plot Summary
logo

My Life in Dog Years

Gary Paulsen

My Life in Dog Years

Gary Paulsen

Study Guide
logo

Nightjohn

Gary Paulsen, Sylvia Day

Nightjohn

Gary Paulsen, Sylvia Day

Study Guide
logo

Northwind

Gary Paulsen

Northwind

Gary Paulsen

Study Guide
logo

Soldiers Heart

Gary Paulsen, Michael Ledwidge, James Patterson

Soldiers Heart: Being the Story of the Enlistment and Due Service of the Boy Charley Goddard in the First Minnesota Volunteers

Gary Paulsen, Michael Ledwidge, James Patterson

Study Guide
logo

The Crossing

Gary Paulsen

The Crossing

Gary Paulsen

Plot Summary
logo

The Monument

Gary Paulsen

The Monument

Gary Paulsen

Study Guide
logo

The River

Gary Paulsen, Anthony Horowitz

The River

Gary Paulsen, Anthony Horowitz

STUDY + TEACHING GUIDE
logo

The Transall Saga

Gary Paulsen, Blake Crouch

The Transall Saga

Gary Paulsen, Blake Crouch

Study Guide
logo

The Voyage of the Frog

Gary Paulsen, Val McDermid

The Voyage of the Frog

Gary Paulsen, Val McDermid