chapter.16 17 18

Brian proudly recalls the major events since the plane crash, which he calls "First Days." For example, on "First Arrow Day" he had successfully made a straight-shooting arrow, and on "First Rabbit Day" he had killed his first rabbit, using similar methods as he had used to kill the foolbird. He alternates between rabbits and foolbirds, so he is able to satisfy himself with good meat. In time he perfects his skills at catching foolbirds, once even catching a bird with his bare hands. His bare hands! Can you do that, because.I sure can't. While washing his hands in the lake, he senses something and turns around just in time to face a huge moose. The moose attacks him, throwing him into the water, thrashing him around, and badly hurting his ribs and his shoulder. Not again! Last time he got hurt badly was the porcupine. Getting his bow, spear, and foolbird from the water's edge, Brian, in gigantic pain, attempts to make sense of the attack before falling asleep. A far-off roar awakens Brian in the middle of the night. Suddenly, a tornado pushes down on him, slamming him on the side of his home. The tornado leaves as quickly as it had arrived,leaving Brian out in the open, his shelter and fire completley destroyed. Without the protection of the fire, mosquitoes find him once again and he lies sleepless for the remainder of the night, contemplating how his situation has changed so much in one day. It seems as if I was right with him and luck and repurcussions. In the aftermath of the moose attack and the tornado he has little to nothing left. Nonetheless, Brian doesn't go shock but instead remains calm. How ks he doing this? I would have died buy the 2nd day, then again, every human has animal instincts deep inside of them, all they need is a little boost. In his resolve to rebuild using the hatchet, his only remaining tool, still at his belt. Right before dawn Brian dozes off, and awakens later to assess the tornado's damage. The tornado had scattered the pieces of his shelter but they stayed in the area. Looking out over the lake, Brian spots the tail of the Cessna plane sticking out of the water. He thinks of the pilot, dead in the plane, and a huge weighty sadness sweeps over him. Compelled to say a few words for him, Brain hesitates because he does not know the "right words," the words of organized religion. He decides to simply concentrate and wish the pilot a peaceful rest. I think it's good Brian finds some closure, but he should never blame himself in the situation. Brian works to fix his shelter to its former shape and to gather more firewood. Tired from a day of hard work, he lies down to go to sleep when it occurs to him that the survival pack that the pilot had mentioned might still be in the plane, and perhaps he could access it. After all this time, he finally remembers the pack that could have saved him much earlier on. I guess things happen for a reason. Wondering what it might contain, Brian hopes that he will find food or tools, and decides to try to find it the following day. He falls asleep with the picture of the tail of the plane in his mind. The next morning he eats some fish to gain some energy for his big task at hand and reasons that a raft would be the best method to get out to the plane. Finding the construction of the raft difficult, Brian must find a way to attach the logs to each other. After many frustrating attempts, Brian interweaves branches into the logs to hold them together. Moving the raft shows another time-consuming challenge, and, as night approaches, Brian decides to return back to his shelter for the night and try again in the morning. Brian sensed fall in the air on this beautiful night in the woods. In the morning, he sets out for the plane on his raft. Attaching the raft to the plane, Brian shutters as it occurs to him that he might see the pilot down underwater. I really hope that the pilot would not be there, seeing a dead corpse seems really unnecessary infornmationn on Brian's life when he 's dealing with survival. Frustrated by his inability to access the inside of the plane, Brian strikes it with his fist and the aluminum covering opens. Using the hatchet to cut through the rest of the sections, Brian is hacking away at a furious pace when he suddenly drops the hatchet and it falls to the bottom of the lake. After a few tries, Brian succeeds in picking the hatchet up from the bottom, having barely enough air in his lungs to return to the surface. I really think he should stay and get the hatchet, it gave him everything and more. He continues to cut into the plane and swims down into it to retrieve the survival pack. On his way back up he sees the pilot's head, the flesh eaten away by fish. Traumatized, Brian gets sick in the water and, struggling to free the pack from the plane, and arrives at the surface. Exhausted from his efforts, Brian drags the survival pack to his shelter and falls immediately into a deep sleep. I wonder if they held funerals for them or not.