Gary Paulsen Biography Early Life Born May 17

Gary Paulsen

Biography: Early Life �Born May 17, 1939 in Minneapolis, MN �His father, a major in the U. S. Army, stationed in Europe during WWII �His mother, like a single parent �Closeness with his grandmother �Met father at age 7 in Philippines

Biography: Early Life �Witnessed a plane crash and shark attack �Bonded with his first dog, Snowball �Struggled in school �Introduced to reading through a public librarian �Became a risk taker

Biography: Mid-Life to Later Life �Entered Army for three years �Worked in aerospace industry �Worked as Hollywood editor and screen writer �Married three times �Became an alcoholic and then went sober �Lived in many places: Ranch in New Mexico, onboard a sailboat, in Minnesota, in Alaska �Trained and raced in Iditarod �Became prolific writer-wrote over 200 books

Paulsen’s Books: Brian Robeson novels Newbery Honor Book

Literary Analysis of Hatchet �Genre: Fiction, Realism, Survival Story �Plot Development: Conflict develops early in text � Suspense � Flashback �Characters: Methods of development � Author shows what character thinks and how he acts �Style: Author sometimes uses incomplete sentences �Theme: � Nature deserves respect, but people can find ways to coexist peacefully with nature. � Survival situations help one develop self-confidence.

Paulsen’s connections to his books “Personally, I have never found the line that separates reckless from adventurous. Of course, I have never really looked that hard for it. ”