35 pages • 1 hour read
Gary PaulsenThe River
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 1991A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 1-3Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 1 Summary
Three men wearing suits visit Brian, the novel’s protagonist, while he’s home alone. One of the men, Derek, asks whether Brian’s mother and father are at home, and Brian replies that his father does not live there because his parents recently divorced. Derek confirms that Brian is the one they are looking for by asking if he “survived alone in the Canadian woods for two months” (2). Brian wonders if the men are from the press, reflecting on the constant publicity surrounding him after his return from the woods. Although he was excited by the attention at first, he was glad to finally be left alone and return to normalcy with his new girlfriend, Deborah McKenzie. Derek says he is a psychologist from a government survival school, where he and the other men prepare people, such as pilots and soldiers, to survive if they become stranded. They share the purpose of their visit with Brian: They want him to “do it again” (3).
Chapter 2 Summary
At first, Brian thinks Derek must be joking. Brian feels he only made it out safely because of luck, but Derek disagrees. Derek explains that he and the other men teach others how to survive and practice going out and testing their skills, but it’s not real, “where everything is on the line” (6). The men propose that one of them go out into the wilderness with Brian and learn from him, so they can know how to better teach their students. Brian feels that Derek doesn’t fully understand the weight of his request. His time in the wilderness was not a “camping trip” (6). He came back completely changed, with his senses heightened to the sounds, movements, and smells of nature.
Derek and the men say they will come back later to discuss their proposal when his mother returns home. After they leave, Brian cooks dinner and thinks about the ways he has changed since his time in the woods, what he calls The Time. Food, cooking, and even watching other people eat mesmerize him. He also finds it difficult to talk to others about The Time, because they cannot truly understand his experience—they weren’t there. Although he has changed, the world around him remains mostly the same. His parents are still divorced and moving on with their lives. Even though Brian feels “reborn” (9) because of his time in the woods, other people do not understand his experience.
Chapter 3 Summary
Brian’s mother returns home, and they eat the dinner Brian has prepared. Brian and his mother have become closer since he returned from the woods. Being near to death in the woods made Brian realize, even at age 15, that “he was not always right […] and others were not always wrong” (11). He recognizes his mother’s strength and hard work as a single mom. As he clears the table, he wonders at the ease of having dishes, pots, and a stove for cooking. Derek returns to Brian’s house alone and explains to Brian’s mother his idea to return to the wilderness with Brian. Brian’s mother resists the idea, saying, “[I]t’s insane” (12), and Brian partially agrees with her. People are quick to romanticize his time in the woods, but they don’t realize what it’s like to be without comforts, alone with only darkness and mosquitoes. Derek explains that he wants to go to understand Brian’s psychological processes so that he can teach and save others. Brian realizes he has to go in order to help others.
Chapters 1-3 Analysis
Paulsen introduces the novel’s protagonist, Brian, as an observant and mature young man. As soon as Brian answers the door, he notices the physical shape of the three men, a factor important for survival. Because of his experience, the way he sees the world has changed. He has a different perception of the sounds, food, and comforts that most people take for granted. Even two years after his return from the woods, he still takes note of small details in the world and people around him. Derek recognizes that survival is more about one’s psychological process than one’s actions or survival skills, and this proves true for Brian throughout the novel.
Paulsen also informs the reader that Brian’s parents are divorced. This allows Paulsen to connect with young 21st-century readers who have similar family situations to Brian. Brian still struggles with his parents’ divorce, even though a year and a half has passed. Even after returning alive from his ordeal in the woods a completely different person, his world remained unchanged; his parents are still moving on with their lives. However, Brian’s experience brought him closer to his mother. He has matured, and she treats him as an adult. The two share an understanding that is sometimes uncharacteristic between a typical teenage boy and his mom.
Paulsen additionally establishes several themes and motifs that continue throughout the novel. First, Brian feels that his survival the first time was primarily due to luck. In contrast, Derek sees Brian’s success in the woods as a victory due to Brian’s survival skills and psychological processes. The contrast between skill and luck continues throughout the story, and Brian’s use of reasoning and intellect develops and furthers the plot. Furthermore, Paulsen establishes the idea that one’s experiences change a person’s character and behavior. Brian now appreciates things he used to take for granted, especially food. He understands that food means survival; he loves to work with food, enjoys watching others eat, takes his time eating, and understands that enjoying food differs from overeating. Even having dishes, pots, and a stove amazes him.
Finally, Paulsen employs several literary devices that set the tone for the novel and establish a style for the story. For example, Paulsen creates a sense of danger in the first chapter when the three men arrive at Brian’s house when he is alone. They show no credentials, and Brian briefly questions whether he can trust them. Although the reader finds that the men are not dangerous, the situation foreshadows that danger is coming. Furthermore, Paulsen uses repetition of words and phrases such as, “The Time”—the name for Brian’s time in the woods. In this case, the repetition and capitalization of “The Time” shows the importance of this event and the extent that it affected Brian’s identity. Lastly, Paulsen also switches between the present and the past. Brian often flashes back to moments from his return to the city. Paulsen uses these flashbacks for two reasons: to show the reader what happened since Brian’s return, and to fill in the blanks of his past for those who may not have read Hatchet. Flashbacks and deviations from the present stream of conversation and events also reveal Brian’s thoughts to the reader.
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