The Theme of Hatchet, by Gary Paulsen is that you need experience to live and it doesn't come the first time. For example in Chapter 6, page 59 the text said "Eating Berries by handful, grabbing and jamming them into this mouth and swallowing them pits and all" This the bad thing he did and the punishment is "Vomiting and terrible diarrhea for an hour" This give him experience and he learned eat carefully. Also In Chapter 8, page 75 The author said "And he kicked out as hard has he could, kicked and threw the hatchet at the sound---- as if a hundred needles have been driven into it." The Bad thing he did is that he threw the hatchet his only good tool and the punishment is that the porcupine hit him, this gave him experience to stay calm. Now because he learns his lessons he gets rewards. For Example in chapter 7, page 66 "He eats them carefully, spitting the seeds out " this shows him gaining experience and in return the Book gives him Raspberries, chapter 7, 69 pg "Small thorny bushes that were covered with berries. Raspberries", This show him gaining exprience and the book rewards him. Finally he has learned a lot of things in the forest, he learned how to make fire, how to hunt, how to forge and for this the book gives him a survival pack and gets him rescued. In conclusion not everything comes first and takes attempts.