Gone to the Woods by Gary Paulsen by Isaiah Stob

Basic Information

27iestob — 2025-04-17 15:28:38 UTC

My book is Gone to the woods by Gary Paulsen. I chose this book because I liked other Gary Paulsen books in the past and this one looked interesting too. This book is an autobiography. Gary is a quiet kid who feels disconnected from the world. This book goes through his early life from 5 to 18 years old.

Events

27iestob — 2025-04-17 15:30:12 UTC

Three examples of things that impacted his life include:

Getting to live with his aunt and uncle on a farm for a summer made him realize his love for nature.

When he moved to Chicago he had to learn how to fend for himself.

When he became friends with the librarian he learned that he loved books and writing.

Setting

27iestob — 2025-04-17 15:33:26 UTC

The story starts in 1944 just after WWII and ends during the Vietnam war in the 1950s.

In the story Gary’s father was a soldier in WWII which made his family move a lot. Gary himself also ends up becoming a soldier during the Vietnam war.

Throughout the setting shifted from a long train ride at the beginning that brings Gary to his relatives farm. He later goes with his parents to Manila and moves one last time to Chicago. At the end he enters into the army and is training.

He liked places like his uncle's farm where he was happy but didn't like other places as much. Living in Manila and Chicago made him learn how to live tough and on his own.

Authors purpose

27iestob — 2025-04-17 15:34:45 UTC

The most common theme in the book was about how you should do what you love. I know this because Gary was always separated and different from everyone else. He took his own path and it worked out well for him.

I think that because he spent a lot of time in nature throughout his life, he wrote a lot about his love for it.

Rhetorical appeals

27iestob — 2025-04-17 15:36:31 UTC

The ethos that he used was his own first hand memory of these events. The pathos that he used was showing how unfortunate his upbringing was. It made you feel bad for him as a kid. The logos that he used was by using obvious information like how he was different because he had a very different childhood than most people.

Quote

27iestob — 2025-04-17 15:37:35 UTC

“To safety, complete comfort and shelter, and he would not know for many years, for perhaps the rest of his life, a protection that was deeper than the rest, a belonging that was a kind of love.”

(Page 134)

Musical connection

27iestob — 2025-04-17 15:38:33 UTC

The song I chose was Vienna by Billy Joel. This song connects to my book because in the song it says “Vienna waits for you.” In this instance, Gary’s Vienna is the woods.

Book cover

27iestob — 2025-04-18 16:55:37 UTC

Main character

27iestob — 2025-04-18 17:04:26 UTC

Gary’s farm

27iestob — 2025-04-18 17:12:10 UTC

The woods that Gary would escape to.

27iestob — 2025-04-18 17:16:12 UTC

Northern Pike

27iestob — 2025-04-18 17:25:47 UTC

This is the type of fish that Gary caught in Chicago.

Manila

27iestob — 2025-04-18 17:30:05 UTC

After Gary turned seven he moved to Manila.

Train

27iestob — 2025-04-18 17:36:11 UTC

This is the type of train Gary would have ridden in the beginning of the book.

Works Cited

27iestob — 2025-04-18 17:37:57 UTC

Paulsen, Gary. Gone to the Woods. Square Fish, New York. 2021

Into the woods book cover. (Online Image) Amazon.com, 18 Apr 2025

Gary Paulsen. (Online Image) Orderofbooks.com, 18 Apr 2025

Northern Pike. (Online Image) windycityfishing.com, 18 Apr 2025

Manila. (Online image) medium.com,18 Apr 2025

Train. (Online Image). progressrail.com, 18 Apr 2025

“Billy Joel - Vienna (Lyrics) | slow down youre doing fine, you can't be everything you wanna be.” 3starz. Youtube. 2022. Online. 18 Apr 2025

“Gone to the Woods: Surviving a Lost Childhood by Gary Paulsen.” Colby Sharp. Youtube. 2021. Online. 18 Apr 2025

27iestob — 2025-04-18 17:58:05 UTC

Book review

27iestob — 2025-04-18 18:05:13 UTC