Nov 14, 2009

Call It Courage | Themes and Characters

Call It Courage has one main character, Mafatu, a fifteen-year-old Polynesian boy. Other human characters in the book—the silent, ashamed father, the uncaring stepmother, and the teasing and scornful children—simply set the mood in preparation for Mafatu's journey.

Mafatu is the son of Tavana Nui, the Great Chief of Hikueru. Mafatu's name, ironically, means Stout Heart, yet he fears the ocean because when he was three years old, a dreadful hurricane swept him and his mother out to sea. After getting him safely to shore, his courageous mother died. The islanders...