Themes and Characters
Karana, the protagonist of the story, demonstrates remarkable bravery and ingenuity during her solitary years on the island. Her family members appear only at the beginning of the tale and lack detailed development: her father, Chowig, is portrayed as the dignified and wise village chief; her older sister, Ulape, is smart yet more flirtatious than Karana; and her brother, Ramo, is a charming blend of pride, cleverness, and mischief.
The narrative centers on Karana's psychological and emotional responses to her situation. Initially, she feels a profound sense of loss—the loss of loved ones, the safety of a social framework, and dependable food sources. Throughout her ordeal, Karana gradually attains self-reliance and a semblance of order. Her need for companionship leads her to create a "family" by rescuing and taming wild animals: an orphaned otter, two birds, and most notably, the wild dog she initially intended to kill in revenge for its pack's role in her brother's death. She names the dog Rontu, who becomes her friend and protector.
Karana's increasing aversion to unnecessary killing underscores the theme of community. She decides to save and tame the otter—a symbolic protest against the Aleuts and Russians who slaughter otters for their fur—and refrains from shooting a sea lion to obtain ivory for tools. Instead, she waits for two fighting male sea lions to naturally provide her with a dead one. These choices culminate in her sparing the life of the Aleut girl, Tutok, despite her fear that Tutok might reveal her presence to the other Aleuts. Choosing not to use her weapons, Karana forges a meaningful friendship. Both with Rontu and Tutok, Karana's preference for compassion and forgiveness over vengeance results in rewarding relationships. However, her bond with Tutok deepens her longing for human connection, and after Tutok's departure, Karana eagerly anticipates her own rescue.
The novel primarily explores Karana's personal growth. Facing extreme hardship, she gradually sheds traits and attitudes that hinder her development into a mature individual. By overcoming her initial feelings of hatred and desire for revenge, she cultivates the virtues of understanding, compassion, forgiveness, and love.
Island of the Blue Dolphins highlights O'Dell's concern for the natural world and humanity's tendency to exploit and destroy the environment, particularly through the reckless killing of sea otters and other wildlife. Inspired by French philosopher Albert Schweitzer's idea of "reverence for life," O'Dell stresses the necessity of taking only what is needed from nature to survive and learning to appreciate and coexist peacefully with other creatures. He encourages readers to respect and understand nature. The primary adversaries in his stories are ignorance, hatred, and greed. To combat ignorance, O'Dell enriches his books with captivating details of natural history, demonstrating how understanding can transform hatred and fear into respect. Greed plays a significant role in O'Dell's narratives, where it corrupts noble human impulses and often leads to the downfall of characters who succumb to it.
All the winds, except the one from the south, are strong, and because of them, the hills are polished smooth and the trees are small and twisted...
Characters
For most of the story in Island of the Blue Dolphins, there is only one central character: Karana, who is fourteen years old at the beginning. Readers experience everything through her perspective. They witness her father, the tribal chief, being killed by the invading Aleuts from the north. They share in her decision to leap off the ship evacuating her tribe because her younger brother was accidentally left behind on the island. Shortly after, she loses her brother to wild dogs and is left completely alone, except for a brief encounter with an Aleut girl months later.
Karana embarks on many adventures, much like Robinson Crusoe, as she creates a home for herself and crafts hunting weapons. She relies on her memory of watching the men make these weapons, as tribal rules prohibited women from doing so. Through her experiences, thoughts, and feelings, readers observe Karana's transformation from a child into a woman. Her emotions and attitudes often need to be inferred from her understated expressions—emotions she cannot articulate but that readers can still understand.
For instance, Karana does not explain why she chooses not to kill the wild dog, even after going to great lengths to track and wound him. She doesn't need to explain it. This is O'Dell's approach to characterization: minimal explicit statements or explanations. Instead, he uses a few carefully chosen words and images that convey deep meaning through strong suggestion, allowing readers to fill in the rest. This technique is well-suited to depicting his quiet and stoic young Indian heroines.
O'Dell's children's books predominantly feature first-person narratives, with the young protagonist recounting the story (only two later works feature adult narrators). O'Dell has mentioned that writing in the first person is the easiest for him, creating an "almost automatic identification." This approach naturally imposes limitations on the author, requiring the point of view to remain "pure"—unaffected by the author, with language, imagery, references, and understanding true to the character and experiences of the youthful narrator. O'Dell executes this masterfully in Island of the Blue Dolphins. Karana's words and simple similes are entirely fitting for a teenage Indian girl who has spent her life on a small island. She speaks and thinks in terms of rocks, sand, sea, and wind, local birds, fish, and similar elements—limited yet rich enough to convey her experiences and emotions. It's no wonder that O'Dell's style has consistently garnered praise from reviewers. His style in this book contrasts with his earlier "adult" novels, which he felt were "overwritten." He states that Island of the Blue Dolphins "sort of wrote itself." By the end of the story, it becomes clear that Karana's need for social approval and love has endured despite her near-total isolation for eighteen years. This is evident in her efforts to make herself attractive—her yucca skirts, her cape of cormorant feathers—and, in a poignant scene, when finally rescued, she wears facial markings indicating she is still unmarried.
The reader grows very fond of this noble young woman who, despite lacking education, social guidance, or knowledge of any society outside her small island, develops the qualities of an admirable human being against great odds. The story testifies to the innate natural goodness of the individual—despite, or perhaps because of, the absence of social influence.
An interesting aspect of Karana's portrayal, and of many subsequent female protagonists, is O'Dell's preference for young females as central characters. Typically around fourteen or fifteen years old, these characters are often being pressured into womanhood. O'Dell has a particular interest in young female sensibility and has stated that he feels more comfortable with girls than boys as characters. With few exceptions (such as in The King's Fifth, 1966), his male characters are relatively undeveloped and primarily serve to depict exciting events and places. In contrast, his female characters, like Karana, are explored in greater depth, with a focus on their inner lives and personal growth as they face life's challenges. O'Dell, a large, robust, and thoroughly masculine man, treats his young heroines with affectionate sensitivity and insight.
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