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Island of the Blue Dolphins
by Erika Cox
In 1960, author Scott O’Dell, who also wrote “The King’s Fifth,
The Black Pearl, and Sing Down Moon, wrote and published one of the
most popular children’s books of all time - Island of the Blue
Dolphins.
The story is based loosely on the real-life story of Juana
Marie, a Native American woman who lives alone on the island of San
Nicolas from 1835 until 1853, after being left behind when the rest of
her tribe was brought to the main lands.
She is otherwise known as the “Lone Woman of San Nicolas,” and when
found, no one understand her language any longer because the rest of
her tribe has since perished due to disease. O’Dell’s novel went on to
win the Newberry Medal for children’s literature.
Scott O’Dell was born Odell Gabriel Scott in Los Angeles, CA in
1898. He attended a number of colleges, including Occidental College,
the University of Wisconsin, and Stanford University before serving in
the Air Force during World War II. He then went on to work as a
cameraman, director, and book editor.
He wrote nonfiction and fiction for adults in these early
years, but didn’t begin writing children’s novels until the 1950s. It
was here he found his niche. Island of the Blue Dolphins is
just one of 26 children’s books he wrote, and he received the Hans
Christian Anderson Award for lifetime achievement in the early 1970s.
He went on to win a number of other awards as well before tragically
dying from cancer in 1989.
Island of the Blue Dolphins centers on a main character named
Karana who lives on an island with her tribe. Trappers arrive to hunt
the otters found on the island, and try to leave without paying
Karan’s father, the chief.
A battle ensues and the trappers escape, but an older native suggests
to the chief that they should follow the trappers tot he main land,
where a better life awaits. A ship comes to take them away, but just
as they are ready to leave, Karana realizes that her younger brother
is not on board.
The ship captain cannot wait because a storm is coming, and Karana
jumps overboard to go back to the island with her brother. The brother
is soon after killed by the wild dogs on the island, and Karana begins
to learn to survive on her own.
Karana avenges her brother’s death by killing many of the wild
dogs on the island, but has a change of heart after injuring one of
them and thereafter keeps him as a pet, naming him Rontu.
She finds a small cave and stocks it with provisions, knowing that the
greedy trappers will once again come to the island someday and she
doesn’t want them to find her.
She builds a home and learns to kill animals to use for food and
clothing. After time, she becomes a vegetarian because she realizes
that the animals have become her friends and she no longer wishes to
kill them.
One day, the trappers return to the island. Karana is
frightened of their evil ways and hides in the cave she has prepared,
taking Rontu with her. Karana is careful not to be seen, but one day
the women whom the trappers brought to cook and clean meets Karana.
The two cannot speak one another’s language, but they exchange words
for some items and become friends. Karana realizes that she is lonely
on the island, no matter how good of a companion Rontu has been.
After a number of years, a ship arrives to the island and Karana
realizes that she is finally being rescued. She puts on her very best
clothing and goes to the beach to be seen. The men take Karana back to
the ship and give her an American dress to wear, which symbolizes to
her the transition into a new life.
In 1964, Island of the Blue Dolphins was made into a movie,
directed by James B. Clark and with the actress Celia Kaye as Karana.
The film itself had mixed reviews, but Kaye won a Golden Globe for her
performance. Later, O’Dell wrote Zia, a sequel to Island of the Blue
Dolphins told from the point of view of Karana’s niece.
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