The island is one of the most remote of the Channel Islands located off the coast of California.The Nicoleno Indians had lived on the island for centuries. It was visited frequently by the Russians who came to hunt otter for their pelts. There are several versions as to how the young woman came to be alone on the island. One story is that the remaining members of the Nicoleno Indians were being removed from the island when it was discovered that a boy had been left behind. A young woman, possibly the boy's mother or sister returned to the island.
In 1853, Captain Nidever returned to the island to hunt and encountered a middle-aged woman, who spoke to them in an unknown language. Nidever had been counselled by the Catholic fathers at the Santa Barbara mission to bring the woman to the mainland if they found her. This they did. No one was ever able to learn her name so she was given the name Juana Maria when she was baptized.
In O'Dell's famous novel, the story opens with the arrival of the Aleut (Russian) ship. At this time, a young girl named Won-a-pa-lei lived on the island in the village of Ghalas-at with her father, her younger brother Ramo and her older sister Ulape and the rest of their tribe.
Won-a-pa-lei's father, the chief of Ghalas-at greets the captain of the ship, Captain Orlov. In an unusual move, Won-a-pa-lei's father reveals his real name as Chief Chowig. Everyone in their tribe has two names, "the real one which was secret and was seldom used, and one which was common, for if people use your secret name it becomes worn out and loses its magic." Won-a-pa-lei's secret name is Karana.
Captain Orlov has come with forty Alakan Aleut men to hunt sea otter. However, Karana's father is skeptical because a previous hunt by the Russians/Aleuts years ago, led by Captain Mitriff resulted in great trouble between the two peoples. Orlov offers to do the hunting and reluctantly agrees to divide the catch.
A hint of the trouble to come is given when one day Karana's tribe has the good fortune of catching a large number of fish, some of which the Aleuts wanted. Chief Chowig refuses to share the fish telling the Aleuts they can work to catch their own fish. Karana expresses her concern about how many otter the Aleuts are killing but her father tells her the otter will return to the kelp beds surrounding the island.
However, tragedy strikes the Ghalas-at community when the Aleuts and the Russian crew attempt to leave without upholding their end of the bargain. The two groups fight and the Aleuts flee the island but not before a battle that sees most of the Nicoleno men killed including Karana's father. Only fifteen men remained, seven of them, old men.
A new chief is chosen, a very old man named Kimki. With so few men, the women now must hunt, a situation that begins to cause trouble within the tribe. Karana and her people also have to deal with the loss of so many of their families. The following spring, Kimki decides to travel across the sea to the east to a place he had visited when he was a young man. He does not return after several months and a new chief is chosen.
The following year, the islanders see a different ship on the horizon. At first they fear it is the Aleuts returning but they soon learn it is a ship of white men who had met Kimki and were told to come to the island to take them away. As she prepares to leave the island, Karana is told that her younger brother Ramo is already on the ship, after being told he could not return to the village for his spear. However, as the ship is leaving the island, Ulape points to Ramo on the shore waving his spear. Karana is told the ship cannot turn back as it might founder on the rocks. Horrified, Karana leaps into the sea and manages to swim to shore.
So begins Karana's eighteen years marooned on San Nicolas. During that time she will confront death, make a decision about her future, deal with the wild dogs that roam the island and learn now to live with her loneliness.
Discussion
Island of the Blue Dolphins is based on the real life person, a woman given the name of Juana Maria who was the last surviving member of the Ghalas-at, a woman given the name of Juana Maria. Exactly how she came to be marooned on San Nicolas Island, and whether she lived eighteen years entirely alone, without seeing another human being remain uncertain.
When Juana Maria was brought to the Santa Barbara Mission by George Nidever, no one was able understand the language she spoke. She died seven weeks later, taking her story with her. In that time she had earned the title of the Lone Woman of San Nicolas, adding even more mystery to her. Island of the Blue Dolphins therefore, is largely fictional, using Juana Maria's story as a framework for O'Dell's novel. Through his character Karana, O'Dell is able to give his readers a sense of what life might have been like for this young woman. She had likely already mastered the skills necessary to survive on the island. O'Dell portrays her as having remarkable ingenuity, intelligence and resourcefulness as she is able to cope with many different situations, some of them life-threatening.
But what makes this a fascinating and engaging story is that it is told by Karana who is the sole character in most of the novel - a difficult task for any writer. Whether she is fending off the wild dogs, hunting a sea lion, or attempting to leave her island and journey east, Karana is portrayed as brave and determined. To assuage her loneliness, the leader of the wild dogs whom she was set on killing becomes her companion. She is able to construct a safe and comfortable rock house for herself. Rounding out the story are the many interesting descriptions of the life on the island and in the surrounding sea.
Island of the Blue Dolphins is a classic that most readers aged nine to twelve will enjoy. It offers a refreshing break from the fantasy novels that so dominate books for this age group.
To learn more about San Nicolas Island, the people who inhabited these islands and the story told in Island of the Blue Dolphins, check out the National Park Service website.
Book Details:
Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell
Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 1988
pp.177
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