Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Island of the Blue Dolphins, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
The Natural World
Solitude
Friendship
Gender Roles and Survival
Colonialism, Violence, and Indigenous Culture
Summary
Analysis
When Karana first catches sight of the Aleut ship in the distance, it looks like a small shell. Next it looks like a gull, and then, finally, Karana sees what it is: a red ship with two red sails. She’s gathering roots with her six-year-old brother, Ramo. He’s small but quick, and he's sometimes foolish. To keep him from running off, Karana keeps quiet about the ship and digs carefully. But Ramo doesn’t miss much. Soon, he stares out to sea and notes that it’s smooth, like a stone, and there’s a small cloud sitting on it. Karana argues that the sea is water and waves, and there are maybe dolphins out there, but no clouds.
The novel’s opening shows Karana’s closeness with the natural world. Even when confronted with a ship—something readers will immediately recognize as a man-made object—Karana likens it to natural items, like a shell or a gull. Ramo does the same, which suggests that this close relationship with nature is something that most (or all) people in their tribe enjoy.
Themes
Ramo has never seen a ship before, so he watches it get closer without knowing what it is. Karana hasn’t seen one either—but she’s heard about them, and so she knows what she’s seeing. She scolds Ramo and asks him to help her dig, but instead, he remains focused on the ship. Finally, he asks if Karana has ever seen a red whale. Karana lies that she has—but Ramo suddenly shouts that it’s a big, red canoe coming to the island. He tosses his stick and races away. Karana keeps digging. She’s excited, but the village needs the roots, so she finishes her task.
The fact that Karana has heard about ships before suggests that her tribe has encountered outsiders in the past, and that was a meaningful enough experience to tell stories about it to younger generations. Ramo, on the other hand, may be too young to have heard the stories yet—or, given how excited and flighty he seems, he just won’t sit still to listen. Karana, in contrast, is level-headed and focused on the importance of her work for the tribe as a whole—a concern that the novel will develop in more detail.
Themes
The Aleut ship has already entered Coral Cove by the time Karana fills her basket. The village already knows about the ship, so the men take their spears and hurry down to the shore. The women crouch at the edge of the mesa, and Karana hides in the brush just above the cove. She watches half of the men stand at the waterline, waiting for the newcomers to come ashore. The other men are hidden and ready to attack. A boat leaves the ship with six men in it. One of them is tall with a yellow beard—a Russian. Karana wonders if these are the men her people fear, especially when the Russian man leaps out of the boat onto the shore, shouting. He acts like he owns the island.
As the Aleuts approach, the tribe’s division along gendered lines suggests that there are clear gender roles guiding how the tribe functions. This is probably also why Karana felt compelled to fill her basket with roots before joining the others. Karana’s observations create tension and make this ship’s arrival feel ominous. Clearly, something bad happened last time people came to the island—and this Russian doesn’t seem inclined to treat the natives respectfully.
Themes
The Russian man shouts for a moment and then switches to Karana’s language. He says he’d like to speak with the villagers, so Karana’s father steps out and introduces himself. He introduces himself as Chief Chowig, the chief of Ghalas-at. Karana is surprised to hear this. Everyone in her tribe has two names. One of them is secret and is seldom used—and Karana’s father gave his secret name. Karana usually goes by Won-a-pa-lei, or Girl with the Long Black Hair—Karana is her secret name. The Russian introduces himself as Captain Orlov.
It is, perhaps, a good sign that Captain Orlov can speak Karana’s language. At the very least, this man has taken the time to learn how to communicate with the natives on the island. Things start to feel a bit more dangerous, though, when Karana’s father shares his secret name with Captain Orlov—it suggests that the stakes of this encounter are high. Captain Orlov’s shouting and high and mighty conduct are also ominous.
Themes
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Captain Orlov explains that he and his men have come to camp on the island and hunt sea otter. Karana’s father says nothing—Aleuts hunted otter once before, and her father remembers what happened. Captain Orlov explains that he’s heard of the last expedition, and it went poorly because the captain was a “fool” and the tribe, rather than the Aleuts, did the hunting. Captain Orlov explains that his men will hunt and when they’re done, they’ll pay for a third of the pelts in supplies. Karana’s father insists on getting half, but Captain Orlov asks to discuss this later, once his men and supplies are on shore.
Again, the way that Captain Orlov and Chief Chowig discuss the Aleuts’ last visit to the island makes it clear that things didn’t go well. Because of this, it makes sense that Chief Chowig would greet Captain Orlov with suspicion and be unwilling to trust the man. And his suspicions seem even more reasonable when Captain Orlov is unwilling to pay the tribe appropriately for the otter. Captain Orlov wants what he wants, and he doesn’t see the natives as people worthy of compensation.
Themes
Karana’s father asks Captain Orlov to agree to half now. The sea surrounding the Island of the Blue Dolphins, he explains, belongs to his tribe. Finally, Captain Orlov agrees.
Karana’s father wants Captain Orlov to see the natives as people to trade with, not people to exploit. The land and the seas belong to them—they’re not just there for Captain Orlov to take.
Themes
