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 spring comes, flowers bloom and water flows in the ravines. Tainor and Lurai build a nest out of seaweed, leaves, and Rontu’s hair—which Rontu doesn’t appreciate. Lurai lays two eggs, which hatch. Karana clips the babies’ wings, names them, and they become as tame as Lurai and Tainor. Karana also discovers a baby gull that fell from its nest on the cliffs. It has a broken leg, so Karana takes it home and binds its leg with a splint. With so many birds and Rontu, Karana’s home is full and happy. But she still remembers Tutok and wonders what happened to Ulape. Did Ulape marry Nanko, and do they have lots of children now? Karana knows Ulape would smile at all of Karana’s animal children.
In this passage, O’Dell juxtaposes Karana’s growing family of animals with her sadness and loneliness. In many ways, surrounding herself with all these animals and observing their antics makes Karana happy. But the passage also implies that Karana can’t quite shake her loneliness. This is the first time in a while that Karana has brought up Ulape, which suggests that Karana is thinking more and more these days about her family and her tribe, not less. And these thoughts throw Karana’s solitude into sharp relief.
Themes
Karana begins gathering and drying abalones early in the spring; she wants to be prepared if the Aleuts return. One day, while she’s harvesting on the reef, she notices a group of otter playing nearby. The otters’ game reminds Karana of games she used to play with other kids years ago. Smiling, she fills her canoe and heads for the shore. But an otter follows her and then pops up in front of the canoe. Karana is sure it’s Mon-a-nee—and sure enough, she holds out a fish and he snatches it from her.
Again, the threat that the Aleuts might return forces Karana to change her habits so she can be prepared. Watching the otter makes Karana think that humans and otter aren’t all that different—their young play some of the same games. And when Mon-a-nee appears, it shows Karana that she didn’t lose him as a friend when he swam out of the tidepools.
Themes
Karana doesn’t see Mon-a-nee again until two months later. He comes to visit her with two babies in tow. When Karana tosses a fish for him, Mon-a-nee encourages the babies to eat it, but they’re too distracted by Karana. They remain uninterested, though, and then return to Mon-a-nee and nuzzle him. This makes it clear to Karana that Mon-a-nee is actually female and the babies’ mother. She renames her Won-a-nee, which means “girl with the large eyes.”
Realizing that Won-a-nee is female and a mother is no doubt gratifying for Karana, as it means that Won-a-nee was able to reintegrate into the community of otters after leaving the tidepool. But again, it also reminds Karana that such a thing is impossible for her. In this way, the novel draws parallels between Won-a-nee and Ulape, whom Karana believes is probably a mother by this point.
Themes
Won-a-nee’s babies grow quickly and are soon happy to take fish from Karana’s hands. Won-a-nee prefers abalones. She floats on her back and strikes the abalones with rocks until the shell breaks. Karana loves watching all three otters do this once Won-a-nee teaches her babies the trick. Karana knows that all otter eat abalone like this, but she still wonders if Won-a-nee does it just because she knows it makes Karana happy.
One way that Karana combats her loneliness is to anthropomorphize (assign human characteristics) to her animal friends. She does this here with Won-a-nee as she wonders whether Won-a-nee eats abalones like this just to please Karana. Believing this makes Karana feel like her animal friends are invested in her emotional wellbeing.
Themes
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After this summer, Karana stops killing otter. She wears her otter cape until it wears out and doesn’t make a replacement. She also refuses to kill any more cormorants, even though they make terrible noise. Karana stops killing seals, wild dogs, and sea elephants. She knows that Ulape and her father would laugh at her, but now, the animals are her friends. Those that aren’t her friends now could become friends any moment. She doesn’t care if people would laugh at her to see her now. Karana won’t change her mind. Animals are like people, even if they don’t talk. They make the world a pleasant place to live.
Seeing the terrible aftermath of the Aleuts’ hunting impresses upon Karana that killing animals isn’t something she wants to engage in. Part of this no doubt stems from seeing so many injured otters suffer, but Karana also knows now that she has to rely on her animal friends to keep her company—in her situation, human friends are no guarantee. And even though Karana is still lonely, she credits her happiness to her animal friends and their interest in her life.
Themes
