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
There’s no sun on the day the Aleuts leave. As they pack their tents, it’s clear a storm is going to strike soon. Captain Orlov still hasn’t paid for the otter, so the tribe hurries to Coral Cove. The men take their weapons to the beach, and the women—including Karana and Ulape—hide in the brush on the cliff. Karana watches the Aleuts load bundles of otter pelts and keeps an eye on her father, who’s talking angrily to Captain Orlov. A boat heads out to the ship with pelts and, when Captain Orlov raises a hand, it returns with a black chest.
The coming storm creates a sense of urgency—Captain Orlov needs to get his things to his ship and get out of here, or he’s going to be stuck and will have to deal with the tribe for longer than he intended. Karana’s tribe again divides up along gender lines as they confront Captain Orlov; it seems to be men’s work to potentially fight the Aleuts, while the women hiding suggests they’re expected to protect themselves.
Themes
Captain Orlov opens the chest and shows Karana’s father several sparkly necklaces. But Karana’s father shakes his head. Captain Orlov insists that there are more chests containing iron spearheads on the ship, but he seems unwilling to bring them to shore. Ulape and Karana don’t trust him and watch their father step in front of an Aleut headed for the boat. Captain Orlov insists he has to load up before the storm arrives and ignores Karana’s father’s offer to help load the ship with his canoes.
Karana’s father might want some of the necklaces, but necklaces are pretty useless in the grand scheme of things—especially compared to iron spearheads. Captain Orlov seems aware of this. His unwillingness to bring the spearheads to shore suggests he is trying to rip off the natives. More specifically, he seems unwilling to present them with weapons that might allow them to fight back more effectively—perhaps he never intended to actually hand over the spearheads.
Themes
Karana isn’t sure who makes the first move, but a battle breaks out on the beach. As the men from the village race toward the Aleuts, a puff of smoke and a loud noise comes from Captain Orlov’s ship. Five villagers are dead. Women throw rocks at the Aleuts but stop when they can’t tell the difference between their own men and their enemies. Karana watches her father fall and not get up again. At first, it seems like the villagers will win, but Captain Orlov brings more Aleuts from the ship. Suddenly, as the wind picks up, Captain Orlov and the hunters get in their boats and head for their ship. They send one more puff of smoke back toward the island.
Notice that Karana’s narration never refers to the puffs of smoke and the noise coming from Captain Orlov’s ship as a cannonball; such a thing is far outside of what she’s familiar with. In this passage, Captain Orlov proves that Karana’s father was right: the Aleuts and their Russian captain aren’t trustworthy. Indeed, it doesn’t seem like a huge leap for them to go from killing otter to murdering Karana’s family and friends. The natives, to the Aleuts and Orlov, aren’t people worthy of respect.
Themes
The storm rolls in as Ulape and Karana race for the beach. Most of the men are wounded, and their father is dead. Karana and the other villagers agree that he shouldn’t have told Captain Orlov his secret name. This, they decide, caused him to die.
It’s interesting that the villagers essentially place the blame for Chief Chowig’s death on the chief himself, rather than on Captain Orlov for double-crossing the tribe and being violent. This suggests the villagers believe they should be able to fight back effectively against colonial forces. They also seem to think that by telling Orlov his secret name, the chief surrendered some of his power unnecessarily.
Themes
Get the entire Island of the Blue Dolphins LitChart as a printable PDF.
