Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell
In the Pacific there is an island shaped like a big fish sunning itself in the sea. Around it, blue dolphins swim, otters play, and sea elephant and birds abound. A young Indian girl lives and waits for her people to return for her, from the land to the east. Karana with her long black hair and her dark skin, held her own on an island after her people had left for a new place. She was sure they would come back the next spring, but after two springs she learned to live on her own. I really admire her strength and her will power. She faces so many different adventures that you can relate to your life in a different fashion.
Living on your own brings in many new ideas and adventures. Karana has many hard decisions to make, when she has to decided to go with childhood teaching or fending for herself. " I wonder what would happen to me if I went against the law of our tribe which forbade the making of weapons by women… would the four winds blow in from the four directions of the world and smother me as I made the weapons? Or would the earth tremble, as many said, and bury me beneath its falling rocks?" The choice to build weapons saves her life and brings her a wonderful friend. "He stood facing me, his front legs spread as if he was ready to spring. The arrow struck him in the chest." This dog had been her enemy he killed her brother and she had vowed revenge on him she had gotten what she wanted, yet she had not killed the dog just wounded him. "Why I did not send the arrow I cannot say. I stood on the rock with the bow pulled back and my hand would not let it go. The big dog lay there and did not move and this may be the reason. If he would have gotten up I would have killed him. I stood there for a long time looking down at him and then I climbed off the rocks and picked him up." This dog became her friend and he salvation. It must have been lonely and she made many friends, otters, she had birds anything to keep her busy.
Each spring she hoped that her people would return and take her to the far off land which they had left for.
about a way that she could go to Eretz Island, Israel where she could be safe. She left her
Once the war was over, it was safe enough for her to travel. The reason why she traveled
In the books Hatchet, Guts, and Island of the Blue Dolphins the characters all go through horrifying experiences. In Hatchet, a boy named Brian is forced to fly a plane after the pilot dies of a heart attack. In Island of the Blue Dolphins, a girl named Karana and her brother were left behind by their clan. In Guts, a man named Gary Paulsen answers emergency ambulance calls and witnesses many deaths from people.
place for her to determine that she was in fact a border dweller. This awakening is crucial to her
In “Sonny’s Blues by James Baldwin”, the theme darkness and light appear throughout the story. The narrator's perspective of the Harlem is rough and shady due to his ability to accept new ideas and gestures. In the opeining introduction, the Narrator introduces darkness by comparing children to darkness by saying “All they really knew were two darknesses, the darkness of their lives, which was now closing in on them, and the darkness of the movies, which had blinded them to that other darkness” (Baldwin, James). The Narrator is not only disgusted by the way the children acted but also by the music that contributes to darkness by not dealing with the real world. In Sonny's Blues, the narrator demonstrates being close-minded, strong, and accepting toward his family members.
The human need to be relatable is unquenchable. We love to be able to see parts of ourselves in others, and to be able to feel like our idols are not untouchable. The Hero’s Journey format is one that can be found in almost any story, even in real life. Overall, it is the perfect recipe for keeping readers engrossed. Another place the journey has shown up is in Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand and Odyssey by Homer. These two stories—one a biography, the other, an epic poem—are so effective in their storytelling, it is easy to see how authors today continue to use the same method to make stories that grab the readers’ attention. What makes them most alike, however, is the emotions and thoughts they have the power to provoke.
The book I enjoyed most in the past year is A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki. The story switches back and forth between the diary of Nao, a suicidal teenage girl who is determined to record the life story of her great-grandmother Jiko, and Ruth, a women who lives on a remote Pacific island and discovered Nao’s diary washed up on the shore, as a result of the 2011 tsunami in Japan. After reading a few pages of the diary, Ruth is mesmerized by it and decided to find out about Nao’s life. The book covered numerous themes, including Zen Buddhism, natural disaster, Kamikaze pilots, suicide, bullying, quantum mechanics, and time. But something that intrigued me the most is the personal growth of Nao.
“Out of the north deep waves rolled down upon the island. They broke against the rocks and roared into the caves, sending up white sprays of water. Before night a storm would certainly strike” (O’Dell, 19). This passage from Scott O’Dell’s Island of the Blue Dolphins describes the Ocean that surrounds the island and characters in the story. In this description the narrator, Karana, shows the reader that the people on the island fear and respect the power of the Ocean. The Ocean is depicted throughout the novel as something enormous and powerful. The way the Ocean is seen demonstrates an example of the Burkeian Sublime. According to Burke, the Sublime is an experience that comes from authority and power. A common example for the Burkeian Sublime is looking at the power of mountains. Mountains are Sublime because they’re large in size, and have the power to kill people. Therefore, through looking at Burke’s requirements for the Sublime the conclusion is made that Scott O’Dell’s Island of the Blue Dolphins contains the Burkeian Sublime.
Now James Baldwin himself was born into Harlem neighborhoods which was a huge focal point of African American culture at it’s prime. At a point, Harlem was known for its culture and bright jazz musicians and artist, although it was sadly affected by much poverty. Now with “Sonny’s Blues” it can be quite an intriguing story as it focuses on human suffering but overcoming it. Some can relate to this story to some degree when it comes to its overall focus and themes that come into play. Like for example, Sonny began to take heroin or drugs in general due to him feeling trapped by everything around him. Like as if the things he’s trapped by what he is supposed to strive for instead of doing what he wants to do in his life. It’s like a form of escape as he attempts to find his direction in the world around him although he isn’t an “adult” but also not necessarily a “child” either. Most of us as teens tend to try to find ourselves in high school and soon to discover our true potential. But the core issue is we still are told to listen to those in higher power even if we at that age have our own opinions and ideas that shape who we are. So what Sonny is dealing with is not being taken seriously when it comes to his overall desire to become a well-known jazz musician etc. Therefore, Sonny was only a young man trying to figure out what really made him happy as a musician without dealing with the social discrimination of his life choices; only leading to his escape from reality with the use of
As a typical college student, I suffer from daily stresses, lack of sleep and lack of a proper diet. I have pulled countless all nighters; my body and brain fueled only by coffee, chocolate and pizza, in order finish a paper or study for an exam. As a result, I may have done better on the paper or test, but I was being very unkind to my body and brain. In terms of nutrition, it is important to think of the brain as just another organ in the body. The food and other substances we put into our bodies affect our behavior, mood, thoughts and emotions. The brain responds very quickly to proper nutrition. However, as a college student who dines daily in the dining hall, I most likely do not get the nutrients needed to maximize my brain potential. In this paper, I'm going to take you through a day of brain friendly meals and explain why our brains and bodies need more than coffee, chocolate and pizza to thrive and survive.
There has always been a love-hate relationship between the public and the police. When called upon to help, they can be something sent from God, but when they are writing tickets, or taking a friend to jail, the view changes from a savior to a presence that is unwanted and often hated. An effort to improve the public view of law enforcement is being attempted by many departments. Using different styles of policing techniques, mainly community based policing, has proved to be the best way to improve the image of law enforcement.
The Balaenoptera Musculus, or the blue whale, is the largest animal in the world. Blue
#15 Island of The Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell is an example of the genre of historical fiction. The story is based upon a real story of a woman who lived alone on an island for eighteen years. The writing follows the years of this with its descriptions and true characteristics of this time period. The main character is a girl named Karana who lives on an island with her whole village including her brother. The story goes from the village being decimated by a battle, to everyone left leaving to find another home. Karana’s brother Ramo is not on the ship, but the captain will not wait for him. Karana jumps ship and stays on the island with her brother who is killed by feral dogs. Ironically she takes in a feral dog and trains him
she always used to wish for a way to escape her life. She saw memories
Character Relationship:While reading the book Island of the Blue Dolphins written by Scott O'Dell I noticed the relationship between the protagonist,Karana,and her dog,Rontu.The story would of been very different if these two would not of became friends,for Karana would not have a friend to talk to and someone to keep her company.Karana is left all alone on the this island,for her village was taken away by the white men to a new home,and her younger brother killed by the wild dogs.She created her own home by using materials on the island she could use.She wanted to avenge her brother and kill the wild dogs,especially the leader.She started her revenge by making weapons to kill the wild dogs,with bows,arrows,and spears.When she got any chance