Suggestions
Use up and down arrows to review and enter to select.Please wait while we process your payment
If you don't see it, please check your spam folder. Sometimes it can end up there.
If you don't see it, please check your spam folder. Sometimes it can end up there.
Please wait while we process your payment
By signing up you agree to our terms and privacy policy.
Don’t have an account? Subscribe now
Create Your Account
Sign up for your FREE 7-day trial
Already have an account? Log in
Your Email
Choose Your Plan
Save over 50% with a SparkNotes PLUS Annual Plan!
Purchasing SparkNotes PLUS for a group?
Get Annual Plans at a discount when you buy 2 or more!
Price
$24.99 $18.74 /subscription + tax
Subtotal $37.48 + tax
Save 25% on 2-49 accounts
Save 30% on 50-99 accounts
Want 100 or more? Contact us for a customized plan.
Your Plan
Payment Details
Payment Summary
SparkNotes Plus
You'll be billed after your free trial ends.
7-Day Free Trial
Not Applicable
Renews April 8, 2023 April 1, 2023
Discounts (applied to next billing)
DUE NOW
US $0.00
SNPLUSROCKS20 | 20% Discount
This is not a valid promo code.
Discount Code (one code per order)
SparkNotes Plus subscription is $4.99/month or $24.99/year as selected above. The free trial period is the first 7 days of your subscription. TO CANCEL YOUR SUBSCRIPTION AND AVOID BEING CHARGED, YOU MUST CANCEL BEFORE THE END OF THE FREE TRIAL PERIOD. You may cancel your subscription on your Subscription and Billing page or contact Customer Support at custserv@bn.com. Your subscription will continue automatically once the free trial period is over. Free trial is available to new customers only.
Choose Your Plan
For the next 7 days, you'll have access to awesome PLUS stuff like AP English test prep, No Fear Shakespeare translations and audio, a note-taking tool, personalized dashboard, & much more!
You’ve successfully purchased a group discount. Your group members can use the joining link below to redeem their group membership. You'll also receive an email with the link.
Members will be prompted to log in or create an account to redeem their group membership.
Thanks for creating a SparkNotes account! Continue to start your free trial.
Please wait while we process your payment
Your PLUS subscription has expired
Please wait while we process your payment
Please wait while we process your payment
Karana is the only character that plays a major role in Island of the Blue Dolphins. For most of the novel, she is the only human being on Ghalas- at. Living alone on Ghalas-at tests her resilience, and as the story progresses, Karana grows through her experiences into harmony with herself and the world around her.
On of the most important things Karana finds on her island is a capacity for understanding and forgiveness. These come mainly through her need for companionship. By the end of chapter eight, Karana has two sworn enemies: the Aleutsand the wild dogs. When the wild dogs kill Ramo, Karana swears to herself that one day she will kill them all. Although she is motivated partially by a desire protect her own safety, there is a vindictive air to her vow. When she is on the verge of achieving this goal, however, and has the opportunity to finish off the leader of the wild dogs, she does not take it. Instead she brings the pack leader (whom she later names Rontu) back to her house and nurses him back to health. Though she admits she does not understand her own actions, she is later glad of them, for Rontu becomes Karana'a close friend and companion in a world where she is otherwise alone. In the same way, Karana repeats over and over that the Aleuts are her enemies, and that she is afraid what will happen to her if they find her on the island. However, when Karana is surprised by the Aleut girl, Tutok near her house, she does not attack, though she is in easy reach of her spear. Again, Karana does not know what stayed her hand, and is initially distrustful of Tutok, but eventually Tutok, like Rontu, becomes Karana's friend. Both of these cases highlight not only Karana's need for companionship, but also her ability to forgive and to see past the labels of those around her. She gave Rontu and Tutok a chance in spite of her fear, and her reward was friendship.
Another important aspect of Karana is her resilience. Though the white men's ship doesn't return for her for eighteen years, and though her efforts to establish a comfortable life on the island are repeatedly thwarted, she never shows signs of despair. Karana is often sad, as when her brother was killed, or frightened, as when she was injured by the sea elephant and stalked by wild dogs, but she never gives up. She is always looking ahead to her next task on the island.
Because Karana's story spans eighteen years, we are able to watch her personal and moral growth. As the only human on the island of he blue dolphins, Karana is left to develop her own moral code. We know that Karana cares deeply for others even at the very beginning of the novel, as is demonstrated when she plunges into the sea to go back to the island for her brother. Later, she is faced with different types of decisions. Faced with the necessity of hunting and defending herself from the wild dogs, Karana need to make weapons, something that the laws of her tribe forbid women to do. The stories say that weapons made by women will break just when one needs them most. After long deliberation, however, Karana decides to make a set of weapons for herself, and soon realizes that the old tales were false. Later in the novel, after Karana has befriended a number of the animals of the island, she decides for herself that she will never again kill any of these animals. This is a significant decision, because she is dependant on a number of these animals for material. However, she considers animals to be very much like people, even though they do not talk. She knows that her tribesmen would consider her resolution ridiculous, but her animal friends are so important to her that she cannot bear to kill them.
Please wait while we process your payment