Island of the Blue Dolphins is written by Scott O’Dell. It was published by Bantan Double Day Dell Books for Young Readers. This book was published in February 1, 1978 and has a total of 192 pages.


Island of the Blue Dolphins is about a well lived tribe on the island of Ghalas-at ruled by a born leader named Chief Chowig that has been invade by Aleuts who have come to hunt for their great desire for otter. They agreed on a fair trade with the Native Americans. But when they were done with their task and ready to leave, they tried to leave with a trade short for the Native Americans which turned into a war where Chief Chowig was killed.


This left the people of Ghalas-at with a smaller population. They had to set a new leader such as Kimki and set new rules. The people were given duties way different than what they did around Ghalas-at before the attack. Before the attack, women harvest and men hunt. Now, the women hunt and the men work even harder. Everyone had a task, and anyone who refused to contribute into the village shall perish. The village was not the peaceful place it used to be. Kimki came up with an idea to leave Ghalas-at to go back to the country he once has been to before when he was young and make a place for his people. Kimki set off to his adventure, where his people looked out for him to come back but has not return for many suns.


Ghalas-at needed a new ruler and he was Matasaip. The tribe knew the Aleuts would come at a certain time close by, so they prepared and packed supplies in case of another attack. They hid their supplies in their canoes south of the island. One day, a man who was on watch watching out for the ships yelled as a warning for the “Aleuts” but was not the same ship that was at the island the last time. The tribe was prepared but was still fearful for they did not kow what to expect. The people in the village made their way south of the island where their belongings were put and waited for any sign to what’s to come next.


Nanko then hurrily made his way south to where the people waited and shared good news to the people. He told them that the ship was from the land that Kimki was talking about. The ship was filled with men to take them to this unknown land. The tribe then made their way to the shore where the ship awaited which was near the cove. But as they were making their way, Ramo, brother of Won-a-pa-lei, children of Chief Chowig, forgot his fishing spear and wished to retrieve it. But Won-a-pa-lei refused to let him go because they were rushed to load the ship. As they were boarding the ship, Ramo was no where to be found on the ship like Nanko said he would be. Won-a-pa-lei looked all over but he was no where to be found. Won-a-pa-lei looked over the ship and saw Ramo running along the cliff, where he went back to the south of the island to retrieve his fishing spear. Won-a-pa-lei tried to call for Ramo, but he could not hear him because of the wind. Won-a-pa-lei asked to turn back but her commands could not be answered. She had no choice to jump the ship and go back to the island with her brother. She jumped into the ocean with all her belongings. Won-a-pa-lei had no problem with the distance from shore, but the current was too strong especially with all the stuff she was carrying. So she let go of all her stuff to the bottom of the ocean and finally reached the shore where Ramo was just standing. She got up and hugged Ramo and forgot about all the reasons why she jumped and if she was mad at him or not.


Now that it was just Won-a-pa-lei and Ramo on Ghalas-at, they had to decide how they were going to survive until the next ship will come. The island was filled with wild animals. They made shelter for themselves and hunted for food to eat but they wanted to hunt off the land with their canoes. Ramo said that he could retrieve the canoes but Won-a-pa-lei knew he was too weak to carry them for they were bigger than both of them and could carry up to six people. Ramo being independent went along by himself. Won-a-pa-lei did not recognize him on her trail and called for Ramo. But no respond was given. So she went on to look for him. She then found him surrounded by a pack of wild dogs, laying on the ground hurt. Ramo was killed by the dogs and Won-a-pa-lei wished to seek revenge on the dogs, especially the leader, the largest one of them all with the thickest fur and yellow eyes.


Now Won-a-pa-lei was on her own. She had to learn how to survive for she does not know how long until the next ship comes. She needed a place to stay, where she built a shelter of supplies she had gathered and prepared for days. She did the same and prepared supplies in case of another attack from the Aleuts. She knew the ship would not be coming for many suns, so she had to prepare herself for the time will come the Aleuts will come again to hunt. The laws of Ghalas-at forbade the making of weapons by women of the tribe, but she needed to survive so she made a bow and arrows.


Won-a-pa-lei came face to face with the leader of the pack and she shot him with her arrows right in his chest. But he still managed to trot away. She followed him and he fell. Her plan was to kill him for what he did to Ramo, but she couldn’t. Instead, she brought the dog over to her place and cared for his wounds. She took care of him and came up with a name for him. His name was Rontu which meant “fox eyes” and he became her new best friend. Rontu was always by her side.


Throughout Won-a-pa-lei’s adventure on Ghalas-at, she realized how important animals were to the island. She no longer had the nerve to kill another animal on the island. Won-a-pa-lei took and tamed other different kinds of animals along the way. She got two birds and tamed them to adapt to her home. The birds were tamed that they would fly away and come back. She named the two birds Tainor for the larger one and Lurai. She saved and injured baby otter who was slashed on his back. She fed him for many days and named him Mon-a-nee. He grew old and was set free leaving Won-a-pa-lei unsure if she’d ever see him again.


One day on the island of Ghalas-at as Won-a-pa-lei was gazing into the sea looking at the clouds, she noticed a ship. She then rushed to her headland and packed her belongings and relocated to Coral Cave where she stayed from now on. The ship got closer and canoes were coming back and forth from the ship to the shore. On the shore, Won-a-pa-lei noticed nothing but a girl near a fire. Won-a-pa-lei stayed alert for nay tracks and made sure to erase hers for the people may see them and track them to her cave.


One day while Won-a-pa-lei was making a new skirt of her own with some beautiful feathers she dried, the girl from the beach was hiding in the bush watching her. Rontu heard her and Won-a-pa-lei was alerted and looked at her. Won-a-pa-lei did not trust her. The girl from the beach introduced herself as Tutok. But Won-a-pa-lei did not reveal herself til later when one day Tutok came back to her cave. Tutok tried talking to Won-a-pa-lei, but she did not understand for she had no form of any communication she forgot how words of her own tribe were said and what they meant.


Tutok would visit everyday and they grew closer and closer. Won-a-pa-lei liked the feeling of having a friend. But she still feared the men of the ship might find out where she stayed. But one day, close to a time the Aleuts would leave, Tutok did not come visit. She looked over to the beach and saw the Aleuts packing up and before she knew it, the sails were long gone. After the Aleuts had gone, she moved back to her headland, where she moved form before the Aleuts arrived.


Won-a-pa-lei, went to go visit Mo-a-nee but he was not there. She knew the otter would leave some day. Won-a-pa-lei prepared more weapons. She found a gull that fell from it’s nest and took care of it. With Rontu, the two birds, and the gull moving around the yard, the house seemed like a happy place. But from time to time, Won-a-pa-lei would think about Totuk, the people from her tribe, and how they are doing.


Won-a-pa-lei went back to her original duties for the day, which was hunting for food for the day and preparing weapons. There was not much to do on the island. Rontu was out but did not return. Won-a-pa-lei went out to search him and found his tracks. Rontu was laying on ground hardly living with a heart beat. Rontu died that day and was buried.


One summer, Won-a-pa-lei was out and saw a wild dog that looked just like Rontu and she was so sure that this was his son. So she planned to capture him and to do so, from an old trick she learned from the tribe that made people sleep, she put some in the spring where the dogs would drink from. The dog she was eyeing drank the water and passed out. She brought him to her the headland and tied him to her fence with food and water. Eventually he became tamed just like Rontu and she named him, Rontu-Aru meaning son of Rontu.

The land faced natural disasters such as crashing waves and an earthquake which left Won-a-pa-lei fearful. The great waves cost her all the food and weapons she prepared. It was time to start all over. She found scraps of the old canoes and made a new one, made new weapons, and searched for food.


Many winters and summers have passed and as Won-a-pa-lei was looking out at sea, she noticed a ship. The ship moved closer and closer and fast. The ship brought canoes toward the beach and one of the men shouted out as if he was calling for anyone. Won-a-pa-lei did not respond and the men were set to leave. As they were leaving, Won-a-pa-lei was trying to call for them, but they did not hear her through the winds. She watched the ship sail out of sight.


Two more springs had gone, and on a clear morning sky, and clam sea, the ship came back again. The men made a camp on the shore and Won-a-pa-lei was on the look out for them. She then decided, that they were going to leave the island. One morning, three men notice the fire from the headland and followed it. They came to the headland and there she was standing in front of the three men revealing herself. They tried talking to her but she did not understand. They brought her to their ship and treated her with class, making her a dress but she did not like. They left Ghalas-at. Won-a-pa-lei asked the men what happened to the boat that took her people. She was told the ship sunk in a great storm, which is why the reason the men did not some back for her. Sailing for ten days with clear blue skies, Won-a-pa-lei looked back at the Island of the Blue Dolphins and thinking about all the great animals she made friends with, reminiscing all the great moments of 18 years, and looking at the headlands. They were sailing away, dolphins rising out of the sea, and Rontu-Aru by her side, they were onto something good.

Critique

Setting
The story of Island of the Blue Dolphins took place on a rocky island far off the coast of California in a village named Ghalas-at. The island got it’s name “Island of the Blue Dolphins” from the shape of the island and because the dolphins lived by the island were like the life of the ocean on near the coast of the island. This setting of this place is both significant and anonymous . The coast of California is a place today, but the name they called it was named through a legend from the tribe that lived there. And the village on the island was named by the tribe.

Characters
Chief Chowig- Direct: protagonist
Won-a-pa-lei-Direct: protagonist
Ramo-Direct: protagonist
Kimki-Direct: protagonist
Matasaip-Direct: protagonist
Captain Orlov: Direct: antagonist
Ulape: Direct: protagonist
Totuk-Direct: protagonist
Nanko-Direct: protagonist
Aleuts- Indirect: antagonist

Animal Characters
Rontu- Direct: protagonist
Rontu-Aru-Direct: protagonist
Mo-a-nee- Direct: protagonist
Tainor-Direct: protagonist
Lurai-Direct: protagonist
Wild Dogs-Indirect: antagonist
Gull-Indirect: protagonist


Exposition


The Aleuts arrive at the island to hunt for otter and break their promise in fair trade which led to war against the Native Americans and the Aleuts. The tribe had to learn how to grow again and prepared for another Aleut attack. A ship comes and brings them to a land where their leader Kimki has made a place for them to live. But when Ramo disobeys his sister Won-a-pa-lei’s orders, this cause for both of them to be left at the island with a need to survive. They make plans to shelter and hunt but when Ramo is stranded by himself, he is killed by a pack of wild dogs. For this, seeked revenge to kill the wild dogs. This leaves Won-a-pa-lei on her own on the island with the struggle to survive

Rising Action


Won-a-pa-lei goes back to her home and refreshes her mind to what she has to do. She finds a new place to shelter and breaks the law of women that are forbade to make weapons, but makes them in order to hunt and survive. Through years of observation, making weapons were quite a struggle, but she eventually got them. She hunted in the reef with the canoes left behind, and was always alert for the wild dogs. Eventually she caught the wild dog that killed her brother but did not kill him. Instead she took him home and took care of him. By doing so, he became her best friend and she named him Rontu.

Conflict


As Won-a-pa-lei was looking out to the sea, she noticed a ship out at sea. She prepared her stuff and left her headland leaving it looking like no one has lived there for a while. She relocated to Coral Cave where she stayed from then. The ship has hit the shore and the men camped on the beach. As Won-a-pa-lei looked over at the beach, only one thing caught her eye, and that was a girl sitting by the fire. Now that there were Aleuts on the island, Won-a-pa-lei did anything and everything to say hidden. She only hunted during the days when the men worked. She was scared they would find where she lived.

Climax


One day as Won-a-pa-lei was at her cave, the girl she was looking at at the beach noticed her and went up to her. She introduced herself as Totuk but Won-a-pa-lei did not introduce herself because she did not trust her or the men. But Totuk came back and then Won-a-pa-lei introduced herself to Totuk. They became friends and Totuk would visit her every day. But when it came to the time for the Aleuts had to leave, Totuk stopped visiting and Won-a-pa-lei knew the reason why.

Falling Action


Won-a-pa-lei was back to her original routine to hunt for food and make weapons. She faced natural disasters such as big waves and and an earth quake, which cost her all her food and weapons. Won-a-pa-lei had to start all over with making weapons, gathering food, and making a new canoe with different pieces from the other broken canoes. As Won-a-pa-lei sent out Rontu, he did not return. She called for him but he did not respond. She went out looking for him and saw him laying on the ground barely living with a heart beat. Rontu died. Won-a-pa-lei saw a dog that looked just like Rontu, which she knew was his son. So she planned to catch him. She did so and tamed him just like Rontu, with thick fur and yellow eyes. While Won-a-pa-lei was out at sea, she noticed a ship coming towards the island and headed back to shore. She hid in her cave and watched for the ship. The ship brought a canoe to shore where a man stood out of. He yelled ad if he was calling out for anyone. No respond was given and from that, the men left. But Won-a-pa-lei ran for them but the ship was long gone. She yelled but they could not hear her through the winds.

Resolution


After two springs, Won-a-pa-lei was looking out at sea and the ship came back. She headed back to her headland, decided she was going to leave, and packed her belongings. She had a fire at her shelter which attracted three of the men to follow. It lead them to her headland, her house. The three men came face to face with Won-a-pa-lei. They tried talking to her but she did not understand. They brought her to the ship and set sailed. Won-a-pa-lei looked back at the Island of the Blue Dolphins and remembers everything that has happened the past 18 years, with Rantu-Aru still by her side.

Conflict


The conflict of this Novel was the way one learns to survive on her own. She basically learns all the surviving skills. Even if not experienced, handling tools she never touched, she got the hang of. She learned to do the job of a man back then. This not only changed her to become scared but also created her to become a more independent and stronger woman.

Scott O'Dell (May 23, 1898 – October 16, 1989) was an American writer of children books who created 26 stories for youngsters, along with three adult stories and four nonfiction works. He was most famously the writer of the children's novel Island of the Blue Dolphins , which won the 1961 Newbery Medal and the 1963 Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis as well as the Lewis Carroll Shelf Prize in 1961. Other prize winning works by O'dell include The King's Fifth , Black Star, Bright Dawn , The Black Pearl , and Sing Down the Moon ; which were all also Newbery Honor prize works. O'dell created primarily historical fiction. Many of his children's stories are about historical California and Mexico. Scott O'Dell was born O'Dell Gabriel Scott but his name was published wrong on the book and he decided to keep the name Scott O'Dell.