The book ‘Island of the Blue Dolphins’ by Scott O’Dell is about a girl named Karana who lives on a small island off the coast of southern California. Karana belongs to an Indian tribe, which was almost wiped out when Aleuts came to hunt otters. Then, one day, the tribe decided to leave the island and sail to another. But they left Karana behind. She waited many years for the ship to return, but it never did. During that time, she lived by herself on the island and learned how to survive by herself. Karana then befriends a wild dog from a pack who had killed her brother earlier. Then, she comes down to two options, whether to leave and follow her tribe or stay on the island. Lucky for her, a ship comes right in time and takes her away to a faraway place.
Forgiveness is what makes people strong. Everyone needs and can get forgiveness, and everyone can also give forgiveness to others. Karana was a forgiving person, as portrayed in the book. Karana learned to forgive the wild dogs for killing her brother, Ramo. She even befriended the leader of the pack and brought him home as a pet to care for. At first, Karana was infuriated by the wild dogs. She tried to hunt them down and kill as many of the dogs as possible. She mainly targeted the leader, Rontu (How she would later call him). After Rontu was shot in the chest by Karana, she forgave him and later saved his life. Forgiveness helps create peace and healing, and also prevents anger and hostility.
Loneliness can affect people both negatively and positively. Some people might think loneliness or being lonely could only have negative impacts, but they could also do some good to people sometimes. In the book, Karana was lonely when her tribe left her behind when they sailed to another place. She was even lonelier when her brother was killed by the pack of wild dogs, which was another obstacle of her loneliness. In a negative way, she was lonely and only had herself. There was no one left to care for her anymore. But, in a positive way, that also helped her learn how to survive alone, hunt, and care for others, like Rontu. Loneliness isn’t always the most encouraging when looking at it negatively, but it could be more helpful when looking at it with a positive attitude.
Trust is the way of how people are able to rely on each other. People can gain trust, and they can also trust other people. In the book, both Karana and Rontu showed trust in each other. Karana trusted that Rontu won’t betray her and called in the whole pack to kill Karana as they did to Ramo. Rontu trusted Karana that she wouldn’t try to kill him again. They both have to agree not to betray and harm each other. Karana also gradually developed trust in Tutok. At first, she was skeptical about whether Tutok was safe, and she worried that she might be an Aleut. Slowly, they got to know each other better, and Karana no longer feared Tutok. It takes courage to be able to trust people since they might fail you.
Forgiveness, loneliness, and trust can all lead to how people interact with others. Forgiveness can be both given by someone or received by someone. Karana forgave the wild dogs for killing Ramo and even adopted the pack's leader, Rontu. Loneliness can affect people in more than one way. Sometimes, it can be negative, while other times, it can be a more positive approach. Loneliness affected Karana negatively when her tribe was left by living alone and having no one to care for her. It affected her positively by helping her learn how to survive by herself. Trust is how people can rely on each other. When Karana cared for Rontu, they had to trust each other and not harm each other. Forgiveness, loneliness, and trust affect people in many ways.
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