the harsh winds. Furthermore, she might forget her language since she has lived alone and had no one to talk to for many years in the Island of the Blue Dolphins.
I raised my hand and shouted over and over, but the wind carried my voice away. I ran down the beach and waded into the water. The men did
not see me. O’Dell, 1960: 175
2. The Interdependence between Human and Nature
a. Human Needs Nature
1 Needing Foods
Foods are the essential things for humans to keep them alive. Nature provides these things for them. These foods can be in the form of water, fish, abalones,
vegetables, fruits and so on. In other words, these foods only can be found in the nature. Thus, humans depend on nature in order to fulfill their basic needs.
It cannot be denied that water is a very prominent thing in human body. It is very crucial for humans. Humans can live until seven days without food, but they
will be starving to die if they did not consume water for three days. In this novel, humans needing water is presented as the following quotation.
The spring was not far off and I rested there, though I was very thirsty, cutting a lobe from a cactus bush to chew on.
O’Dell, 1960: 89.
Karana feels so thirsty because the lack of mineral in her body. Thus, she needs water to fulfill her body’s need. Then, she finds a cactus near her and she sucks
the cactus to drink. It means that the water can also be taken from plants like cactus too. This water can be gotten by chewing the cactus. Thus, nature provides
not only spring but also plants which c an be utilized to fulfill humans’ needs for
water. In other words, human depends on the existence of the nature.
In addition, humans which are presented through Karana need foods. These foods can be achieved from many sources in various forms. She may eat
vegetables, fruits and roots. She may gather abalones and shellfish from the sea to fulfill her need for foods. This condition is reflected in this statement below.
At last I gave up looking for him and began to gather abalones for winter. The red shell holds the sweetest meat and are the best for drying, though the
green ones and the black are also good. Because the red ones are the sweetest, starfish prey upon them. O’Dell, 1960: 116
It is vivid that Karana cannot stand alone for fulfilling the daily needs. She needs foods from the sea such as abalones and from the lands like vegetables, fruits and
roots. It also shows that the humans depend on nature.
2 Needing Shelter and Protection
As Karana lives alone in wilderness, she needs shelter and protection from both animal threat and bad weather condition. Fortunately, the nature helps her in
order to achieve them. The nature provides safe caves and other things which are beneficial to protect her from unwanted things. It can be proven by the below
statement.
While I was living there I decided that I would make the cave into another house
, where I could stay should again get hurt or sick. And this I did as soon as I was strong and could walk. O’Dell, 1960: 88
Karana makes the cave like her own house which can protect her while she is sick. This cave is also beneficial to protect her from bad weather and animal treat like
red foxes and wild dogs. The cave gives Karana some spaces to live on her own, to store her belongings and to lay down her body from tiredness. It can be stated
that the cave provides her with warmness which is essential to give her comfort in the winter season. She does not need to build the shelter because the cave gives
her everything she needs. Moreover, it is available to straightly being a shelter for her. She depends her life on the nature which has provided a great place where
she can stay and sleep. Furthermore, Karana also makes another house which she can use in the nice
weather. She builds a house from materials which she can find in her surroundings. These materials are ribs of the whale, wild grasses, kelps, rocks and
others. Furthermore, she uses poles as a fence to protect her from the wild dogs. Karana does not need to pay for those materials as nature provides them for free.
Humans only need to utilize them and maintain the nature.
On the third day the rain ceased and I went out to look for things which I would need in building the house.
I like wise needed poles for a fence. O’Dell, 1960: 73
In addition, for her comfortable life in the cave or on the Coral Cove, she
makes a bed from dry seaweeds. After the first night I spent there, which was uncomfortable because of the
uneven places in the rock, I carried dry seaweed up from the beach and made a bed for myself.
O’Dell, 1960: 56. It means that Karana tries hard to face the difficulty bravely. Everything should be
the same though now she should fulfill everything alone by utilizing the food, water, canoe, a companion and shelter by herself. Karana can represent how a
human cannot separate herhimself from the nature.
