the nature. It happens as Karana shows some good attitudes which represent an “earth-and-animal lover”. She has awareness that nature and human is
interdependent one to another. She understands that she need to care with other natural aspects. She can utilize the nature without destructing the environment and
minimizes harmful actions. She also helps other creatures and befriends with them. This earth-centered awareness is needed by the nature and its aspects which
one of them is animal in order to maintain its sustainability. By becoming a friend or animal lover, animals are not killed wastefully. Now,
Karana considers that animals not her enemy. She also has determined not to kill the animals after making friends and naming them. She only takes what she needs
and she does not kill animals like wild dogs, red foxes, otters seal elephant and cormorants no more. She considers that killing them is not beneficial to be done.
She only kills fish and abalones as they are very beneficial foods for her in living in the island. This condition can be seen through the below quotation.
After the summer, after being friends with Won-a-nee and her young, I never killed another otter.
I had an otter cape for my shoulders, which I used until
it wore out, but never again did I make a new one. Nor did I ever kill another cormorant for its beautiful feathers
, though they have long, thin
neck and make ugly sounds when they talk to each other. Nor did I kill seals for their sinews
, using instead kelp to bind the things that needed it. Nor did I kill another wild dog,
nor did I try to spear another sea elephant.
O’Dell, 1960: 156 By doing that thing, animals are maintained their sustainability. They are
recognized as living creatures not as non-living ones. In this novel, animals are depicted and treated similar to human for Karana. Karana makes them as friends.
In addition to the way animals are treated as human, Karana names them. By naming th
em, it can show human’s affection for the animals. This situation is reflected in the following datum.
For a long time I called it Otter as I had called Rontu, Dog. Then I decided to give the otter a name. The name was Mon-a-nee, which means Little Boy
with Large Eyes. O’Dell, 1960: 149
The above datum depicts that animals are named. An otter which Karana rescue has Mon-a-nee as its name. Meanwhile, the wild dog is named as Rontu. She also
names two birds as Lurai and Tainor. By getting names from human, animals are loved and treated affectionately.
In conclusion, Karana can represent a human who love the nature and animals surrounding her. She is able to nurture the nature and befriend with other creatures
or animals. She does not only take everything for granted but also tries to give something for others. She becomes a useful person in order to help animals in
need such as otters, wild dogs, birds and cormorants. That is why animals need Karana to help and protect them.
B. Discussion
Biosphere or ecosphere is the only place where human beings can live between the layer of atmosphere because it provides the things that needed by the
human, such as oxygen. It helps human beings to obtain good air of respiratory, since now many pollutions happened in the air; such as the fogs
or ashes in Riau’s sky, Jambi’s, and Borneo’s sky. Mostly of those disaster happen because of on
purpose actions; the clearance of rice field by burning it. Meanwhile, some are
because of natural happening such as the dragging between stone and folliage and dry leaves which falling down from its trees added by the strong wind. Needless
to say, it brings into the fire forrest. Furthermore, based on Adam Oswell in http:wwf.panda.orgwho_we_arewwf_officesaustraliaenvironmental_proble
ms_in_australiads, overgrazing and deforestation are becoming the main issue in another countries such as Australia, especially for those area in agricultural
field. In another hand, it proves that the disaster not only occurs in the developing
areas or developing countries, but, with no exception, it can be also in the foreign countries with its own spesification. The example is Japan which has patron
disasters named Tsunami, Earthquake, Stormy wind or Huricanes. It is also influenced by the position of the nation which is archipelago and near to the ocean
which the tide is high but becoming usual for the Japanese. They, for now on, have been familiar and more ready to face the natural disasters like earthquake.
They hid under the tables and make special hat to protect their head when the earthquake happens. Meanwhile, Japan also utilizes its water plant power through
its waterfall. The water energy is changed into electricity and the most sophisticated is
—the nation starting to make the automobile or device which is from the solar or sun energy
—which considered to be more thrifthy, safe, and eco-green oriented.
Furthermore, the big countries like United States of America, Iran, Japan, and China which having the most outcomes or Plumbun gases through its industries
are contributing to the process of enhancement of Global Warming. For that case,
finally the United Nation or U.N, make some steps to lessen or to repair the outburst of the
‘silent’ earth. Based on unfccc.intKyoto_protocolitems2830.php, one of the actions is Protocol Kyoto whose agendas are discussing about the limit
of the pollution like Carbon dioxide, Methane, Nitrous oxide, Sulfur Hexaflouride, HFC and PFC and another hazardous substance which fill the
atmosphere and worldwide environment. The last meeting was in Doha, Qatar in 2012 which is called Doha Amendment. Meanwhile, It was first adopted in
Kyoto, Japan on 11 December 1997 and entered into force on 16
th
of February 2015. They discuss about the condition of the old earth, the global warming, the
limit of using the nuclear power, the sanction and another climate change issue. It declares since the earth becoming worse everyday. And human beings, as the one
who is given the mandate from God, have felt the impact of the leakage ozone layer. The earth becomes so hot, acid rain and drought have come to decorate their
activity. In 1960, O’Dell wrote a novel entitled “Island of the Blue Dolphins”. In
this novel, many hunters from Russian and Alleut came to exploit otter for its thick flesh and skin. The main character here is Karana who got the wisdom from
her father, Chief Chowig. The Ghalas-at tribe live in a good condition until the arrival of these hunters. The Russian ask for the agreement for sharing the otter.
The Russian asks for an unfair offer since they ask for 2:1 shares, two for Russian and one for Ghalas-at, but Chief Chowig does not agree. He asks for the same
amount of sharing. The agreement never been gained, until the battle has come. This point is the rising problems of the novel.
The superiority of this novel is showing to the teenage about nature, and its troubles and human beings in the tribes of Ghalas-at. Principally, they would be
aware about the natural problems, animal threats, wilderness and the interdependence between human beings and inverse in the reality. By having this
paradigm, they will keep the nature wisely. They will not only take the biodiversity from the sea, but also keep it well and do not exploit it exaggeratedly.
In this novel, at the first time, the Ghalas-at is a georgic dweller Garrard: 2004 who succeed in maintaining the fields such as roots, cactus and so on. After the
battle between Alleut, Russian and Ghalas-at tribes, the parley or the council decided that Kimki as the new leader of Ghalas-at. His order is that there is no
disparity between the role of men and men since the Alleut and the other white men did not look at the gender anymore. Thus, he asks his tribe, especially
women, to begin to make spear, strings and other weapons for protecting themselves from Alleut. When the Ghalas-at tribe does it, Kimki asks for
permission to go away alone to look for a help to another country named Saint Catalina to rescue the Ghalas-at.
When the day here passed by, Kimki never comes back. Thus, the council decides to change his role as the chief for Ghalas-at. During the quo status,
Ghalas-at tribes only wait. Finally, after another parley, Matasaip is elected to be the new leader or the Chief of Ghalas-at. This case can be seen as another
superiority of the story of Island of the Blue Dolphins. It starts when the general election is done in the changing after the Chief Chowig, Karana’s father. Later on,
the function substituted by Kimki, and Matasaip. The authority does not
automatically fall into Karana or Ulape or Ramo, but the tribe plants the
democracy to its dwellers.
