Secret names
Karana's tribe usually indicated whether or not they trusted someone
by whether or not they told that person their secret name. They believed
that telling the wrong person one's secret name was unwise.
The rest of the tribe thought it was unwise for Chief Chowig to tell Captain Orlov his secret name. And what happened showed that they were right. There was a fight and many of the tribe's men were killed.
When Karana first met Tutok, the Aleut girl, she did not give her her
secret name. Then when she trusted her, she showed that trust by telling
her her secret name. Tutok proved herself to be a good friend. She did
not lead her people to Karana. Karana was wise to trust her.
Thin line of blue clay on face
A thin line of blue clay on her face indicates that a woman in Karana's
tribe, the Ghalas-at, is unmarried. In a larger sense it also means that
the woman is a member of the Ghalas-at tribe. When Karana put a thin line
of blue clay on her face as she prepared to leave the island, she wanted
to show the outside world that she was a member of the Ghalas-at tribe
as much as she wanted to show that she was unmarried.
Dolphins
Dolphins symbolize good fortune to Karana. Toward the end of chapter
10, she says that blue dolphins took her home to the island. At the end
of the book, she implies that the dolphins that swam before the ship were
indicators of good luck. That was a good, upbeat ending to the book.
When Scott O'Dell's ashes were buried at sea after his death in 1989, dolphins accompanied the ship back to shore in a perfect tribute to the author.
No repetition of unhelpful actions
Karana turned away from courses of action that were not helpful. This
occurred when she decided not to make a second attempt to look for the
country that lay beyond the ocean in a canoe. It occurred when she decided
not to kill the leader of the wild dogs. It occurred when she stopped
hunting devilfish. It occurred when she decided to never again return
to the cave with the skeleton in it. It occurred when she decided to no
longer try to kill a sea elephant.
The trees on the island
Karana's description of the trees on the island gives us an idea
of how difficult life there is.
Red
The author uses the color red for the sail of the Aleut/Russian ship
because it brings forth the image of blood. (Possibly the author was influenced
by the frequent use of the word Reds to describe the Russians in the
days that he was writing this story.)
Fog
Scott O'Dell uses fog to convey to us the image of spirits at the
beginning of chapter 9. Karana tells us It made shapes as it drifted
and it reminded me of all the people who were dead and those who were
gone.
Sunless sky
At the beginning of chapter 4, the chapter in which the massacre occurs,
the weather is described as a sunless day. This is a clue to what will
happen that day.
Smells
At the end of chapter 11, the author uses our memories of smells to
take us into the scene that he is describing. He says The smell of the
tide pools was strong. Sweet odors came from the wild grasses in the ravines
and from the sand plants on the dunes.
As Karana gathers more animal members into her family, we are aware that she really wants a family of her own.
Clapsaddle, Diane. "TheBestNotes on A Long Way Gone".
TheBestNotes.com.
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