Some have called her “Karana.” Others “Juana Maria.” Still others, simply, “The Lone Woman.” Yet
her true name remains unknown
. She is one of the nameless, faceless women of history, and she belongs to the California of my youth. Many versions of her story exist.
What is karanas real name?
“
Juana Maria
” is what the missionaries christened her when she came to their mission in her 40s. With her real name lost, O'Dell opted to call her fictional doppelgänger Karana.
How old was Karana?
Karana, only
12 years old at
the book's beginning, turns out to be adept at hunting, building and tool-making, and quickly becomes a strong, capable young woman surviving in an unforgiving wilderness.
What tribe was Karana?
In his award-winning book, O'Dell called her Karana. But that woman of San Nicolas is as famous for her namelessness as for the lonely adventure she endured. Long before Cabrillo “discovered” the Channel Islands in the 1500s,
the Nicoleño
, a tribe thought to have lived there for 10,000 years, inhabited them.
Where is Karana buried?
But after only seven weeks, unaccustomed to the diet of the mainland, she died of dysentery. (O'Dell spared his protagonist, Karana—and his young readers—this fate.) She was buried at
Mission Santa Barbara
.
What did Karana find out about her people who had left the island many years before?
Karana inquires about the ship that had taken her people many years before, but it is not until much later that she finds out
that it had sunk soon after it reached its destination
.
Who found Juana Maria?
Despite 18 years in solitude, she was discovered “smiling”
After several futile attempts at locating the lost woman who failed to depart with the rest of her tribe in 1835, the Captain of a ship called
the Peores Nada
, a man by the name of George Nidever, finally located Juana Maria in 1853.
Who is Nanko?
Nanko.
A young man of the tribe that Karana's sister
, Ulape, has a crush on. Nanko thought he saw Ramo board the boat the day Ramo and Karana are left behind, but is mistaken.
What did Karana find in the black cave?
Black Cave is near the place where the people of Ghalas-at stored their canoes to escape the Aleuts. While rowing, Karana sees
a hawk fly out of the
cave and goes in to explore. Inside, she and Rontu find a row of figures made from reeds and clothed in gull feathers.
Why did Karana jump off the ship?
Why did Karana jump from the ship that carried her tribe?
She noticed that the blue dolphins were no longer following it
. She saw her little brother running with his fishing spear along the cliff. She could not bear to leave the place where her father had died.
Is there a blue dolphin?
Blue dolphin cichlid (Cyrtocara moorii), a fish endemic to Lake
Malawi
in east Africa. Blue Dolphin and Blue Dolphin 2, ships operated by Tsugaru Kaikyō Ferry in Japan.
What is Karana's secret name?
It's after this time together that she tells Tutok her secret name:
Karana
(22.12).
What happened to the Nicoleno tribe?
The Nicoleño were an Uto-Aztecan people who lived on San Nicolas Island in California. Its population was
“left devastated by a massacre in 1811 by sea otter hunters
“. Its last surviving member was given the name Juana Maria, who was born before 1811 and died in 1853.
How many years did Karana live on the island?
Island of the Blue Dolphins is a work of historical fiction based on the life of an American Indian woman who spent
18 years
in isolation on San Nicolas Island, one of eight Channel Islands off the coast of Southern California. In the book she's named Karana.
How many years does Karana survive alone?
‘Island of the Blue Dolphins': The Basics Scott O'Dell charged onto the children's novel scene with his masterpiece, ‘Island of the Blue Dolphins. ‘ In this story, a young girl, Karana, is forced to learn how to survive after she is left alone for
18 years
on the island she called home.
