Island of the Blue Dolphins, The Yearling [by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings] and It's Like This, Cat [by Emily Neville] illustrate what can happen to a hero or heroine separated from normal companionship. These children use love for an animal to fill the void in their lives…. All three stories show that the protagonist gains strength to cope…. (p. 145)
These stories are among the most beautiful compositions available for children because the emotion of love described has the shimmering quality of spirituality, purified of much of the selfishness that is so great a part of what is commonly called love. The beauty of the motivating thought is communicated through the phrasing and construction of each story to such an extent that one must sample the atmospheres created by the authors to appreciate it. Like a sunset, the experience contained in these books is dulled rather than enhanced by description. The protagonists, young as they are, find love more important than life. The welfare of another being is more essential than is their own in a rare essence of emotion. The loss of the object of such a love is carved from the tragic sense of life; the fact of its existence is the balance inherent in this love. (p. 146)
This is a free excerpt of 209 words. There are 378 words (approx.
1 page at 300 words per page) in the full critical essay.
Read the rest of this Criticism with our O'Dell, Scott 1903–: Critical Essay by Carolyn T. Kingston Access Pass.
