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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who is leaving alone in a skin canoe?

2. What is the major topic of discussion about leaving Ghalas-at?

3. What is the final deal that Chief Chowig accepts from Captain Orlov?

4. Why is Karana constructing shelves in the rock face?

5. Why does Chief Chowig advise the people not to visit the Aleut's camp?

Short Essay Questions

1. Karana leaves the island in one of the hidden canoes. She is forced to turn back to the island after the canoe starts to leak badly. On the way back, she has two good fortunes. Describe what these good fortunes are.

2. After Karana finishes building her home, she decides it is time to kill the wild dogs on the island. What does she need to do the job?

3. How do the men of Ghalas-at village react when the Aleut ship sails into Coral Cove?

4. Karana cannot sleep the night before she decides to hunt sea elephants. What does she think about as she lies awake during the night?

5. How does Karana describe the Aleutian ship as it nears the island?

6. Describe the preparations the people of the village make in case the Aleuts return and they have to escape?

7. How do the people of the Ghalas-at village know when the Aleutians are planning to leave the island?

8. Karana moves her home to a high rock ledge, but the wild dogs continue to circle below. She decides to go against the tribe's taboo about women making weapons. What does she fear will happen if she makes the weapons?

9. When Karana goes to the spring to gather more water in her baskets, she seeks refuge from the wild dogs in a cave. She plans to turn the cave into another house. What does she do to the cave to make it habitable?

10. Does Chief Chowig accept the black chest of beads as full payment from Captain Orlov and the Aleuts? Explain.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

1) What is the message O'Dell is trying to convey in the novel?

2) Does he depict a realistic and relevant view of human nature through Karana's character?

3) Are the human qualities of the character too sentimental, cynical, or unwilling to change? Explain.

Essay Topic 2

1) Examine the concept that survival on the island is a form of initiation for Karana.

2) How does her life on the island move her from innocence to maturity?

3) In what way does she develop a new sense of herself?

4) How does she develop a deeper understanding of the world around her?

5) At what moment does this new knowledge of her world become evident to her?

Essay Topic 3

1) The Island of the Blue Dolphins is a fitting setting for the theme of courage and survival.

2) Describe the function of the island as a means of revealing this theme.

3) Cite at least three examples of how the setting intensifies Karana's journey of survival and courage.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,000 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample