I finished listening to Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell. I read it as a girl, but I did not remember much about it. This time I found myself amazed with the character Karana, who survived by herself on an island when her tribe left Ghalas-at. She stayed behind because of her brother, Ramo, who then died after wild dogs attacked him. That would be enough to make me lose it. Yet Karana manages to find food and fend for herself. She makes weapons from memory, seeks revenge from her brother's attackers, and then even befriends the leader of the dogs. She starts to regard the animals as her friends, and she uses their companionship to manage her loneliness. In short, she is incredible. She survives and eventually is rescued after many moons (as she would say) due to her knowledge of nature and her common sense.
People from cities pride themselves on their intelligence and ingenuity, but this is generally related to job skills and heavy reliance on others, such as technology and conveniences like the grocery store. If you were to put people with street smarts on an island like this -- alone -- to see if they would survive, they probably wouldn't last long (except for the guy from the TV show "Man vs. Wild"). So I think sometimes we should reevaluate what smart means. Some would look at Karana with her feathered skirt and otter cape and think her primitive, but her knowledge and wisdom surpasses that of many city types who rely on machines to tell them what to do. It's a matter of perspective, and it's too bad we can't get inside the head of people from other cultures to appreciate them more fully. Oh, wait -- we can, thanks to books! Karana is a heroine for the ages.
p.s. Speaking of smarts ... my smart older sister and her family are returning to the United States after living in the United Arab Emirates! I'll see them tomorrow for the first time in two years. Hooray!
