H A R I N I
Life-Changing Experiences
Turning points can sometimes be helpful, or completely disastrous, but they can help look at the world in a different perspective. The characters in Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell, I Never Had It Made by Jackie Robinson and The Father of Chinese Aviation by Rebecca Maksel, all encounter life changing experiences as they are fighting to survive, bringing equality to their race, or bringing industrialization to their country. Karana, Jackie Robinson and Feng Ru all turning points, but they eventually overcome it, and they have a new insight on how to help themselves and their country.
In Island of The Blue Dolphins, Karana is left alone, but when she stumbles into a dog, she snaps into survival mode, and she instinctively pulls out a bow and arrow, aiming at the dog’s head. Unexpectedly, the dog looks at her with pleading eyes, begging her not to let the arrow go. “Why I did not send the arrow I cannot say I stood on the rock with the bow pulled back and my hand would not let it go.” (O’Dell) Karana is shocked when she doesn’t send the arrow, as she is used to animals playing innocent, but she is filled with pity, and she takes the dog home, later naming him Rontu. One day, Karana comes home finding Rontu not being there to greet her. However, when she steps inside, she sees him lying on floor looking happy. That night she thought about her reaction. “Always before when I returned, I had hoped that he would be gone. But now as I crawled under the fence, I did not feel the same.” (O’Dell)
Similarly, Jackie Robinson, the character in, I Never Had It Made, had teammates that would refuse him just because he was black. Yet, Robinson anticipated this, as he was the first African American to play in the Major League baseball. “There were threats against me and my family, and even out-and-out attempts at physical harm to me.” (Robinson) He later found out that he was not alone, and African Americans who were not familiar with baseball came to watch him play, because Robinson had not only impacted himself, but also his country. Throughout the fight, Jackie had determination and courage. But sometimes, Jackie wanted to give up, but he would never forget the time when a little white boy yelled out, “Attaboy, Jackie!” (Robinson)
Likewise, Feng Ru, the character in, The Father Of Chinese Aviation, was hated by people, but his own race however, gave him courage. When he completed his invention, and showed it off, the press had said, “They find it hard enough to keep the Chinese out now, without having them dropping in on flying machines.” (Maksel) When Feng came home to Hong Kong, he was supposed to greet his parents by customs, but his work was at a higher priority, that he didn’t fulfill his duties until after two months. “But even with his family urging him to come home, the preoccupied inventor was so obsessed with his airplane that it took him two months to fulfill his duties.” (Marksel)
To sum up, Karana, Jackie Robinson and Feng Ru encountered life-changing experiences such as hardships and racism. In these difficult times, they pushed through, and they make an impact on themselves, on their country, and in history. Some like Jackie Robinson, and Feng Ru made an impact, but others, like Karana didn’t, but she showed her life-changing experiences by meeting Rontu, the dog, who kept her company. All characters faced difficulties throughout the fight, but they all had courage and determination in the fight against the world.
