“In the very next breath he tossed the root in the air and was gone, crashing through the brush, shouting as he went. I kept on gathering roots, but my hands trembled as I dug in the earth, for I was more excited than my brother. I knew that it was a ship there on the sea and not a big canoe, and that a ship could mean many things. I wanted to drop the stick and run too, but I went on digging roots because they were needed in the village.”

O’Dell quickly establishes the differences between Karana and her younger brother Ramo. Ramo shows his excitability and disregard for directions when he abandons his assigned task and runs back to the village. On the other hand, the responsible Karana demonstrates her ability to control her emotions so she can do what must be done. She is “more excited” than Ramo and wants to hurry home too, but continues to dig roots with her trembling hands “because they were needed in the village.” She continues to exercise this emotional restraint as she survives hardships throughout the novel. This quote also provides foreshadowing: Karana knows “that a ship could mean many things,” not all of them good, which hints at the pending disasters caused by Captain Orlov and the Aleut hunters’ arrival. In addition, Ramo wandering off on his own becomes a pattern that ends with his early death.

“‘The Aleuts come from a country far to the north,’ he said. ‘Their ways are not ours nor is their language. They have come to take otter and to give us our share in many goods which they have and which we can use. In this way shall we profit. But we shall not profit if we try to befriend them. They are people who do not understand friendship. They are not those who were here before, but they are people of the same tribe that caused trouble many years ago.’”

Chief Chowig’s warning about the Aleuts provides insight into his character. Like his daughter Karana, he takes a practical approach to problems, such as when he establishes a profitable trade deal with the Aleuts. However, he is also protective and wary, which he demonstrates by telling his people not to trust the hunters.