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Summary
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Julie of the Wolves, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Humans vs. Nature
Memory and Disillusionment
Community and Survival
Tradition vs. Assimilation
Summary
Analysis
It’s winter on the North Slope of Alaska. Miyax gazes at the Arctic sun and knows by the sky’s green color that it’s 6:00 in the evening, which is the time the wolves awaken. She places her cooking pot on the ground walks to the top of the frost heave. From there, she can see a pack of wolves in the distance. Miyax trembles with fear—not because of the wolves, which she knows are shy, but because she’s lost on the vast, barren North Slope and hasn’t eaten in days. The slope extends for hundreds of miles in all directions. There are no roads here, only scattered bodies of water. Miyax knows she needs the wolves to survive, but she’s not sure they’ll help her.
The North Slope is an Arctic region of northern Alaska, located on the northern slope of the Brooks Range and along the coasts of the Chukchi Sea and the Beaufort Sea. The area is mostly tundra, or land where low temperatures keep the ground perpetually frozen, preventing tree growth. Miyax’s ability to judge the time of day according to the sun’s position in the sky shows that she is attuned to nature. Her instinct to turn to wolves for help further suggests an affinity with the natural world.
Themes
Miyax stares at a majestic black wolf and tries to ask him for food. She knows it’s possible to communicate with the animals, since her father, an Inuk hunter, once had a wolf pack lead him to a freshly killed caribou. But Miyax’s father never taught her how to talk to the wolves.
Inuk is the singular form of Inuit. As an Inuk girl, Miyax’s indigenous background informs her close connection to nature. Miyax also seems to admire her father’s wisdom as an Inuk hunter, since she’s relying on it to help her survive.
Themes
For two days, Miyax has studied the wolves’ sounds and movements to figure out how to befriend them. She’s selected a black, regal wolf to watch because he’s largest in his pack and walks confidently, like her father, Kapugen. The black wolf appears wise, and the others imitate his behaviors. Although the wolf has ignored her so far, Miyax tries to be patient with nature, as Kapugen taught her to do.
This section reaffirms Miyax’s respect for her father: in comparing Kapugen to the regal wolf, she suggests that he, too, is a wise, natural leader. It also shows Kapugen’s central role in connecting Miyax with her cultural heritage.
Themes
Miyax is a classically beautiful Inuk girl: she has a small, round face, a flat nose, black eyes, and a lean but muscular figure. Like the polar bears and Arctic foxes, she has short limbs, the harsh climate of the Arctic having carved all those who live there into “compact” forms that can easily retain heat. Still, Miyax’s figure won’t help her if she can’t find food. She grows impatient and calls out to the wolf: “Amaroq, ilaya, wolf, my friend,” she cries, using a mixture of Yupik and English words.
The Inuit are a group of peoples indigenous to the Arctic/Subarctic regions of Alaska, Canada, and Greenland. The word literally translates to “people.” The physical adaptations that the Arctic’s inhabitants have undergone over time shows how difficult it is to survive there. This, in turn, emphasizes the direness of Miyax’s situation: the Arctic tundra is a dangerous place to be lost. The Yupik are another group of peoples indigenous to Alaska. Inuit is sometimes used to encompass the Yupik, as well, though the Inuit and Yupik are technically distinct groups of people. In Inuit religion, Amaroq (also spelled Amaguq/Amarok) is a giant wolf deity that stalks people who hunt alone at night. Miyax’s tendency to use a mixture of English and Yupik words might imply that she identifies with both indigenous and non-indigenous American culture.
Themes
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Amaroq glances in Miyax’s direction before returning his gaze to the three adults and five pups in his pack. His eyes soften as he looks at the pups, but they become firm as he scans his barren, flat surroundings. The tundra doesn’t support life: only moss, grass, lichens, and scattered wildflowers grow in the summer. Few animal species live here, though the ones that do exist in great numbers. Amaroq’s ears grow tense, and Miyax wonders if he hears an enemy approaching in a distance. After a moment, the wolf’s ears relax.
Amaroq’s eyes remain firm out of an obligation to protect his wolf pack against the dangerous and unpredictable tundra. Despite the barren landscape, species are able to thrive here in large groups, which suggests that it’s necessary to have the support of a community to thrive in such a brutal natural environment. This adds a layer of urgency to Miyax’s situation: her chances of survival diminish greatly if she can’t get help from the wolves.
Themes
Miyax considers her situation. She is 13 years old, the daughter of Kapugen, and the adopted daughter of Martha. She’s a U.S. citizen and attends the Bureau of Indian Affairs school in Barrow. She’s married to a boy named Daniel, who is also the reason she ran away last week.
Miyax is married despite being only 13 years old, which implies that marrying early is common and acceptable in her culture. Miyax doesn’t elaborate on why she ran away from Daniel, but it’s implied that the marriage put Miyax in a complicated or dangerous situation. After all, things had to have been bad for her to justify exposing herself to the dangers of the Arctic wild to escape her husband.
Themes
Amaroq rolls onto his belly, and Miyax pleads silently for him to help her; she knows the sun won’t set for a month, and she’ll have no North Star to lead her home. Miyax talks aloud to herself to calm her nerves. She didn’t know she could get lost here. She didn’t bring a compass on her journey, since on Nunivak Island, where she was born, she could rely on plants and birds to guide the way and had figured it was this way everywhere.
The North Slope lies within the Arctic Circle, where the sun doesn’t set for nearly three months during the summer season. Conversely, from mid-November through January, the sun doesn’t rise above the horizon. Nunivak Island is located in southwestern Alaska and has a relatively milder, subarctic climate. Again, Miyax’s ability to navigate her environment without a compass indicates her Inuit culture’s respect for and harmonious relationship with nature.
Themes
Suddenly, Amaroq looks at Miyax, who cries out in excitement, leaps to her feet, and waves at the wolf. The wolf bares his teeth, and Miyax lays down on her stomach once more. Amaroq wags his tail. Miyax gives up and crawls down the frost heave and back to her modest campsite. Miyax couldn’t take much with her when she ran away, and her campsite consists only of basic supplies: a backpack, a week’s supply of food, needles for mending, a sleeping skin, ground cloth, and some cooking supplies. Miyax had planned to go to Point Hope, where she’d board the North Star (a ship that carries supplies from the continental U.S. to the towns along the Arctic Ocean) and work as a dishwasher or laundress.
Miyax is excited because Amaroq’s eye contact signifies that he is starting to accept her as a member of his pack. She lays down on her belly to imitate behavior she has observed in Amaroq and the other wolves. Miyax mimics the wolves because she knows she is a stranger in their land and must respect their customs. She has a reverence for the wolves and doesn’t assume she is superior just because she’s human. Point Hope is a city on the North Slope that’s only accessible by plane or boat.
Themes
Miyax’s plan was to visit her pen pal, Amy, in San Francisco. She was curious to see Amy’s strange and different world, with its televisions, carpeting, glass buildings, streets, and supermarkets. Most of all, though, Miyax wanted to escape the terrifying Daniel. Miyax starts to think about her marriage but blocks it from her mind.
Miyax upholds her indigenous traditions, but her curiosity about Amy and San Francisco shows that she is attracted to non-indigenous American culture, as well. That Miyax can’t bring herself to think about her marriage implies possible a history of abuse.
Themes
Miyax built her first sod house, the traditional summer home of the old Inuit people, when she first arrived at camp. The shelter is imperfect but cozy: she windproofed it by spreading mud between the brick sod she’d cut with her ulo. Miyax placed her caribou ground cloth on the floor and her sleeping skin on top of that. She built a sod table beside her bed and placed some bird feathers on top of the table for decoration.
The Inuit traditionally use sod to construct their dwellings because the tundra’s harsh environment prevents tree growth. An ulo (normally spelled ulu) is a thin, fan-shaped knife with a handle made from antler, horn, or ivory and a blade made from slate. Traditionally, Inuit women used the ulo for a variety of purposes, including skinning and butchering animals, cutting hair, and shaping ice and snow for igloo construction.
Themes
Miyax built a fireplace for cooking outside her house, but she hasn’t had any luck finding food. All the lemmings in the area had disappeared last winter. Her teacher Mrs. Franklin had explained that the rodents have a special chemical in their bloodstream to help them survive the winter. But when there are too many of them, they get nervous, produce too much of the chemical, and poison themselves. Miyax’s father had a different explanation, offering only that “the hour of the lemming is over for four years.” When the lemming disappeared, so did the animals that hunted them: the owl, the weasel, the jaeger bird. With the lemming gone, the grass grew high once more, and the caribou returned to graze it, and the wolves returned to hunt the caribou.
A lemming is a small rodent native to the Arctic tundra. Mrs. Franklin is referring to the common misconception that lemmings commit mass-suicide by jumping from cliffs. A 1958 Disney documentary called White Wilderness is partially responsible for popularizing the myth. In reality, lemming population fluctuations may be explained by the animal’s instinctual drive to migrate in large groups when their population density becomes too high. Because lemmings can swim, they sometime choose to travel to their new habitat by water, and some inevitably drown in the process. The difference in Mrs. Franklin’s and Kapugen’s explanations for the lemmings’ absence illustrates how significantly their respective cultures influence their worldview. While Mrs. Franklin’s explanation has an empirical basis, Kapugen’s observation that “the hour of the lemming is over” reflects his Inuit-influenced respect for Earth’s natural rhythm. His indigenous background has taught him to see nature as an interconnected network of plants and animals, and he understands that the lemmings’ temporary absence allows other species to flourish.
Themes
Miyax nibbles at moss and wonders if she can survive on it like the caribou do. She thinks about Amaroq and decides that he snarled because he was trying to talk to her. Miyax returns to the frost heave and calls out to Amaroq once more, pleading with him to bring her some meat. Amaroq stands. Miyax sees how large he is and momentarily fears he will eat her, but she reminds herself this is just gussak talk, and that Kapugen told her that “wolves are gentle brothers.”
Dwelling on Kapugen’s wisdom reinvigorates Miyax’s quest to communicate with the wolves. Gussaks’ (white people’s) fear of wolves suggests that they have less of an affinity for nature than the Inuit. While gussaks see nature as threatening and don’t take the time to understand it, Kapugen’s Inuit culture draws him closer to nature, allowing him to characterize wolves as affectionate, “gentle brothers.”
Themes
A black puppy wags his tail at Miyax. His mother runs toward him and gives him an angry look. The pup licks his mother to apologize, and she smiles as she forgives him. Miyax recognizes the mother’s expression, having seen it in her own elders’ eyes. Miyax thinks about naming the mother wolf Martha, after her adoptive mother, but decides the wolf is too beautiful. She calls her Silver, instead.
Miyax’s observation that the bond between the black puppy and his mother isn’t so different from the bond she shares with her elders shows how easily she relates to nature, which is likely a trait she inherited from Kapugen and their Inuit culture more broadly. Miyax indirectly insults Martha by claiming that Silver is too beautiful to be named after her. The slight against Martha suggests that Miyax isn’t very fond of her.
Themes
The three pups start playing with a bone. Miyax laughs when she realizes they’re playing something similar to tug-o-war, a game Inuit children play with leather ropes. Amaroq looks at Silver and then at the gray wolf, which Miyax has named Nails. Silver and Nails walk toward Amaroq. Silver affectionately bites Amaroq’s mouth, and Amaroq’s tail wags excitedly; unlike the fox, Amaroq gets to see his mate all year. Nails bites Amaroq’s mouth respectfully. Another adult emerges and rolls on his belly before Amaroq. Miyax looks at the dog’s wriggling form and decides to call him Jello.
This scene offers more evidence of the ease with which Miyax relates to nature. Seeing the similarities between the wolves’ and the Inuit children’s games boosts Miyax’s confidence about being able to connect with the wolves the way Kapugen did on his hunting trip. The respect that Nails, Silver, and Jello show to Amaroq reaffirms his position as leader of the pack.
Themes
Miyax decides the wolves’ mouthing must be a ceremony, not unlike “Hail to the Chief.” The old hunters on Nunivak Island think that intelligence, fearlessness, and love are the “riches of life,” and Miyax thinks that Amaroq is a wealthy wolf. The pack of wolves continue to shower Amaroq with love, and he howls in delight. Seeing this display of affection convinces Miyax not to be afraid of the wolves.
Once more, Miyax points to the similarities between wolves and humans. She posits that the wolf custom of mouthing is comparable to the American custom of ushering in the president with the “Hail to the Chief” fanfare. Miyax thinks Amaroq must be a wealthy wolf because she observes in him the characteristics, or “riches of life,” that her culture values most. Seeing the wolves demonstrate their respect for Amaroq convinces Miyax that wolf culture and Inuit culture value the same traits: bravery, intelligence, and love.
Themes
The wolves yip and howl before falling silent to follow Amaroq down the slope. Silver gives Jello a stern look, and Jello returns to watch the puppies. Miyax thinks about everything she’s learned so far: how to respect the leader, how to be a respectful leader, and how to make Jello babysit. She watches Jello, who has already given up on disciplining the puppies. As they roll around and play, Miyax thinks the puppies are just like human children.
The other adult wolves expect Jello to stay behind and watch the pups, who also ignore him. For some reason, Jello doesn’t seem to have earned the same privileges or respect as the others. Figuring out why the pack views Jello as an outcast will help Miyax better understand wolves’ values and unwritten rules. Once again, Miyax’s careful observation of the wolf pups shows how much wolves and humans have in common. It also implies that community interaction and bonding are a big part of wolf culture.
Themes
Miyax crawls slowly toward Sister, the smallest dog. She whines and shows Sister her teeth as the draws near. Sister lays down, and Miyax excitedly realizes she is speaking wolf. Miyax crawls around in a circle as all five puppies watch her. The black puppy approaches Miyax and barks. Miyax commends the puppy’s bravery. She tells him he will grow up to be a great leader and names him Kapu, after her father. Kapu grins in understanding. Jello whines for him to return, and they begin to play again. Miyax sees that roughhousing is important to the wolves and tries to mimic their behavior. She snarls and rolls around, but the pups ignore her. Miyax returns to her camp.
Miyax whines and bares her teeth in an effort to mimic the wolves’ behavior. Her efforts seem to pay off, since Sister lays down before her in a manner that mimics the gesture of respect Miyax saw the other wolves display toward Amaroq. Miyax’s decision to name Kapu after her Kapugen shows how deeply she idolizes and reveres her father’s wisdom and leadership. The pups’ roughhousing further shows how important community activity and bonding are within the wolf society.
Themes
Miyax looks up and sees that Amaroq and his hunters have followed here back to her camp. Amaroq’s ears rise aggressively. Miyax remembers that wide eyes signal fear, so she tries her best to narrow her own. She remembers seeing Kapu lunge forward when he was challenged. Her heart beats fearfully as she runs toward Amaroq and whines. Amaroq backs up and avoids Miyax’s gaze, and she worries that she’s offended him. She tries again, walking right up to the leader wolf and patting him under the chin.
Miyax knows that she must demonstrate a willingness to speak the wolves’ language and adhere to their norms for Amaroq to accept her as a member of his pack. She modifies her behavior to match Kapu’s to show her respect for Amaroq and his way of life: Miyax adapt her behavior to nature, not the other way around. In other words, she doesn’t believe that being human makes her superior or gives her special privileges relative to other species.
Themes
Miyax’s strategy works. Amaroq wags his tail and flattens his ears affectionately; he has no choice but to do so, since the gesture “lay deep in wolf history.” Amaroq’s eyes soften, and Miyax knows she is now one of the pack.
Miyax’s observation that Amaroq’s response “lay deep in wolf history” recasts his instinctive behavior as a meaningful cultural practice. She sees his response as rich with meaning, not unlike the traditions humans inherit from their ancestors. This scene marks a major development in Miyax’s relationship with the wolves: at last, her careful observation, imitation, and understanding of the wolves’ nuanced system of behavior convince Amaroq to accept her into his wolf pack.
Themes
Miyax waits all night for the hunter wolves to return with meat. When she finally spots Amaroq on the horizon, though, he doesn’t have any food. Dejected, Miyax returns to her camp and eats raw moss until she feels full. She crawls into her home and peels off her wedding parka, gingerly placing it in her whale bladder bag to protect it from moisture. This is an old Inuit tradition she was taught in childhood, since damp clothing can be deadly in the Arctic. Miyax always protects her clothes from dampness, even though she doesn’t need to in her gas-heated house in Barrow. Next, she removes the red tights, which her mother-in-law bought at the American store in Barrow.
The traditional Inuit customs Miyax grew up learning aren’t as useful to her in Barrow, where people have begun to embrace a new way of life. Barrow is the former name of Utqiagvik, a town located in Alaska’s North Slope region. Utqiagvik is the northernmost city in the U.S. During the time the book takes place (late 1960s or early 1970s) Barrow had a population of around 2,000 and was (and remains today) the largest city in the North Slope region.
Themes
Miyax crawls into her warm sleeping skin and forgets her hunger. She remembers how Kapugen taught her that wolves are shy and will leave their den if humans disturb them. Amaroq’s pack hasn’t left, and Miyax wonders if he knows she is human. She ponders the other wolves and decides that Nails must be a spiritual father to the pups. Miyax thinks Jello might either be an older pup or, perhaps, has only recently joined the pack by ingratiating himself with Amaroq, just as she is doing now. She falls asleep.
The fact that Amaroq’s pack hasn’t left Miyax behind is an encouraging sign that reaffirms her acceptance into wolf society. Miyax seems to have more success earning her acceptance than Jello—there seems to be something strained about his relationships with the other wolves, but Miyax can’t quite place her finger on it. The book seems to be laying the groundwork for a rivalry between Miyax and Jello, positioning them as outsiders competing for a position in Amaroq’s pack.
Themes
Miyax doesn’t know how long she’s slept, since the sky is the same color at midnight as it is at midday. It doesn’t matter what time it is, however, since “time in the Arctic [i]s the rhythm of life.” Miyax listens to the pups yip excitedly and knows their cries signal the end of the hunt. She dresses and leaves her home to investigate. As she eyes her reflection in the pond outside her hut, she’s pleased to see that she looks thin, like the gussak girls she sees in magazines.
Miyax’s observation that “time in the Arctic [i]s the rhythm of life” conveys her understanding that she is at the mercy of nature and must adapt her behavior conform to its changes. Miyax’s thin figure is quite unlike the stocky, “compact” build that she earlier described as being characteristic of the Arctic’s native species and essential to their ability to retaining heat in their environment’s cold temperatures. Even though Miyax’s leanness is ill-suited to the tundra’s harsh environment, she takes pleasure in her gussak-like appearance. Miyax’s body image points to harmful effect non-indigenous culture has on her identity, as she sees thinness as beautiful rather than detrimental to her survival.
Themes
Miyax climbs up the frost heave and watches the wolves. There’s still no meat, but the three hunters’ bellies look full. Miyax decides it’s time to be practical and find something else to eat. She eyes the Lapland longspur birds in the sky and thinks there might be some young in their nests. Carefully, so as not to show her two-leggedness to the wolves, she moves into the grasses. She crouches low to the ground, the way Kapugen taught her. Miyax spots some young birds and their parent in the distance, but they’re too far away from their nest for her to catch them. She looks in the sky and sees a group of jaeger, which sometime prey on carrion. When the jaeger dive down, Miyax realizes they must have found the wolf kill.
Miyax hides her two-leggedness to downplay the unavoidable differences that remain between the wolves and herself. She seems to realize that Amaroq’s acceptance of her depends on her ability to conform to and respect the wolves’ ways. Although Miyax values communal life, her resourcefulness and self-reliance are also important parts of her identity. After she fails to receive food from the wolves, she proactively decides to hunt for herself. Once more, the book alludes to the major role Kapugen played in developing Miyax’s survival skills and cultural literacy.
Themes
Miyax runs toward where the jaeger dropped from the sky. She runs a while before realizing that she can’t tell which frost heave is which. Luckily, she spots the empty lemming nest and is able to return to her sod house, though she reminds herself to be more careful. Miyax finds some arctic peas in the grasses and carries them back to her pot. She sees Silver running ahead and gets up to investigate. Silver eventually returns and chokes up a mound of meat for the excited puppies gathered around her. Miyax is excited to have discovered where the meat is and plans her next action. Kapu and Sister eat the meat but don’t share with the other puppies, Zing, Zat and Zit. Amaroq chokes up some meat for the others.
Miyax’s impulse to forage for vegetation as she awaits the hunters’ return is further evidence of her resourcefulness and independence. Now that she has discovered how the wolves carry meat back to their camp, her next task will be to figure out how to persuade one of them to share their stash with her.
Themes
Miyax crawls toward Jello, who has returned from the kill and must have food in his “belly-basket.” She whines at Jello. Jello lifts his head high and approaches her side of the frost heave. Kapu follows. To show Jello that she’s in charge, Miyax grasps his nose firmly in her hand. Kapu senses Miyax’s intentions and nudges Jello’s mouth. Much to Miyax’s delight, Jello chokes up some meat and places it before her. With his tail between his legs, Jello returns to the others. Kapu stays behind, watching Miyax curiously as she scoops the meat into the pot. Miyax tells Kapu that Inuit have “joking partners” to laugh with and “serious partners” to work with, and that she and Kapu are both: “joking-serious partners.”
“Belly-basket” refers to the wolves’ practice of storing food in their stomachs to regurgitate for their young. This scene further develops the rivalry between Miyax and Jello. Although they both begin at the bottom of the wolf pack’s hierarchy, Miyax asserts dominance over Jello when she and Kapu persuade him to regurgitate food for Miyax. In addition, Jello displays submissiveness when he runs away with his tail between his legs, suggesting that he sees Miyax as a threat. In referring to Kapu her “joking-serious” partner, Miyax suggests that the bond she shares with Kapu is no different than the bonds that develop between the Inuit—the fact that Kapu isn’t human doesn’t make their friendship any less meaningful.
Themes
Kapu bites Miyax’s heel, and she realizes that he wants to play with his big sister. Miyax reaches into her pocket to retrieve a mitten, but Kapu is too strong and yanks it away from her. Miyax gives up, and Kapu brings the mitten back to his siblings. He scratches a mark on the ground, and Miyax wonders if he’s bragging about his mitten victory. Miyax returns to her camp, gathering grass and lichens to use as fuel for cooking. An hour later, she has a pot of Caribou stew.
Miyax could respond to Kapu’s sudden aggression with fear and anger, but her respect for nature allows her to understand and justify his actions—she even humanizes him when she wonders whether he’s bragging about the mitten to his siblings, likening the mitten feud to a playground squabble among young children. The book’s frequent descriptions of wolves’ interactions with one another show that their social structure provides them with meaningful companionship as well as physical protection.
Themes
Her vitality restored, Miyax shifts her attention toward finding her way to Point Hope. She realizes that more lichens grow on one side of the frost heaves and tries to remember if the wind comes from the north or from the west. She wishes she’d listened more carefully to Kapugen. She returns to her sod house to sleep.
Lichens (organisms that form when a fungus and an algae live off each other) favor a dark, damp environment. So, they’re more likely to grow on the north side of a surface, or whichever side receives less direct sunlight. As Miyax recalls this fact and wishes she remembered what Kapugen taught her about the wind, the book continues to emphasize Kapugen’s influence on her knowledge of the natural world.
Themes
Miyax awakens and eats more of the stew. When not much remains, she decides it’s time to ask Amaroq for a full shank of Caribou. She remembers Kapugen telling her that wolves sometimes bring food back to their dens for injured members of the pack. Though she doesn’t want to injure herself, she thinks this might be the only way to get more food from the wolves.
Kapugen’s teachings continue to influence Miyax; it’s clear that she idolizes her father. Miyax’s hypothetical willingness to injure herself reflects the seriousness of her predicament—the tundra is a dangerous and unpredictable place, she has no idea where she is, and she won’t last long if she runs out of food.
Themes
Miyax feels helpless, especially as she gazes at the cotton grasses that grow near the pond and sees that they are wilting, which is a sign of the approaching autumn. Autumn is dangerous, since with it comes snow and white-outs. If Miyax is stranded in the middle of a white-out, she could die.
Miyax’s competence and wealth of knowledge about the natural world are no match for the incredibly dangerous environment of the Arctic tundra.
Themes
Amaroq howls to assemble his pack for the start of their new day. Though it would be bedtime in Barrow, Miyax is operating on wolf time and gets up to join the pack. Miyax approaches Amaroq, whimpering and shaking her head. He wags his tail at her. Suddenly, Amaroq detects something in the air and leads his hunters across the tundra. Miyax sees their target in the distance: a herd of caribou. She watches as Amaroq sprints after the big animals. The other wolves follow, ganging up on the wailing caribou.
This passage hearkens back to Miyax’s earlier observation about the Arctic moving according to life’s natural rhythms. To survive in the Arctic, Miyax has to discard the social construct of a bedtime and adapt to the rhythm that the wolves establish with their hunting patterns.
Themes
Miyax looks back at the den and sees Kapu staring at her with narrow, aggressive eyes. She wonders why he’s scared of her if he’s never seen a human before, deciding it must be the “spirit of [his] ancestors” that makes him afraid. Kapu brings Miyax a bone to play with, and she giggles as they tug it back and forth. Jello calls for Kapu to return, but Kapu ignores him. Miyax picks up the bone in her mouth and runs. In an instant, Kapu lunges at her and takes her bare neck in his jaw. Miyax stifles a scream as she braces herself for the prick of Kapu’s teeth piercing her skin. But Kapu’s bite is controlled, and Miyax realizes he only wants her to drop the bone.
Whereas gussak culture might view Kapu’s behavior as vicious, Miyax respects that it is in his nature to act this way. Just as Kapu inherits his innate fear of Miyax from the “spirit of [his] ancestors,” the roughhousing he displays here is instinctual, not a calculated act of aggression toward Miyax. When Miyax refers to Kapu’s behavior as the “spirit of [his] ancestors,” she implicitly compares Kapu’s natural instinct to the cultural customs humans inherit from their ancestors. Miyax validates Kapu’s actions when she views them as part of wolves’ rich, meaningful history rather than uncivilized wildness.
Themes
Miyax feels something brush against her boot and sees Zit, Zat, Zing, and Sister gathered around her. Miyax growls and bares her teeth at Kapu, who drops the bone. She smiles to herself but quickly remembers that the gesture is an apology to the wolves. Before she can correct her mistake, the five wolves jump at her. Miyax angrily tells them to stop, and all the pups retreat except for Kapu.
Miyax faces unintended consequences when the pups interpret her smile as an apology. Her social misstep further illustrates the nuance and complexity of the wolves’ language. Miyax’s ability to identify her smile as having caused the pups to pounce shows that she is learning their language, even if she isn’t fluent just yet.
Themes
Kapu lunges into a tunnel and comes out on the other end. Miyax remembers learning that wolves only spend a few weeks in the nursery den, which is the space deep in the earth, at the end of a long tunnel, where the pups are born. After this, they resume their nomadic lifestyle into the winter months. Miyax grimly realizes that her wolf pack will soon leave, and she won’t be able to keep up with them. Miyax trembles, but she remembers Kapugen’s advice not to be paralyzed by fear but to learn and change from it.
This passage reinforces how significantly Kapugen’s teachings influence Miyax. Miyax displays incredible strength and resilience for a 13-year-old girl, and these traits seem to be rooted in the lessons Kapugen taught her.
Themes
Miyax decides to hunt for herself. She cuts her red tights into strips of cloth to mark a trail, so she won’t get lost. Miyax finds a bird roost and fashions a noose from the thongs on her boots. Before she can snare a bunting, a white owl dives and snatches the bunting with its sharp talons. Miyax decides to watch where the owl flies, knowing that male owls supply their young with an endless supply of food. The owl, or ookpik, eyes Miyax suspiciously before soaring into the sky. Miyax watches the owl drop onto a frost heave in the distance.
Miyax heeds Kapugen’s advice. Instead of fearing the wolves’ abandonment, she hunts to ensure that she can survive in their absence. This scene further illustrates Miyax’s resourcefulness and familiarity with nature: she repurposes the thongs on her boots to use for hunting, and she knows a lot about owls’ hunting and childrearing behaviors.
Themes
Miyax runs to the frost heave where the owl dropped the bunting. There, she finds a near-dead owlet perched inside its nest. The poor bird hisses at her before collapsing—the owlet is starving, too. Miyax scoops up the owlet and bunting and makes her way back to her sod house. As she nears camp, she finds a pile of caribou droppings and gathers them to use as fuel for her fire.
Miyax and the owlet are not so different—both of them are relatively powerless creatures trying their best survive in an unforgiving environment. The owl’s starvation emphasizes the tundra’s barrenness. It also suggests that Miyax is struggling to find food due to the tundra’s extremely limited resources, not because she’s incompetent.
Themes
At camp, Miyax plucks and prepares the birds. She removes the warm organs and eats them raw before cooking the rest of the meat. When she’s finished, she gives a toast to the birds and eats. If she were a boy, she thinks, this would be a day for celebration: in Nunivak, it’s tradition for a boy to fast the day he catches his first bird before celebrating the Feast of the Bird later in the night. Miyax thinks some traditions are silly but sings Kapugen’s song about the “Spirit of the bird,” anyway.
Among the Inuit, it is traditional to honor the animal’s spirit after a hunt. Miyax performs this custom when she offers a toast to the birds before eating. This scene reinforces how strongly Miyax associates Kapugen with Inuit culture. It was through Kapugen that Miyax received a cultural education, and she seems to uphold the traditions he taught her as way of honoring his memory. When Miyax sings Kapugen’s “Spirit of the bird” song, she indulges traditions she thinks are silly out of love and admiration for her father.
Themes
Kapu’s yipping signifies the hunters’ return. Miyax climbs the frost heave to greet them. She arrives in time to see Jello and Amaroq poised to fight. Amaroq lifts his head, Jello bows, and they settle their difference without a physical brawl. Amaroq’s anger hasn’t left him completely, though: he lunges at Miyax’s mitten, which is still lying on the ground, and tears it to shreds. Amaroq stares at Miyax, and she realizes he’s about to attack. Her heart beats as she flattens herself against the ground. Amaroq charges toward her. When Amaroq gives her a whine, she realizes he was only calling her, and she follows Amaroq back to the wolf den. The wolves circle the ground before settling down to sleep, and Miyax follows their lead.
This scene widens the disparity between Jello and Miyax’s relative positions of power in the wolf pack. Amaroq asserts dominance over Jello but makes no such advance toward Miyax: what Miyax initially believes to be aggression is only Amaroq’s attempt to call her to join the pack. As Jello’s social alienation grows more pronounced, the bond between Miyax and the other wolves in the pack strengthens.
Themes
Miyax awakens suddenly to find Kapu curled against her leg. The wolves continue to sleep, which is odd, since they usually hunt when the sky is lime-green. As Miyax wonders what’s different about tonight, she and the wolves are enveloped by a thick sheet of fog. Miyax realizes that the wolves won’t be able to see through the fog to hunt and worries when she’ll eat again if the wolves can’t bring back more food.
The image of Kapu curled against Miyax’s leg shows that her affiliation with the wolf pack provides her with companionship as well as protection. The book seems to suggest that comradery and spiritual nourishment are as essential to survival as food and shelter.
Themes
Miyax spots Silver lying down in the distance. Zing and Sister nurse until Silver growls and swats them away. The nursing has prompted Silver’s milk to flow. Cautiously, Miyax approaches the sleeping mother and begins to suckle. The milk is sweet and rich. Suddenly, Silver grabs Miyax’s shoulder in her jaws. Miyax freezes. Amaroq appears, and Silver lets go of Miyax. Miyax returns to Kapu, who flips his ear as though he’s laughing at her. The fog thickens and hides Amaroq and Silver from view. Slowly, Miyax stands up. Amaroq snarls, and Miyax gets low before running back to her camp.
Miyax’s initial success at taking milk from Silver indicates her improved understanding of wolf behavior; she’s able to assess Silver’s body language and adjust her own accordingly that she was able to procure even a few drops. At the same time, Silver’s adverse reaction points to the limitations of Miyax’s position within the wolf pack. Although the wolves have accepted her, they do see her as different from them in some fundamental way. Amaroq’s snarl when Miyax stands up reaffirms this difference: he perceives Miyax as a threat when she stands on two legs and makes her human characteristics obvious.
Themes
The fog persists for hours. Miyax sits in her sod house and sings songs to pass the time. When she tires of this, she pokes her head outside and sees that the fog is a little thinner. She hears an airplane circling overhead and knows the pilot is waiting to the fog to break so he can land, since the same thing had happened when she flew from Nunivak to Barrow. The sound of the plane is louder now, and Miyax can through the fog the commercial plane that travels between Fairbanks and Barrow. She runs out, hoping the pilot will see her and send help, but the fog thickens and conceals her. She looks which way the plane turns and notes that Fairbanks, where the plane will return to land safely, is likely in that direction.
The sound of the airplane is an encouraging sign of civilization. Miyax is disappointed when the fog conceals her from the pilot, but her newfound ability to judge the location of Fairbanks relative to her current position is a positive development as she waits for the nights to grow dark enough for her to see the North Star.
Themes
Miyax hears Amaroq and the others bark and howl. The flog clears and she sees all the wolves, even the pups, running into the tundra. Suddenly, Miyax is afraid: are they leaving her for good? She scrambles to her feet and begins to gather all the edible plants she can find, knowing she’ll need all the food she can manage if the wolves are no longer around to help her.
Miyax’s instinct to gather plants once she fears the wolves are leaving her emphasizes the brutality of nature—she can’t spare a moment to mourn her friends’ departure, because all her energy must go toward ensuring that she has enough food to survive in the wolves’ absence.
Themes
The fog thins, and Miyax can see Kapu before her, sniffing attentively. Suddenly, she hears a heavy rumble and sees a caribou running toward her. Silver, Amaroq, and Nails chase after the caribou. Amaroq leaps at the giant animal, sinking his teeth into its flesh. Silver and Nails join in the attack, and the wailing, dying caribou falls to the ground. “Without ceremony,” Amaroq rips into the bull’s side and begins to eat. The other wolves join in. Miyax watches as they snarl and gulp down big mouthfuls of food. Miyax knows the meat will soon be gone if she doesn’t take her share and runs to her house to grab her knife.
The wolves’ successful kill marks the second positive development for Miyax: the airplane improved her sense of direction, and now the wolves have provided her with food. The way Amaroq rips into the Caribou’s flesh “without ceremony” sets him apart from Miyax, whose Inuit culture has taught her to honor the animal’s spirit for providing sustenance.
Themes
Miyax approaches the bull cautiously, wary of disturbing the eating wolves. As she nears the caribou, she sees Kapu break a bone in two with his baby teeth and decides it’s best to wait until the wolves are finished. Finally, Amaroq retreats, and the others follow. Miyax is about to approach the caribou when Jello appears to take his turn.
That Jello can only eat after the other wolves have had their turn is further evidence of his low social status in the pack. Jello’s move to take his turn at the caribou before Miyax seems aggressive and might be his attempt to regain some of the authority he lost during their last interaction. Once more, the book suggests that Jello views Miyax as his rival.
Themes
Jello leaves, and Miyax has her turn. Before she begins to gather the meat, she honors the caribou’s spirit by holding her arms to the sun, though she chides herself for being so “old-fashioned.” She begins by peeling away the hide, knowing the pelt is just as important as the meat. She drags the pelt to her house to dry and returns to the animal to gather the meat. She cuts out the warm liver, the “candy,” and eats it raw. Miyax spends hours cutting strips of meat and hanging them over the fire. She sings a song about Amaroq as she works, referring to him as her “adopted father.” Miyax praises Amaroq in song, proclaiming “And I shall love because of you.”
In keeping with her Inuit culture, Miyax honors the caribou’s spirit before proceeding to gather its meat. Miyax conveys a self-consciousness about her traditional values when she calls herself “old-fashioned,” which suggests that society has taught her to look down on such values as obsolete or foolish. Miyax clearly idolizes her biological father, Kapugen, so it’s a sign of her respect for Amaroq that she refers to him as her “adopted father.”
Themes
When the fog clears, Miyax runs up the frost heave to check on her pack. Amaroq sees her running on two legs and scowls at her, but he remits, seeming to know that “she could not change.”
Miyax and Amaroq’s relationship is grounded in mutual understanding. Just as Miyax respects that Amaroq’s skepticism of her is rooted in his instinct to protect his pack, Amaroq withholds judgement of Miyax’s two-leggedness (which he might otherwise view as a threat) because he realizes “she could not change.”
Themes
Things go on in this manner for some time. The wolves go on more hunts, and Miyax continues to dry strips of caribou over her fire. She figures it must be the middle of August now, based on the position of the sun. The wolves measure time according to the pups. Today is their second day to explore. Yesterday, Silver took them out to the tundra to chase caribou, and they’re excited to go out for another adventure. Miyax watches the wolves run and wishes she could join them.
Miyax’s use of the sun’s position in the sky to judge the passage of time is similar to how the wolves plan their activities. Both rely on nature to orient themselves in time and space and give their lives meaning.
Themes
Miyax looks around at the barren landscape and grows wary—she knows that autumn is quickly approaching. In the distance, she sees a herd of caribou running toward their wintering ground in preparation for the deep freeze. Miyax returns to her kill to cut more strips of meat. As she approaches it, she spots Jello, who snarls at her. Miyax realizes that Jello hasn’t been with the others for a few nights now. The pack doesn’t even need him to babysit anymore, since the pups have started hunting with their mother at night.
Amaroq has never respected Jello, but now that the pups are older and more independent, the pack doesn’t have much use for Jello, either. Jello is aggressive toward Miyax because he knows his place in the pack is in jeopardy, and he views her as a rival whose acceptance in the pack imperils his own.
Themes
Miyax returns to camp with her meat and starts digging a cellar to preserve the meat, the way her people do at home. She digs the cellar about three feet deep, which she hopes will dissuade Jello from taking her food. She covers the cellar with sod and starts to cook a meal. Kapu approaches her with a bone. Miyax laughs—Kapu might run like an adult now, but he still wants to play like a puppy. Miyax offers Kapu some cooked meat, which he devours.
Growing up in a traditional Inuit community gives Miyax the knowledge and skills to protect her food from predators. She demonstrates selflessness and consideration for the animals by sharing her meal with Kapu, despite having no way of knowing how or when she’ll be able to replenish her food supply.
Themes
A few nights later, Miyax sews herself a new mitten from the caribou hide. She notices that the sun is halfway below the horizon and knows that it will be winter soon, which means the land will be covered in snow and darkened by the Arctic night that lasts for 66 days. Based on the hour it takes for the sun to rise, Miyax knows today is August 24, the day the North Star arrives at Barrow. After tonight, the days will become rapidly shorter.
Due to the Arctic region’s latitudinal position in the polar circle, there is extremely limited sunlight during the winter months, when the tilt of the Earth’s axis prevents the sun from rising above the horizon. The changing season corresponds with the arrival of the North Star in Barrow, which Miyax now must accept she won’t be able to board. Miyax is a resilient character not prone to self-pity, but the rapidly waning sunlight and the realization that it’s increasingly unlikely that she’ll make it to San Francisco are two major setbacks that underscore the seriousness of her situation.
Themes
Miyax has trouble sleeping that night, so she busies herself with work, putting away the finished smoked meat and scraping the rest of the fat from the caribou hide to use as fuel. When Miyax heads to her cellar to begin smoking the rest of the meat, she screams: Jello is digging at the sod, trying to steal her meat. Jello snarls as Miyax walks toward him, but she knows she has to assert dominance. She raps at Jello’s nose with her knife, and he backs away.
Miyax refuses to dwell in self-pity and funnels all her energy into the tasks that are most critical to her survival. Jello’s aggression toward Miyax escalates when he breaks into her cellar to steal her meat. His aggression and selfishness stand in stark contrast to Miyax’s willingness to share what limited food she has with Kapu.
Themes
Miyax works awhile longer. Kapu drops by as before bedtime. Miyax is happy to see her friend and gives him a piece of cooked meat. Kapu beats the ground to play. Miyax twirls a scrap from her mitten in the air and is startled by how swiftly Kapu snatches it away—he’s no longer a puppy.
Even after Jello’s recent attack on her food storage, Miyax continues to honor her obligations as a member of the wolf pack by sharing with Kapu.
Themes
That night, as Miyax gets ready for bed, she hears Amaroq howling at a distant wolf pack. The other members of Amaroq’s pack join in to greet the strange wolves. The voices of these other wolves sound strange and wild to Miyax, and she almost runs to Kapu for comfort. As she exits her house, she is startled to see Amaroq and his pack gathered around the pond. The wolves shower him with affection. Jello is the last of them to do so, and Miyax realizes he’s at the bottom of the pack: “a lowly wolf—a poor spirit, with fears and without friends.”
Miyax finally realizes the truth about Jello: he’s “a lowly wolf—a poor spirit, with fears and without friends.” In nature, lone wolves are singular wolves that have left their packs voluntarily or whose packs have forced them out. Their solo status puts them at a higher risk of experiencing food insecurity and outside attacks. In reality, however, lone wolves are very rare among wild wolf populations. Jello’s aggressive, unchecked individualism signifies weakness rather than resilience. His solo status makes it harder for him to get food, which is why he tries to steal Miyax’s supply. On the other hand, the hostility Jello exhibits out of desperation only further alienates him from his pack.
Themes
Miyax looks overheard and sees the migrating terns flying away. She resumes her work, setting out to find caribou chips to use for smoking fuel. When she returns, she sees her pack of wolves. Kapu is pouncing at the floor, and Miyax realizes the hour of the lemmings is back. Miyax sees another tern flying and maps its course on the ground across the mark she made to Fairbanks. She peels off a strip of sinew, stands at the center of the X, and makes a compass with her arms.
The migrating terns are another way in which the natural world tells Miyax that winter is near. This means that the wolves, too, will soon depart. Once more, Miyax refuses to let anxiety about the wolves’ impending migration consume her and funnels her energy into actions that will aid in her survival, such as making preparations to smoke meat and charting the terns’ course on her makeshift compass. Her remark about the lemmings references wisdom Kapugen imparted on her years before, about the natural order of Earth, and how the lemmings’ absence allows other creatures to thrive.
Themes
In her house that night, Miyax opens her pack and takes out a letter from Amy. In the letter, Amy writes about all the things they’ll do when Miyax comes to San Francisco, such as curl their hair, buy dresses, go to the theater, and visit the Golden Gate Bridge. Miyax falls asleep with Amy’s letter under her cheek.
This scene gives more insight into Miyax’s relationship to non-indigenous American culture. Miyax takes pride in her Inuit heritage, but it’s clear that the vision of modern American life Amy depicts in her letter also appeals to Miyax.
Themes
The next evening, Miyax dresses, leaves her house, and crawls up the frost heave. She lies down on her stomach to greet Amaroq. “I’m ready to go when you are!” she cries excitedly. But Miyax’s cries are met with silence: the wolves are gone.
Reading Amy’s letter reinvigorates Miyax's determination to reach Point Hope and travel to San Francisco. However, the wolves’ apparent departure ruins her mood. This development metaphorically suggests that Miyax can’t exist in the modern world and nature simultaneously: she necessarily must abandon one to hold on to the other. In allowing herself to be swept away by dreams of San Francisco, she chooses modern American society over the natural world, and she metaphorically gives up her position with Amaroq’s wolf pack.
Themes
