The Island by Gary Paulsen :: Paulsen Island Essays

The Island by Gary Paulsen     The book I read was The Island by Gary Paulsen. It is about a 15 year old boy named Wil Neuton who moves with his family to Union Wisconsin. There he finds an island on Sucker Lake where he stays to learn about himself.   Wil likes riding his pedal early in the morning. He also likes watching nature. He is very tall for his age-6 feet 2-but well-built and strong. He is honest,cares about others and prefers to talk things through than resort to violence.   The title is genuine because the book is very much about the island and about Wil finding himself on this island. The island also becomes a very prominent point in Wils life. By equivalence and observation, he learns that all things are connected.   An interesting minor character is Emil Aucht. On the morning of his basic day in Pinewood Wil wakes up to find Emil staring at him through the window. Emil is an old man with one tooth, no hair and ears t hat stick out. He chews tobacco and spits brown gunk all everywhere the place. He first appears in the story to request that Wil help him get his car out of the mud. Then Emil reappears to fix the plumbing,wrecking Wils parents nerves in the process.   The atmosphere in the story is that of a small hick town in northern Wisconsinopen,friendly,relaxed and very laid-back. It strikes me as being very much like "cottage country" in northern Ontariolakes,forest,fishing,small town life. The time is the late 1980s.   The novel ends with Wil seeing that his father is watching him from shore. Wil rows over and finds that his father is tired and sad,his eyes rimmed with red from crying. Wil invites his father over to the island and realizes that this saga will only end when Wil finds an island big enough for his whole family so they can learn what he has learned.