Grace's Book Reveiw #3

   Call it Courage

Call it Courage, by Armstrong Sperry, features a young boy named Mafatu. He is the son of  Tavana Nui, the Great Chief of Hikueruchei, therefore high expectations are set. But to fulfill these, Mafatu has one problem, ever since his mother's life was ripped away from him by the mighty Pacific Ocean, Mafatu has been terrified of the sea that surrounds his village. This fear left him scorned by peers and deemed useless by adults. Instead of fishing and playing games, he was forced to craft spears, nets, and other necessary tools, which is "woman's work." One night he overheard other boys taunts, and decided that enough is enough! Having never gone beyond the reef alone, he unfortunately leaved horribly unprepared, bringing only his two animal friends, a spear, a knife, some provisions, and a string of water nuts. In the open ocean, conquering his fears proved harder then he initially thought, when, at night, he got caught in an ocean storm. Mafatu lost all his belongings and clothes besides his pet dog, Uri and his friend albatross, Kivi. After days of near-death and dehydration, the ocean current carried them to an unfamiliar island, where he and Uri dragged themselves up the beach, exhausted. He bandaged his wounds and rejuvenated himself and Uri with fresh water.While exploring their surroundings they found a temple and idol, presumably made by the cannibals inhabiting the island. Mafatu hoped this was not the case, and it took all his will to snag a spear from one of the corpse human sacrifice's hand. This small action brought him a great feeling of pride and accomplishment though, and he soon built a fire and temporary shelter. The following morning, he fell a great tamanu tree to build a new canoe, as his old one got destroyed in the coral reef. Waiting to burn it out the next day, Mafatu finds the tiresome tasks he was forced to do back home come in handy. He could now swiftly craft many daily-used tools, such as nets, fishhooks, bowls, and mats. He also replaced his lost clothing, and created spears and knifes from a beached whale skeleton he was fortunate to find. He made a raft to use until the canoe is complete, and a fish trap for catching more food farther offshore. A problem arose, however, when a large hammerhead shark regularly raided the fish trap Mafatu made. He went out and slayed it with his new knife. A short while after, he put the wild boar on the plateau to death with his spear. He had finally finished his canoe and took it for a test drive. As he was pulling up the fish trap his knife fell to the ocean depths. He entered the water to retrieve it, and while he was down there, a mighty octopus seized his body. In desperation, he thrust his knife at it's eye, swiftly killing it. He went back to shore, only to find the black eaters-of- men had came back. They chased him into his canoe and he paddled to the open ocean, towards home, grateful that he already had it ready with supplies. When he finally reunited with his home tribe, he is a changed boy, called Mafatu, the Stout Heart!
        
One theme I found very prominent in this short book was to confront  and overcome your fears and weaknesses. This will make you stronger and take you much further in life and as a human being. One example of this message is, in the beginning of the first chapter, Armstrong Sperry wrote about how the Polynesians forever retold the story of the boy with the stout heart, "Mafatu went out alone to face the thing he feared most. And the people of Hikueru still sing and tell his story to one another." (8) Another illustration of this important lesson was when he was celebrating the thought of his home-coming while getting his canoe ready. He says to himself," I have been, sometimes, deeply afraid, but I faced fear and faced it down, surely that could be called courage!" (79) My third example is once the mighty wild boar was killed at Mafatu's hand, he felt like nothing could stop him anymore, "Victory coursed like fire through his veins. There was nothing he would have not dared! Aia, but life was good!" (67) My fourth and final example is after he was all set and relaxed at his new home on the island. "He had faced the The Mighty sea god, Moana. He had dared the sacred marae of the eaters-of-men to win his spear. There was a new-found confidence singing in his heart. He  had found a new peace and belief in himself." (54) Like a popular song states,"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger," and in Mufatus case, more couragous.

The setting of this whole book was in the Pacific Ocean, near the Tuamotu archipelago. In the beginning Mafatu feared and hated the ocean,"It was the sea that Mafatu feared." (8) By the end, after all of the challenges  and hardships he had to overcome in his adventured he had grown fond of the never-ending waters. On his way home he angrily shouts to the sea god, Moana,"You! You destroyed my mother. Always have you tried to destroy me! Fear of you has haunted my sleep. Fear of you turned my people against me. But now, now I no longer fear you, Sea!" (92) The time setting is not really specific. Supposedly the story takes place in ancient times, but that is a very broad time frame. The biggest hint was in the first pages, "It happened many years ago, before the traders and missionaries first came into the South Seas, while the Polynesians were still great in numbers and fierce of heart."(7)With that description, I assume that the book is taking place prior to the 1500's.  Europeans didn't start venturing across the Atlantic until just before 1500. Also, Mafatu's tools and "technology" don't lend anything date specific, because many of those island tribes remained the same for centuries. So, the story most likely takes place pre 1500.

I would recommend this to any middle-schooler or elementary school student looking for a short, compelling read. It gives you a brief, though fictional, look of what times used to be like in those days, long ago. It also has many life lessons like "never give up" and "stay strong, no matter what happens."

This 5-chapter story reminded me of the book Hatchet, by Gary Paulsen. It is almost the same, they are both solo survival situations, where they are each forced to make a living, solely off nature. One of the big differences is, in Call it Courage, Mafatu is in a tropical climate, where, unlike Bryan, doesn't have to fight for warmth every day. Mafatu also left willingly, though unprepared nevertheless. Both of these books have a movie to go along with them too, and I have retrieved a promo from you tube for Call it Courage for you.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-p6VHarx8s