83 pages • 2 hours read
Gary PaulsenThe Transall Saga
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 1998A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Symbols & Motifs
Claw Necklace
In surviving the jungles of Transall for a few weeks, Mark has overcome starvation, thirst, injury, and attacks from various animals. As such, he feels thrilled and triumphant when he manages to kill the wolf-like Howling Thing—saving Leeta in the process. This kill constitutes an important turning point for Mark, as it makes him feel that he will be able to survive after all.
Mark uses the claws of the vicious beast to make himself a necklace. Leeta’s tribe, the arrow people, are impressed when they see this necklace; it becomes symbolic of Mark’s courage and skill as a warrior. Mark tells the story of his triumph, and it is told on his behalf, numerous times while he lives with the arrow people and then the Tsook. The killing of the Howling Thing frames Mark as a capable warrior—and may very well live on in the form of the arrow people and Tsook’s storytelling (among Mark’s other deeds).
Coca-Cola Bottle
When Megaan’s younger brother Barow gifts Mark a Coca-Cola bottle for his induction as a Tsook warrior, it informs Mark and the reader that Transall is not what it seems. Mark assumed the tube of blue light had transported him to a different planet, considering its strange animals and vegetation. However, Transall’s human-like tribes and Barow’s Coca-Cola bottle hint at the truth—that Transall is a future version of Earth.
The Coca-Cola bottle, old and faded, symbolizes the demise of Earth’s era of mass production. The fact that it is a treasured artifact, where it was once simply garbage, signifies the extent of Earth’s technological regression.
Engagement to Megaan
Mark’s decision to marry Megaan is symbolic of his commitment to life on Transall. He initially lives with the Tsook in order to survive; his energy and thoughts are mostly preoccupied with unraveling the mystery of Transall. Megaan cries when Mark leaves the Tsook town after his induction as a warrior, but he is determined to find the tube of blue light.
After learning from the Merkon that the blue light is unpredictable, Mark abandons his dream of returning to his own time and commits to being Kakon. Despite the bittersweet nature of this revelation, he looks to the future: He envisions a warrior’s life and looks forward to starting a family with Megaan among the Tsook, whom he now considers friends.
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By Gary Paulsen
