“From the north deep waves rolled upon the island. They crashed against the rocks and roared in the caves, sending up white sprays of water. Before nightfall there would certainly be a storm” (O'Dell, 19). This passage from The Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell describes the ocean surrounding the island and the characters in the story. In this description the narrator, Karana, shows the reader that the people of the island fear and respect the power of the Ocean. The Ocean is depicted throughout the novel as something huge and powerful. The way the Ocean is seen demonstrates an example of the Burkeian Sublime. According to Burke, the Sublime is an experience that arises from authority and power. A common example of the Burkeian Sublime is observing the power of mountains. Mountains are Sublime because they are large in size and have the power to kill people. Thus, examining Burke's requirements for the Sublime, one comes to the conclusion that Scott O'Dell's The Island of the Blue Dolphins contains the Burkeian Sublime. One of the key aspects of the Burkean Sublime is pure authority maintained through fear and power. Absolute authority is seen in Island of the Blue Dolphins through the role of the ocean. Throughout the story the Ocean has immense power; furthermore, the Ocean is the most powerful figure in the entire novel and controls the actions of all the characters. The Ocean offers the characters a “safe fear”. This means that they are safe and protected because the Ocean protects them from most dangers, but at the same time the Ocean is one of the factors in the novel that the characters must fear and respect the most in order to survive. That the characters must fear the Ocean to be protected by it is shown throughout part n...... middle of the sheet ...... eager to bring their supplies to the island, which shows that they are afraid of the 'Ocean Ocean. In short, the Ocean in Island of Blue Dolphins falls under Burke's definition of the Sublime. The Ocean is seen in this story as the entity with supreme power and authority. Furthermore, the Ocean controls the actions and thoughts of the people who encounter it. Another aspect of the Ocean that fits it into Burke's definition of the Sublime is that no one can question or challenge it because it has far more power than any other force seen in the novel. There are ambiguities in the argument that the Ocean in the novel represents the Burkean Sublime, but it is possible to refute them all with passages from the novel. Finally, the Ocean is the Sublime for Burke because of its power, authority, and influence on the novel as a whole and the individual characters within it..