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.
Background
Authorial Context: The Survivalist Stories of Gary Paulsen
Paulsen’s most well-known work of fiction is Hatchet (1986). This novel documents the survival of 13-year-old Brian, stranded after a plane crash in the Canadian wilderness with only a hatchet.
In The Transall Saga, Paulsen integrates features of survivalist literature into the context of a fantasy/sci-fi novel: Mark must draw on his survival skills to navigate the strange and otherworldly Transall. Similar to Brian’s journey in Hatchet, Mark grows in confidence as he survives challenging circumstances. Both of these coming-of-age stories require their protagonists to hone their survival skills and resilience in order to survive, and in doing so, they develop confidence, courage, and emotional growth.
Sociocultural Context: Global Angst of the 1990s
The fate of Earth in The Transall Saga is shaped by contemporary concerns: In the 1990s, many people harbored fears about the threat of nuclear war, as well as Ebola’s potential to kill millions. Ebola, which is thought to have originated from bats before transferring to humans, was becoming increasingly prevalent in West Africa during the 1990s. The mortality rate of those who contract the virus is high, particularly for those who aren’t vaccinated (furthermore, some strains do not have vaccines developed). This prompted global concerns that the virus might spread, and continue to mutate into more dangerous strains for which vaccines did not exist.
Although the Cold War reached a diplomatic end in 1989, reducing global nuclear threat, concerns from this time period persisted in the 1990s. The devastating effects of the atomic bombs dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima in 1945 drew international attention to the catastrophic impact of nuclear weapons. Furthermore, the Cold War prompted politicians and citizens around the world to contemplate the potential implications of a global nuclear war. In addition to the unimaginable loss of life from bombs, a war of this type would have a drastic effect on the world’s environment, possibly prompting dangerous levels of radiation (causing radiation sickness), firestorms, nuclear winters, permanent changes to global temperature, and electromagnetic pulses that would affect modern technology.
Paulsen sets his story in the aftermath of these devastating events: He imagines a world where a virulent strain of Ebola has infected and killed millions, and where nuclear war has engulfed the world.
Literary Context: The Hero’s Quest
Mark, who is brave, skilled, and principled, adheres to the archetypal idea of the hero. He survives on Transall, even though the odds are against him; he is faced with unknown vegetation, aggressive and strange animals, and warrior people. Furthermore, Mark has a strong moral code, and often chooses to help those in need. This is illustrated when Mark helps Leeta numerous times, rescues the enslaved Yonk, and returns to the dangerous inner-sanctum of the Samatin camp to rescue Sarbo.
Like all fictional heroes, Mark is motivated by a quest. Through his four years in the adversarial land of Transall, Mark’s energy and thoughts are devoted to rediscovering the beam of blue light that transported him away from his world. As is often the case in the hero’s quest, Mark endangers his life multiple times on his perilous journey toward knowledge and understanding.
Ironically, Mark achieves his goal of rediscovering the blue light when he has given up all hope of doing so. This plot point deviates from the traditions of the hero’s quest. A hero does not traditionally give up on the object of their quest, but rather, continues to strive determinedly toward it.
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