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.
Character Analysis
Mark Harrison/Kakon
Thirteen-year-old Mark, who is renamed Kakon when he is transported to Transall (a future Earth), is the protagonist of The Transall Saga. He yearns for a life of outdoor adventure. However, his wish is fulfilled in a way he could have never imagined when a tube of blue light transports him to the world of Transall while on a multi-day hiking trip.
Stuck on Transall, Mark embarks on a four-year quest to find the light and return to his old life. He is a dynamic character who is forced to learn and adapt to challenging circumstances. Mark is shown to be an unusually resourceful and intelligent teenager in the challenges he faces during his first days on Transall. He develops his survivalist skills and intuition even further to survive hunger, animal attacks, enslavement, and war. Mark is a person of strong morals and principles; he consistently helps those in need, such as Leeta and Yonk.
When Mark has given up on ever returning to his own time, he is suddenly transported by the same blue light. Maintaining his status as the story’s hero, he devotes his life to finding cures for the Ebola virus, which he knows will later mutate into a strain that will kill most of the world’s population.
Leeta
Mark encounters Leeta when she is being attacked by a wolf-like creature, the Howling Thing. Leeta is the first person Mark encounters on Transall, and it is through her that he finds a village of people. Soon after, many members of the arrow people, including Leeta and Mark, are enslaved by the Tsook people. Mark saves Leeta’s life when she injures her foot, stepping in to protect her from Sarbo’s execution.
Leeta and Mark maintain their friendship while in the Tsook town. The former is bought by a harsh old woman, but when this woman dies, Leeta is taken in by Megaan, the daughter of the Tsook chief. Despite being taken from her home, Leeta makes the best of her situation, befriending Megaan and her younger brother, Barow.
Megaan
Megaan is the daughter of Dagon, the Tsook leader. Mark and Megaan’s relationship follows the enemies-to-lovers trope: Mark initially finds Megaan arrogant, and Megaan is constantly critical of and short with Mark. However, their terse comments mask a mutual attraction, which is revealed toward the end of the story. Megaan makes Mark a pair of moccasins to congratulate him on becoming a warrior, cries when he leaves, and goes out of her way to care for Leeta, knowing he cares for her.
When Mark deems returning to his own time impossible, he proposes marriage to Megaan. After Mark is eventually transported, Megaan remains in his thoughts.
The Merkon
The Merkon is the ruler of the Tsook tribes, who are the dominant power on Transall. He is established as a mysterious character, as he wears a mask and is celebrated for his unusual strength and intellect.
The Merkon initially seems kind, but Mark’s sense of unease is confirmed when he later discovers that the Merkon—knowing that Mark came from the same time as him—tries to have him killed. The man explains that he was transported through the same tube of blue light as Mark; he was a prison escapee who came from the 1980s. He also tells Mark about a virus, which killed millions of humans, leading to Earth becoming Transall. During a duel, Mark wounds the Merkon, forcing him to spend the rest of his life in his room.
Dagon
Dagon is the leader of the Tsook who imprison Mark. He is immediately intrigued by Mark, and orders Sarbo not to kill him despite him attacking Sarbo to save Leeta’s life. Despite Dagon’s daughter Megaan buying Mark to enslave him, Mark risks his life to warn Dagon of an enemy attack. For this brave and selfless act, Dagon frees Mark and inducts him as a warrior.
Later, Dagon is pleased when Mark and Megaan become engaged.
Sarbo
Sarbo is a Tsook warrior. He is brave and capable, winning most of the Tsook games that test the men’s strength. Sarbo is a dynamic character who is initially presented as cruel, executing arrow people prisoners who fail to match the Tsook’s pace. He goes to kill Leeta when she is injured but is stopped by Dagon when Mark intervenes to protect her.
Later, Sarbo teaches Mark how to fight and ride as a Tsook warrior. Sarbo has a sense of humor and proves loyal in accompanying Mark on his mission to find a mysterious shaman. The men’s close relationship is established soon after Mark is inducted as a warrior, and continues throughout the rest of the story.
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