Julie Of The Wolves

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1972

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Character Analysis

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Character Analysis

Miyax (Julie)

Miyax displays a fierce independence and frequently does not fit into the world around her. At the beginning of her story, she is set apart for losing first her mother and then her father. While she misses her parents, Miyax accepts her fate. She does not necessarily like the new ways of life that she encounters living with her Aunt Martha and then as a wife to Daniel, but she attempts to make it in those situations. Nevertheless, she does not fit in, such as when her supposed friends Judith and Rose “snickered” at her for mistaking a charm bracelet for an i’noGo tied, or Inuit totem (85).

Miyax believes she is better suited to traditional Inuit life, as she experienced with her father in the seal camp and elsewhere. Civilized life seems opposed to her basic values. Nevertheless, she sets the goal of traveling to live with her pen pal Amy in San Francisco. This decision is naïve and not well thought out, because Miyax would undoubtedly be unsatisfied with the civilized, urban life she would find in San Francisco. On the other hand, her decision to try and make such a long journey implies how important it is to her that she escapes the life she hates with Daniel, Naka, and Nusan.

When Miyax discovers that her father is still alive, she is likewise pulled to the city even though she thrives in the wilderness. After she realizes how much her father has assimilated into civilized life—he hunts by plane, in the same way that Miyax saw Amaroq killed by hunters from a plane—she is crushed. She begins to recognize her independence and realizes that she does not need to rely on anyone else to survive. She makes the choice to pursue traditional Inuit life alone on the tundra rather than life in modern civilization. After her pet bird Tornait dies, however, Miyax “pointed her boots toward Kapugen” (170). The book does not state what motivates her to return to her father after all, but the measure must imply reconciliation or forgiveness of him.

Amaroq

Amaroq is the lead wolf of the pack that Miyax encounters on the tundra, a large “black wolf” who “possessed wisdom” (7). As a leader, he is fiercely protective of his pack and highly suspicious of Miyax when she first attempts to get the wolves’ attention and bond with them. He requires that Miyax prove herself before approaching her.

Once Amaroq accepts Miyax as an effective member of the pack, however, he exemplifies protective leadership. He assists Miyax by finding her food, by seeking revenge on Jello after the rogue wolf destroys her camp and steals her food, and by protecting Miyax from a grizzly bear, driving it away with a “voice angry and authoritative” (131). Amaroq’s leadership also sets an example for the other wolves of the pack, who follow his lead in accepting and caring for Miyax. His significance for Miyax is directly noted when she calls him her “adoptive father” (122).

Kapu

While Amaroq is responsible for formally recognizing Miyax as a member of the wolf pack, it is the pup Kapu who first bonds with her. Kapu and Miyax develop a friendship that surpasses Miyax’s relationships with others. Like Amaroq, Kapu is fiercely protective of his friend Miyax. She in turn calls him “her brother” and shares caribou stew with him (64).

However, things take a turn when the same hunters who shoot and kill Amaroq from an airplane injure Kapu. Kapu suddenly becomes the one to protect rather than the protector. He is vulnerable, but Miyax cares for him. She even puts herself in danger by sewing up his wounds, “repeating over and over the healing song” (145) while she cares for him. He and Miyax switch roles as she cares for him. However, he emerges from the situation stronger than ever and steps in to take over the pack leadership after the death of Amaroq.

Jello

Jello is set apart from the other wolves of the pack and shows some independence. In that sense, he and Miyax have something in common. However, while Miyax uses her independence as a tool for survival, Jello’s stems from his refusal to follow the rules of the wolf pack. Jello is an outcast, relegated to eating last among the pack and being submissive to all the other wolves. Miyax realizes all of this when she sees him running “head down, low to the ground—in the manner of the lone wolf” (68), recognizing that his behavior is not a good sign.

Observing Jello’s behavior, Miyax learns something about pack rules and expectations, including the importance of being loyal to the group. When Jello turns on Miyax and steals from her, he inadvertently makes this lesson even clearer. Amaroq kills him for his misdeed. He transforms from a humiliated but tolerated member of the pack to a villain, punished with death for his wrongdoing. The consequences he faces are a lesson for Miyax, demonstrating that the wolf pack has accepted her.

Kapugen

Miyax’s father Kapugen is absent from the majority of the novel, and there are essentially two versions of his character: first, the Kapugen who dwells in Miyax’s memory; second, the Kapugen who Miyax meets and finds disappointing. The first version of Kapugen is recognized as a master hunter, a man so committed to traditional Inuit life that he leaves an “important job as manager of the reindeer herd” (76) after his wife’s death to work in a seal camp.

Miyax adores the father she grew up with and admires his skill and knowledge. He teaches her valuable lessons, sharing wisdom like, “[c]hange your ways when fear seizes” and “[w]olves are brotherly, […] if you learn to speak to them, they will love you too” (42, 78). During the time when she believes that he is dead, she feels his loss constantly. She is so enamored of her father that when she discovers that he is alive after all, she is not angry about his disappearance but simply relieved. Kapugen has reinvented himself and embraces modern, Westernized life, including the practice of hunting from an airplane. Not long before, Miyax witnessed Amaroq being shot to death from an aircraft, and so she cannot accept this changed version of her father. In her eyes, Kapugen transformed from a beloved, legendary link to her past into a disappointing, cultural traitor.