Winterdance Gary Paulsen Character Analysis

The autobiographical novel Winterdance, written by Gary Paulsen, is based on the author’s experiences in both training for and running in the Iditarod dog sled race. Held in Alaska, the race conditions are so extreme it is cold enough for your eyeballs to potentially freeze. An important setting in the novel is the Iditarod dog sled race as throughout the novel, it helps me understand a key character - Gary Paulsen. He allows me to explore the idea of how experiences can change your understanding on life and the significance of loyalty.

Gary Paulsen beautifully illustrates the extraordinary setting of the Iditarod dog sled in the novel; Winterdance, to portray and help us understand his experiences. Paulsen had to endure the harsh cold of

He had assumed it was “absolutely perfect for running dogs” as it was “starkingly beautiful”, ignoring precautions of others. Paulsen knew after the ice started to crack that in any split second, he would have gone under without a second notice. Paulsen was in a tight situation and was rescued by the means of Cookie (Paulsen’s main dog) and her instant reaction. It shows that something so stunningly beautiful isn’t always what it seems. Norton Sound was a location where many would stop and gaze at the scenery for days despite the fact that one wrong move could potentially mean the whole sea will be your graveyard. Gary Paulsen extravagantly writes significant situations of his real-life experiences in the novel. He does it in such a way where it assists and guides me in a way where comprehending complicated and strange concepts of his is very easy. His conception and perspectives of how experiences can change your understanding on life, and how simple things, small things, change lives. It can travel completely beyond humanity and alter your beliefs of yourself and your superiority complex is surely a life