The Coral Island
Publié le 07/01/2018
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would certainly turn into nothing better or bigger than a shrimp”), but he's still quite skillful: he hunts boars
with his spear (paragraph 2) and makes new shoes out of hog skin (paragraph 3).
As for Ralph, we don't know
much about him, but we know he contributes to the group by going fishing and hunting too.
He's also the
narrator and the main character of the novel, which gives him some importance.
6.
Ralph describes life on the island as a life of “uninterrupted harmony and happiness”.
Although they
sometimes “ascend to the mountain-top [...] for the purpose of hailing ship that might chance to heave in
sight”, in reality, the boys don't really wish to be rescued.
In this passage, neither Ralph nor any of the other
boys even mentions the outside world or their lives before getting marooned on the island.
This suggests that
they don't think about it very much and that they don't really miss it.
On the contrary, Ralph is “certain that
none of [them] wished to be delivered from [their] captivity, for [they] were extremely happy”.
7.
For the boys, the island is like paradise.
They are “extremely happy” on it and enjoy it very much.
The
island is described as “beautiful”, “plentiful” and “in perpetual summer”.
The boys have
acclimated to it very well, so much so that they seem to be one with nature: they have gotten rid of their old
clothes and now wear clothes made of material provided by the island (cocoa-nut cloth and hog skin)
(paragraph 3).
Jack and Ralph “feel as if water were [their] native element” and are compared to fish (and
even a shark, for Jack) by Ralph.
They have completely returned to nature and have easily found their place in
it.
8.
Obviously, there are many common points between The Coral Island and Robinson Crusoe.
Both are
robinsonades, or castaway stories.
Both focus on characters who have been shipwrecked on an island and who
have to survive alone in nature.
However, the boys are not alone: they form a tight-knit group and they help
each other out, whereas Robinson has to deal with his situation alone (at least until he meets Friday).
Also, The
Coral Island is first and foremost an adventure book aimed at young readers (especially boys): its tone is quite
light and fun.
Robinson Crusoe, however, is not just about Robinson's adventures as a castaway: it also
includes religious and philosophical considerations. .
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Liens utiles
- ÎLE (L’) de Huxley [The Island]. (résumé)
- Seriphos (Serifo s) Greek An island in the Western Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea.
- Laestrygonians Greek A race of giant cannibals who devoured many of the crewmen of the ships of Odysseus when the hero anchored near their island.
- Magna Graecia (Great Greece) Greek The collective name given to Greek colonies founded by settlers in southern Italy and the island of Sicily.
- Rhodes Greek The easternmost island of the Aegean Sea.