Swiss Family Robinson

1. Summary

1.1. The family is shipwrecked, on the island. Thankfully, they are very resourceful and smart about what to do. They have a tent and go exploring for more supplies.

1.2. Initially they construct a treehouse, but as time passes (and after Elizabeth is injured climbing the stairs down from it), they settle in a more permanent home in part of a cave.

1.3. They built stables for their animals, a canoe, and a loom for Mother. One day when Fritz was out fishing, he came across an albatross. And tied to the bird’s leg was a message asking someone to rescue an Englishwoman from the smoking rock. Fritz told only his father about the message and they agreed not to tell the rest of the family, as to not raise any hopes of returning to civilization. They find the girl and learn that she has been on the island for three years after her ship had also wrecked.

1.4. a few months later that after the family and Jenny had finished their day of work, they fired off their guns as a shout of triumph, that from somewhere on the island came three gunshots, as though in answer. Father and Fritz got inside their canoe and went the way the shots were heard and sure enough, there was a ship. Two days later, they went to the ship. Father and Mother had a long discussion about whether they wanted to go back to Switzerland. They decided that neither one of them thought it was God’s will for them to return but to stay on the island, New Switzerland, and that two of their sons should leave to Switzerland.

2. General Info

2.1. 1812

2.2. Adventure

2.3. Swiss

2.4. Island

3. Author

3.1. Johann Wyss

3.2. 1743-1812

3.3. Swiss

3.4. Swiss author best remembered for his early nineteenth-century novel The Swiss Family Robinson. The book, one of the most popular in history, was published in 1812. Before fame, his famous novel, originally published as Der Schweizerische Robinson, was translated into English in 1814.

4. Characters

4.1. William

4.2. His Family

4.3. The dangers of the island

5. Vocabulary

5.1. Section 1

5.1.1. Agouti

5.1.2. Rivulet

5.2. Section 2

5.2.1. Precipitous

5.2.2. Vehement

5.3. Section 3

5.3.1. fjord

5.3.2. damask

5.4. Section 4

5.4.1. phlegmatic

5.4.2. vociferous

6. Plot

6.1. The family is on a boat and is shipwrecked on an island

6.2. The island is very harsh but the family learns different things about the island that help them survive

6.3. Complication

6.4. The climax of the story is after 3 years, the family finally starts to feel like the island is their home. They know where everything is that they need. They do what they have to do to survive and they have done that and now they see the island as theirs.

6.5. As jack is fishing he finds a note mentioning a girl, they decide to look for her and when they find her, they find out she has been on the island for 3 years. They keep on living their life until they find a ship on the island. The ship has come to look for Jenny and finds the family there. Everyone has a big feast.

6.6. William and Elizabeth wonder if they should go back and they decide that two of their sons should go back to Switzerland. The next day it turns out that some people on the ship wanted to stay and make a colony. Ernest and Jack decide to stay, and Fritz and Franz decide to leave, not knowing Fritz would take Jenny's hand in marriage.

7. Themes, Allusions & Symbols

7.1. Symbols

7.2. The life of Pi is an allusion to Swiss Family Robinson because both were on large ships then rafts, the family had a tame jackal, Pi had a tiger. Its almost like its the Disney adaptation of Swiss Family Robinson.

7.3. It shows how a family helped each other survive during a hard time. This book has shown me that we should all help each other survive through the hard times.