It's an interesting thing to read a book written in and see how much the world, and our perceptions of it, have changed. Ballantyne's style is typical of the time, with loquacious description of the environment and characters. Ballantyne's thorough research and detailed descriptions of banyan trees, mangos the plum like fruit not named , penguins, the It's an interesting thing to read a book written in and see how much the world, and our perceptions of it, have changed.
Ballantyne's thorough research and detailed descriptions of banyan trees, mangos the plum like fruit not named , penguins, the growth patterns of palm trees and the sweetness of coconut brought to them a bright, sunny, new world, much like a science fiction book of today - except Ballantyne was describing something REAL on the other side of the planet.
It's easy to imagine how his target audience, young men, was enchanted even as young women and adults joined in the adventure. Another feature of the time is how the narrator, Jack, heeds his mothers advice to read the Bible every day, and is distressed by his loss of the text in the shipwreck. Periodically, Jack breaks out in praise to the LORD, exclaiming over the beauty of their deserted prison and it's abundant provision for their needs.
This aura of goodness is typical of early Robinsonade's and the original, Robinson Crusoe, and makes them wonderful reads for the young. Ballantyne's works are complemented by his contemporary G. Henty, who wrote for the same audience and featured similar themes. As such, both gentlemen are seeing a resurgence of interest by the homeschooling community. While descriptions of far off lands are tedious for adults of this age, children who are discovering the world find them just as fascinating as their original readers.
In addition, reading these books creates an interest in both other places and other times. I have found they are easily available as ebooks for download we got a set off Amazon for free! I don't have time to digest all his work, as Ballantyne wrote over books, but I'm happy to turn them over to my voracious reader, knowing they shall be free from harm and full of goodness. I remain a little jealous that I can't indulge in them as I would have, if I'd discovered them at a younger age.
The incredible production of each of these authors, Ballantyne, Henty and later Ransom, makes them valuable referrals for middle school readers who devour titles, and even high schoolers who would like something easier to plow through.
It will take them a good portion of their time to digest all that is available and will grow them in the process. With Lee in Virginia, G. Jul 29, Caroline rated it liked it Shelves: topic-sea-stories , reviewed , young-readers , topic-islands , era-victoriana.
M Ballantyne is a wholesomely humorous "boys' adventure" style0novel from Ralph, Jack and Peterkin are three plucky, pious, absurdly well-prepared young sailors who wash up on a deserted Pacific island. They explore, make shelter, find food, battle sharks, storms, tidal waves, pirates, cannibals, while making innocent quips. They also become accomplished boatbuilders, hunters, butchers, naturalists, carpenters, shoemakers, and ropemakers. Eventually they escape to ano The Coral Island by R. Eventually they escape to another island where there is adventure and intrigue among the pagans and the converted.
This novel strikes me as 19th-century version of edutainment. One can imagine Victorian papas purchasing it for their sons: a rollicking adventure story, or a ripping good yarn, which also allows the eager young reader to absorb proper grammar and wholesome virtues from its upright, manly heroes.
Jack gives kindly lectures on the flora and fauna of the south seas and Ralph our narrator expostulates his young readers to wash every day, get enough rest, keep a salt water aquarium, refrain from making silly faces, support missionaries, and force one's "attention upon ALL things that go on around me The tone is cheery, sunny, manly and pious.
There is no despair, no cowardice, no losing of faith. The language of the novel is the typical stiltiness with the occasional bit of daring "slang" thrown in by that rapscallion of Peterkin "that's the ticket!
See the following three excerpts. If it has got a heart at all, I'll engage to send my spear right through the core of it; if it hasn't got a heart, I'll send it through the spot where its heart ought to be.
Suddenly he sprang to his feet and rushed about in a frantic state, wringing his hands, and exclaiming, "O Jack, Jack! It must have been a shark, and he is gone for ever! The "savages" are not painted as creatures that must be destroyed, but as creatures that must be converted. Not all are monsters one lighter-skinned girl is quite sympathetic and the white pirates are as equally evil.
Indeed, the kindly missionaries and Ralph take pains to explain the native evils are not as bad because they simply do not know any better. However, while not purposefully malicious, this kind racism is VERY condescending, cringeworthy in more than a few spots.
Notwithstanding the racism, there is a certain charm in these old-fashioned stories. The formality of the language may strike a modern ear as stilted, but that's not necessarily a bad thing; I found a great deal of humor in it. For a 19th century book, it IS readable and the phrasing goes down smoothly. And let us not forget that Treasure Island, for one, is written in a similar, though far superior, fashion Stevenson admired Ballantyne.
The awesome earnestness of its moralizing and the delight the author takes in telling the tale, also make one smile. I am not sure who this book would be good for, these days. The uneasy racism, the formal language, the endless moralizing The advanced reader, on the other hand, won't find much beyond a cheerful historical curiosity, and if in a good mood, will beam mildly on the pleasures of the past.
Aug 23, Stephen Hayes rated it liked it Shelves: missiology , our-books. I think I read this some time in my childhood, but had lost my copy long ago, and when I saw a copy on the toss-out counter of a church bookshop I picked it up and re-read it, mainly in order to compare it with Lord of the Flies , whose plot I do remember, though I first read it a long time ago too. I had often heard it said that Lord of the Flies was a kind of realistic retelling of the story of The Coral Island , but it was only on re-reading the latter that I realised that the two main character I think I read this some time in my childhood, but had lost my copy long ago, and when I saw a copy on the toss-out counter of a church bookshop I picked it up and re-read it, mainly in order to compare it with Lord of the Flies , whose plot I do remember, though I first read it a long time ago too.
I had often heard it said that Lord of the Flies was a kind of realistic retelling of the story of The Coral Island , but it was only on re-reading the latter that I realised that the two main characters had the same names. And I also realised how much I had forgotten of the story. Virtually the only thing I recalled was my mental picture of the island on which they landed, and I had a vague recollection that the boys in The Coral Island were a bit older.
What I had completely forgotten was the extent to which The Coral Island deals with Christian mission and missionaries, especially in the second part, and that links with a current project of mine, on missiology in fiction, which was sparked off by reading Things fall apart Notes from underground about a month ago.
The main difference between the two island books, it seems to me, is the age of the characters -- teenagers in The Coral Island , doing resourceful teenage things that could have come out of Scouting for Boys , if the latter had been published by then.
Lord of the Flies has pre-teen children, less resourceful, more easily distracted. And where The Coral Island has savages becoming civilised, thanks to the influence of missionaries, Lord of the Flies has the civilised becoming savages, in the absence of such influences. The comparison is quite interesting, but I'll say no more here, lest I introduce spoilers.
But it would be interesting to read them one after the other, and to follow both up with A High Wind in Jamaica.
This adventure novel is perhaps Ballantyne's best work. With R. Ballantyne being a Christian Presbyterian this novel is explicitly so. It is a tale of three lads, Ralph, Peterkin, and Jack, who get isolated on the Coral Island after their ship is wrecked and they the sole survivors. They must struggle to make their way and survive in this island. They learn to hunt, fish, and get their own food. Their friendship grows stronger.
It all seems like they are the only ones on this island until one This adventure novel is perhaps Ballantyne's best work. It all seems like they are the only ones on this island until one day, barbaric savages, who lack the true God in them, come upon the island. The lads decide to try to hide but when they see a savage beating up a savage woman Jack rushes to the scene to save the woman's life. Indeed, it is a true act of bibical manliness. Later in the book, more people come. This time, pirates.
They kidnap Ralph but fail to capture Jack and Peterkin due to their being in hiding. The pirates, that is Bloody Bill, bring Ralph to a more populated island with savages. The savages truly need the love of God in them. There is a missionary there, but Bloody Bill disaproves of him. Can these savages escape their life of sin and misery? It's all for you to find out. Some say this book has racism in it due to the Indians being called savages and barbarians. I think it not.
I don't get offended when I read that my Anglo-Saxon ancestors were savages and barbaricit's because they were and hadn't yet found Christ! Jul 01, Jeremiah rated it it was amazing. The Coral Island was a great book. It was exciting, funny, and intriguing. And the characters - well, I really like all of them.
Jack was the oldest, the leader of the three, and the tough one. Peterkin he was the funny one and the youngest. And Ralph was in the middle and was the philosophical one. They could not have made it without each other. Overall I really liked this book, and highly reccomend it. Apr 21, Enoch rated it it was amazing. This is my favorite book right now. I love stories about the sea and ships.
Each chapter is filled with adventure and new words and ideas I haven't thought of before. A re-read of a childhood favourite.
Somehow, children's lit from that era never reads as 'childish'. Still enjoyable for an adult. I enjoyed this story because of the characters. I loved Jack, and Peterkin was a hoot. Their banter was perfect. I also really liked Ralph. The only thing I disagreed with was the boys stripping to swim. That was so refreshing. The story was exciting right up to the very end and I was quite unsure how it would end! He alone is both able and willing to save your body and your soul.
Slowly and majestically it came on, acquiring greater volume and velocity as it advanced, until it assumed the form of a clear watery arch, which sparkled in the bright sun. On it came with resistless and solemn majesty,—the upper edge lipped gently over, and it fell with a roar that seemed as though the heart of Ocean were broken in the crash of tumultuous water[.
But you were at least four yards away from the impudent paroquet I aimed at; so you see what a horribly bad shot I am. Feb 05, Hans Nam rated it liked it. Nice efforts trying to convert me into a Christian, not gonna happen Ballantyne had his ways with words, the coral island appeared vivid, beautiful and magical, you could easily imagine yourself getting stranded on that paradise.
However, the story suffers from a very clumsy attempt from the writer's part to put as much Christian preaching in it as possible, the dialogues between the character sounded pretentious and overly verbose keep in mind they were teenage sailors , the story had many loop Nice efforts trying to convert me into a Christian, not gonna happen Ballantyne had his ways with words, the coral island appeared vivid, beautiful and magical, you could easily imagine yourself getting stranded on that paradise.
However, the story suffers from a very clumsy attempt from the writer's part to put as much Christian preaching in it as possible, the dialogues between the character sounded pretentious and overly verbose keep in mind they were teenage sailors , the story had many loopholes and many unanswered questions.
When you get to the end, you'll be asking yourself: what the heck just happened? And then you'll be doing the same thing Ralph always does: telling yourself it's all God's work All in all, an okay read, not particularly good, even though it has its moments, sometimes annoying, but not as bad as some made it out to be.
Jul 28, Naomi rated it really liked it. It's a nice book about three boys who were shipwrecked on a Pacific island. It's a wonderful coral island. I liked very much the descriptions about the island, the trees, the valleys, the mountain and some specific sights which were named by the three boy: the Water Garden, The Diamond Cave and the Spouting Cliff. I just imagined myself in this wonderful paradise. It's a very nice story although I don't liked so much that part of the book when Ralph is taken by I pirate schooner and they go to t It's a nice book about three boys who were shipwrecked on a Pacific island.
It's a very nice story although I don't liked so much that part of the book when Ralph is taken by I pirate schooner and they go to the Fiji islands. This part of the book describes the terrifying and cruel habits of the cannibals and the way they torment and eat people and they name them 'long pigs'. But in conclusion I liked the book.
It has a very happy ending. Apr 20, Bettie rated it liked it Shelves: e-book , spring , adventure , victorian , seven-seas , kiddlewinks , published , gutenberg-project , re-read , pirates-smugglers-wreckers.
In childhood, in boyhood, and in man's estate, I have been a rover; not a mere rambler among the woody glens and upon the hill-tops of my own native land, but an enthusiastic rover throughout the length and breadth of the wide wide world.
May 03, Koen rated it liked it. As other reviewers noted: first two thirds a fast-paced adventure story - much better than Treasure Island in its rendering of couleur locale; then peters out in a boring tale of christian triumphalism. Jun 02, Michelle rated it it was amazing. NOT a waste of time. Fist Ballantyne book I read - at my little brother's recommendation. My little bro did not let me down. Oct 06, Joey rated it it was ok Shelves: dnf. Dnf at about Sep 05, Carrie ReadingtoKnow rated it really liked it.
I hadn't heard of this author before and was surprised to find that it's a Children's Classic. You can definitely tell it was written with the idea of imparting a moral lesson and promoting Christianity which, as a Christian, this does not bother me in the least but it's worth noting!
I read this because we are traveling in Scotland and I wanted to read some Scottish authors. Overall, I'd have to say that I enjoyed this story and will plan to pass it along to my kids. The story, set in , centers on 3 boys from England and their struggle for survival when they are shipwrecked on a remote Pacific island. Jack played by Scott McGregor , Peterkin played by Nicholas Bond-Owen and Ralph played by Richard Gibson must learn to survive on their own on the island, despite their very different characters and backgrounds.
After befriending two natives on the island, they are rescued by an English missionary team, and both the boys and the two natives return to England. Add content advisory. Did you know Edit. Connections Version of The Coral Island User reviews 1 Review.
Top review. The Coral Island. I had been looking forward to this book being made into a Movie for years. I watched the Mini series in England around the Start was quite good but it slowly got worse.
The time line of the book became non existent the dialog was was present day language but I do have to praise the makers for the lack of profanity, sex and drugs. It could have been a blockbuster had the movie had a good scriptwriter who held the Timeline and tried to recreate the book on film.
It still takes me 3 days to read the book, this is because R. Ballantyne was an extremely Gifted writer, he wrote so that one could actually imagine being on that Island. I seriously think that the people who made the Films: Castaway and whale rider could have turned the story into a really superb Movie that people would want to see again and again.
They selected someone to. Wealth, English, and private school boys would make bad government decisions based off their life. John Locke would not have been surprised by life on the island because, these boys had different views, they also felt their rights being restricted by Ralph, and there was a divide in power in the very beginning.
The first problem that occurred on island was trying to find a system that made everyone could work for a common goal. He is stating that the kids are alone, not what a bunch of kids who are homesick need to hear.
The boys go living in the wilderness amidst World War II without adults, hoping to get rescued and leave the unknown island safely. They show survival skills through Ralph with leadership skills, the fire in which it is used as a smoke signal, and hunting that allows the boys a supply of food. The ability to display leadership is important to survival because showing no authority may lead to instability.
Like The Coral Island. Ignorant of the conflict and savagery present during their stay, he imagines they had fun and lived crazy new adventures just like in the novel , The Coral Island. The Coral Island written by R. Ballantyne in and set on an island of the Pacific Ocean, is about how a group of British boys miraculously survive a shipwreck and find themselves on a paradisiac island with everything they could have ever wished for. In contrast, Lord Of The Flies by William Golding is set in a deserted island in the middle of nowhere at the time of a nuclear war.
This allegorical novel is a controversial version of the later novel. These two novels have a very similar outline. It could seem fun at first. This is their only connection with society and their old habits. And then the occasion slipped by so that you could grab at a decision. Show More. Read More. Ralph Lord Of The Flies Conch Analysis Words 4 Pages T he Lord of the Flies, a wonderful novel, described a group of people surviving in a nowhere island in the middle of the sea after a plane crash caused by the civilization of other countries.
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