The story is about the Robinson Family members who are

shipwrecked on an island in the early 19th century. They are Mr

and Mrs Robinson, their four son, Fritz, Jack, Ernest and Franz, as
well two dogs, Turk and Juno. The were travelling to Australia to
serve as missionaries. They found themselves off the coast of a
mysterious island, where they decided to take shelter.

The novel is mostly about a family’s struggle to survive in an

unfamiliar environment for about ten years. Besides building a
tree house for shelter, they also find plants and animals to use for
food, clothing and their daily needs.
Later, the eldest son, Fritz, explores to the other side of
the island on a canoe. During his exploration he finds a
girl called Jenny Montrose and brought her back to his
family. She was a young English woman who was
shipwrecked three years ago on that same island.
A few days later, they were spotted by a British ship. The
captain invited all of them to return to Europe with him.
Fritz and Jenny went to London, where they were
married. The other three sons, Ernest, Jack and Franz
continued their education in Europe, while Mr and Mrs
Robinson decided to stay on the island.
After the shipwrecked, the family had to figure out
ways to survive. After they landed on the island, they
looked for a place to live, food to eat, made good use
materials from the ship. Throughout the years, they
learn how to make the most what they had and came
up with new ideas to make their life there better.
The Robinsons work together to build themselves a
new home and a new life after landing on the island.
Their teamwork led to a good life and they manage to
fulfil their needs.

The family was always thankful for what they had.

Mr Robinson always thank God for the good things
they had and taught his children to do so too.
This was demonstrated repeatedly throughout the
story. They worked and lived as a united and happy
family. They had a good relationship and love each
other very much. Mr and Mrs Robinson kept saying
how blessed they were to have such helpful and
caring sons.
The Robinson worked hard to build themselves a new
home, especially when building Falconhurst. The
house in the tree protected them during the rainy
season and when they were chased by the cape
buffaloes. They also worked hard to tend to their
livestock and garden which provided them with food
throughout the years on the island.
The family was on their way to Australia to become
missionaries when they were shipwrecked. Their faith
in religion and God help them to survive as they
believed God would help them in whatever they do.
He is a narrator of the story. A loving husband and father of
four sons. He is religious, resourceful and knowledgeable. He
is strong, brave, wise and God-fearing. He takes care of his
family very well and manages to utilise what he finds in the
shipwrecked and also around the island to build a home for his
family. He also, recognises many species of plants and
animals. He accepts his fate and makes the most of his
situation. At the end of the stories, he chooses to remain on the
island with his wife while his sons return to Europe.
A brave and hardworking woman. She is always by
her husband’s side and assists him in his ventures. She
is a loving mother and concern. When the family
home, Falconhurst was built, she was worried that the
rope ladder at the entrance was unsafe for the
children. She was eventually proven right. She also
prepared the family meals.
The eldest son of the Robinson family. He is his father’s right-
hand man and a very responsible person. He is brave and isn’t
afraid of the unknown. A skilled engineer and builder, he
contributes greatly in the family’s effort to make the island
their new home. He was determined to explore the island
completely, and built a canoe by himself in order to achieve
that purpose. Eventually, he meets and rescues Jenny
Montrose. At the end of the story, he leaves the island to marry
her in London.
The second son of the Robinson family. He is also
brave and adventurous. He often ventures out on his
own to make important discoveries on the island. He
discovered the cave of rock salt, which the family
used for storage.
The third son. His character and personality isn’t
developed widely in the story and he role is of his
mother’s helper. When the family arrived on the
island, he made fishing poles with his younger brother
and used them to catch fish for their meal. He also
alerted his family when the rain stopped.
The youngers Robinson son. Being the youngers his
role in the story is very limited. He was chased by a
lobster when they first arrived on the island, and make
fishing poles with his older brother. He finds a
beehive in the trunk of the tree in which the family
home was built. This discoveries let to the stairwell
being built to replace the rope ladder.
The Robinsons’ pet dogs. They were initially the
mascots of the ship on which the Robinson were
travelling. Mr Robinson and his sons saved them from
the shipwrecked and brought them to live on the
island where they enjoy roaming around guarding the
livestock. Sadly Juno is killed by the boa constrictor
that also preyed on the Robinsons’ livestock.
A young English girl. She was shipwrecked while
travelling from India to England to meet her
grandfather and ended up on another part of the
island, near a volcano. She sent a note asking for help
by attaching it to the leg of an albatross. Fritz find the
note and rescues her. They fall in love and eventually
got married in England.
The Robinson looked for away to save themselves
and they were shipwrecked and found ways to survive
on deserted island. Not once did they give up.

Look at how the Robinsons cooperate to build

themselves a new home and a new life. Through their
cooperation, they succeeded.
Mr Robinson always felt blessed for what he and his
family had been given. The Robinsons’ strong faith in
God sustained them through their difficulties.

Even though the Robinsons were involved in a

tragedy, they were thankful that they were alive and
managed to built a new life by using what was
available from the ship and the island.
Throughout the story, the Robinsons were always
helping each other and were supportive of each other
as a family. They lived harmoniously together and
each family member always acted for the benefit of
the family. You must love your family members
always, no matter where you are.

They never gave up. When you set your mind on a

goal, determination will help you succeed.
In times of need, we need to be creative in order to
survive or get ourselves out of trouble. The
Robinsons’ creativity and enabled them to think of
ways to make the things they used to enjoy previously
in their home country. For example, they made flour
from roots instead of wheat. The flour was turned into
bread, food they enjoy back in Switzerland.
The Robinsons were on their way to Australia from
Switzerland when they were shipwrecked. The crew
abandoned the ship and left the Robinsons to save
themselves. Luckily they managed to build a raft and
rowed to the nearest island.
On the island, they built a new life and manage to get
by with items they saved from the ship and whatever
they found on the island. They overcame difficulties
and problems by working together. They had many
adventures and the most frightening was the battle
boa constrictor.
Fritz, in secret, built a canoe. On his first trial to test
out the canoe, he found a message tied to the leg of an
albatross. The message was from a shipwrecked girl.
He went to look for the girl and found her on the
different part of the island, near the volcano. He took
her, Jenny, back with him to his part of the island.
One day, the Robinsons sighted a ship. When they
saw a Union Jack flying, they send a signal to the
ship. The captain of the ship came to show to meet
them and invited them to return to Europe with him.
At the end of the story, the Robinsons decided to go
their own ways. Fritz planned to marry Jenny in
England. The three younger brothers wanted to go to
schools in Europe while the parents decided that they
were happy to remain on the island.