Wednesday, January 2, 2008

From where did the Robinson family set out and where were they heading, in classic The Swiss Family Robinson?

The Swiss Family Robinson, by Johann David Wyss, tells the story of a family who become shipwrecked in the East Indies and adapt to their situation by scrapping their ship and its contents to build a home on the island. The book was intended to be instructional and entertaining, and teaches lessons about plants, animals, and Christian values.


The Robinson family is from Switzerland, hence the title, and are travelling to a new colony in Australia. The book does not reveal their port of origin, but the family is planning to make land at Port Jackson, today called Sydney Harbor. 


Switzerland is a land-locked nation, so it is highly unlikely that their port of origin would have been anywhere in the country. It is difficult to suppose where they have set out from, as there are no direct routes from the coast of Europe to Australia, and a trip by ship would have been very long and likely demanded boarding in another port along the way.

No comments:

Post a Comment

What was the device called which Faber had given Montag in order to communicate with him?

In Part Two "The Sieve and the Sand" of the novel Fahrenheit 451, Montag travels to Faber's house trying to find meaning in th...