FILE 6 Voyage and Return stories
Cast away:
surviving
on a desert
island
Look at the illustration: what do you know about
the adventures of Robinson Crusoe?
TASK 1 Turn an episode of a Voyage and Return
story into a graphic novel
p. 106
or
TASK 2 Breaking news! A group of castaways
have just been rescued.
Make a radio report about them.
p. 106
RECAP
Prepare an oral overview
of Voyage and Return stories
p. 106
→ Reading on your own
Foe
by J.M. Coetzee
p. 150
Voyage, parcours initiatique, exil
↑ Robinson Crusoe and Man Friday (1874)
91
Warm up
nd a n d
a
l
s
i
I
My
September 30, 1659. I, poor miserable
Robinson Crusoe, being shipwrecked, during
a dreadful storm, in the offing *, came on
shore of this dismal unfortunate island,
which I called the Island of Despair…
Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe (1719)
* not far from the land
“To say ‘Robinson Crusoe’ is to name one particular
book, but it is also to name a type of book, a subgenre. […]
Even though it was not the first treatment of a castaway
surviving on a desert island, this one subsumed all earlier
versions as it has overshadowed all subsequent ones. […]
We can define this adventure type, much more than
others, in terms of one narration, one plot. It is the story
of a man cast away on an island (by a number of possible
mechanisms; a man with a number of possible histories)
who at first is in danger of dying but gradually learns how
to survive, and later how to accumulate goods and crops
and comforts, until he is monarch of all he surveys.”
Martin Green, Seven Types of Adventure Tales (1991)
Robinson Crusoe by N.C. Wyeth, 1920
Puisqu’il nous faut absolument des livres, il
en existe un qui fournit, à mon gré, le plus heureux
traité d’éducation naturelle. Ce livre sera le premier
que lira mon Émile; seul il composera durant longtemps toute sa bibliothèque, et il y tiendra toujours
une place distinguée. […] Quel est donc ce merveilleux
livre ? Est-ce Aristote ? est-ce Pline ? est-ce Buffon ?
Non; c’est Robinson Crusoé.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Émile, ou De l’éducation (1762)
92
FILE 6 Voyage and Return stories
A still from the movie Cast Away (2000)
ing is
terra incognita where anyth
“The adventurer enters a
rself
able to reinvent him or he
is
e
sh
or
he
ere
wh
,
ble
possi
g,
Incognita is an unsettlin
or his or her world. Terra
it is not only possible but
disorienting space where
ies.
ap, to invent new geograph
urgently necessary to rem
earrn’.”
rning so that we may lea
Unmapping means ‘unlea
What the novel deals with,
as everyone knows, is survival. […]
There is the overriding test that
Crusoe must answer: is humankind
sufficiently developed and selfreliant that, with no other of his
species on hand, he will continue
to behave like a man. I think the
book is, at its most interesting
level, a consideration of the extent
to which the speciating elements
of Homo sapiens hold up under
pressure and enable Crusoe to
maintain his separateness from
the rest of creation.
Sebastian Faulks, Faulks on Fiction (2011)
ng Men and Empire:
Richard Phillips, Mappi
e (2000)
A Geography of Adventur
“The castaway subgenre is significant in that the tales
frequently depict colonization as benign—both unavoidable (as the castaway was forced to the island by
an act of God, fate, or nature) and legitimate (as most
narratives show the island as terra nullius, although
indigenous people often join the castaway as Friday
does Crusoe). They are narratives of ‘anti-conquest’
in that they ‘seek to secure their innocence in the
same moment they assert European hegemony’.”
Rebecca Weaver-Hightower, Castaway and Survivor:
The Surviving Castaway and Rebirth of Empire (2006)
React
ct
1. What do these documents tell you about Robinson Crusoe,
the novel by Daniel Defoe and Robinson Crusoe, its
eponymous hero?
2. What else do you know about the story of Robinson Crusoe?
Do you know other stories, real or fictitious, that recall his?
3. Discuss what the word “adventure” means to you and how
it can be linked to being stranded on a desert island.
93
Keys and Tools
Voyage and Return stories:
main features
T
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94
he essence of the Voyage and Return story
is that its hero or heroine (or the central group of characters) travels out of their
familiar, everyday “normal” surroundings
into another world completely cut off from
the first, where everything seems disconcertingly abnormal. At first the strangeness of this
new world, with its freaks and marvels, may
seem diverting, even exhilarating, if highly
perplexing. But gradually a shadow intrudes.
The hero or heroine feels increasingly threatened, even trapped: until eventually they
are released from the abnormal world and
can return to the safety of the familiar world
where they began.
50_
There are two obvious categories of stories
where the Voyage and Return plot is particularly familiar. The first describes a journey
to some land or island beyond the confines
of the known or civilized world. The other
describes a journey to some more obviously
imaginary or magical realm closer to home.
[…]
65_
Again these stories fall generally into two
main types: those where the hero is marooned on some more or less deserted island
and those where the land he visits is the
home of some strange people or civilization.
In the early eighteenth century two of the
most famous of such stories were published
within two years of each other: one in each
category.
The first*, in 1719, was that paradigm of all
“desert island” stories, Robinson Crusoe. The
plot of Defoe’s novel follows the now familiar
pattern: as a young sailor whose ship is
wrecked, the hero finds himself all alone on
a seemingly deserted island. The first half of
the story, after Crusoe has recovered from
the initial shock, is dominated by his growing
confidence as he comes to terms with his
plight and with the simple wonders of his
unfamiliar new world (e.g. discovering his
ability to grow corn and bake bread). Then a
shadow intrudes as he sees the imprint of a
strange human foot. As Crusoe realizes that
he may not be alone on the island, he begins
to experience a sense of threat which grows
progressively more acute as he finds that his
little kingdom is in fact regularly visited by
* The second is Gulliver’s Travels, by Jonathan Swift (1721)
55_
60_
bands of cannibals to pursue their horrid
practices. The second half is dominated by
the measures Crusoe takes to protect himself; by his gradual recruiting of a little army
of runaways (Friday being the first) and finally, as the climax of the tale by leading his
followers into a successful battle against the
mutinous sailors on a Portuguese ship which
has anchored offshore. This culminates in
his joyful release, when the grateful captain
takes him off the island and back to civilisation. […]
The pattern of such a story is likely to unfold like this:
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90_
95_
1. Anticipation stage and “fall” into the
other world: when we first meet the hero or
heroine or central figures, they are likely to
be in some state that lays them open to a new
shattering experience. Their consciousness
is in some way restricted. They may be just
young and naïve with only limited experience
of the world. They may be more actively
curious or looking for something to happen
to them…
2. Initial fascination or Dream stage: at
first their exploration of this disconcertingly
new world may be exhilarating because is it
so puzzling and unfamiliar. But it is never a
place in which they can feel at home.
3. Frustration stage: gradually the mood
of the adventure changes to one of frustration, difficulty and oppression. A shadow
begins to intrude which becomes increasingly alarming.
4. Nightmare stage: the shadow becomes
so dominating that it poses a threat to the
hero or heroine’s survival.
5. Thrilling escape and return: just when
the threat closing in on the hero or heroine
becomes too much to bear, they make their
escape from the other world, back to where
they started. At this point, the real question
posed by the whole adventure is: how far have
they learned or gained anything from their
experience? Have they been fundamentally
changed or was it all “just a dream”?
Christopher Booker, The Seven Basic Plots:
Why We Tell Stories (2004)
FILE 6 Voyage and Return stories
Read the text
1. Focus on the first paragraph and on lines 62-95. In your own words, define what a Voyage and
Return story is and what its pattern is.
2. Explain why Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe is the “paradigm of all ‘desert island’ stories” (l. 32-33).
Discuss
3. Discuss why being stranded on a desert island can be a starting point for fiction writing.
4. What can this sort of stories be written for? For whom?
→ Keep all these elements in mind when reading the texts in the file.
Toolbox
Voyage and shipwreck
journey, passage, travel
shipwrecked, castaway
marooned, stranded
predicament, quandary
plight /plaIt/
misfortune
hardship
Surviving
subsist, live
through
bear /beE/
endure, suffer
withstand
achieve, earn /∏…n/, gain
obtain, prosper, succeed
≠ fail, give up
Discovery
tour, trip (sea), voyage
exploration, investigation
search, charting
scrutiny, survey
adventurous, enterprising
daring, risk-taking, audacious,
headstrong, intrepid,
undaunted
≠ cowardly, fearful, weak
Fascination
appeal, attraction, charm,
enchantment, magic, spell
enchanted, idyllic /IdIlIk/,
heavenly, flawless
Perseverance
determination, drive, endurance
pluck, resolution, stamina,
tenacity,
≠ apathy, idleness /aIdlnIs/,
indolence, laziness, lethargy
Capable
acute, artful, astute, crafty,
knowing, sharp, shrewd, smart
≠ incapable, powerless, inept
prudent, vigilant, watchful
careful, cautious, circumspect,
guarded,
on the lookout
≠ careless, foolish, heedless,
rash, reckless
Solitude
isolation, loneliness, seclusion
≠ companionship, friendship
Hope
longing, aspiration, belief,
desire, expectation, faith,
optimism, wish
certainty, confidence, trust
reliance /rIlaIEns/
Doubt
distrust, faltering,
indecision, perplexity,
scepticism /skeptIsIzEm/,
uncertainty, despair,
disbelief, discouragement,
hopelessness, pessimism
Nightmare
fear, anxiety, apprehension,
nervousness, alarm, dread,
awe /O…/, terror, panic
be afraid, scared
95
“Falling” into the other world
“Hullo, Robinson Crusoe”
Four children, John, Susan, Titty and Roger, are holidaying with their mother on the shores
of an unnamed lake in England. They have received permission to set sail in the dinghy Swallow to camp on a deserted island on the lake and have been there for some time.
H
ullo Man Friday”, said Titty joyfully.
“Hullo, Robinson Crusoe,” said Mother. That was the best of Mother. She was different from other natives. You could always count on her to know things like that.
5_
Robinson Crusoe and Man Friday then kissed each other as if they were pretending to
be Titty and Mother.
“You didn’t expect to see me so soon after yesterday,” said Mother, “but I came to say
something to John. I supposed he’s with the rest of the crew in that secret harbor of yours
that poor natives are not allowed to see.”
10_
“No. He isn’t on the island just at present,” said Titty. “No one is except me… and now
you too.”
“So you really are Robinson Crusoe,” said Mother, “and I am Man Friday in earnest. If
I’d known that I’d have made a good big footprint on the beach. But where are the
others?”
15_
“They’re all right,” said Titty. “They’re coming back again. They’ve gone in Swallow on
a cutting-out expedition.” More than that she could not well say, because, after all, Man
Friday might be Mother, but she was also a native, even if she was the best native in the
world.
“I expect they’ve gone to meet the Blackett children,” said Mother.
“Man Friday ought not to know anything about them,” said Titty.
20_
“Very well, I won’t,” said Mother. “But what are you doing all by yourself?”
“Properly I’m in charge of the camp,” said Titty. “But while they’re not here it does not
make any difference if I’m Robinson Crusoe instead.”
“I am sure it doesn’t,” said Mother. “Have they left you anything to eat?”
“I’ve got my rations in the tent,” said Titty.
25_
“Well, it’s high time you ate them,” said Mother. “Will you let Man Friday put some more
wood on the fire and make some tea? I can’t stay very long but perhaps they’ll be back
before I go.”
“I don’t think they will,” said Titty. “They’ve sailed across the Pacific Ocean. Timbuctoo
is nothing to where they’ve gone.”
30_
“Well, I’ll make some tea anyhow,” said Mother. “Let’s see what they’ve left you in the
way of rations.” […]
When they had eaten their meal, which was a very good one, Robinson Crusoe said, “Now
Man Friday, would you mind telling me some of your life before you came to this island?”
35_
Man Friday began at once by telling how she had nearly been eaten by savages, and had
only escaped by jumping out of the stew-pot at the last minute.
“Weren’t you scalded?” said Robinson Crusoe.
“Badly,” said Man Friday, “but I buttered the places that hurt most.”
1. a large farm
or ranch
96
And then Man Friday forgot about being Man Friday and became Mother again, and told
about her own childhood on a sheep station 1 in Australia, and about emus that laid eggs
FILE 6 Voyage and Return stories
↑ Swallows and Amazons directed by Claude Whatham (1974)
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as big as baby’s heads, and opossums than ran about with their young ones in a pocket in
their fronts, and about kangaroos that could kill a man with a kick, and about snakes that
hid in the dust. Here Robinson Crusoe, who had forgotten that she was Robinson Crusoe,
and had turned into Titty again, talked about the snake which she had seen herself in the
cigar-box that was kept in the charcoal-burners’ wigwam 2. Then she told Mother about
the dipper 3, and how it had bobbed at her, and flown under water. Then Mother talked about
the great drought 4 on the sheep stations, when there was no rain and no water in the wells 5,
and the flocks had to be driven miles and miles to get a drink, and thousands and thousands
of them died. Then she talked of the pony she had when she was a little girl, and then of
the little brown bears that her father caught in the bush, and that used to lick her fingers
for her when she dipped them in honey.
Time went on very fast, much faster than
when Robinson had been alone.
Arthur Ransome,
Swallows and Amazons (1929)
2. tente recouvrant un four à charbon
3. a species of birds that dive and swim under water
4. long dry rainless period
5. puits
Understanding the facts
1. Read the text and explain the situation: main characters,
their relationship, place, events.
2. What are the characters actually doing? Say what story
Arthur Ransome (1884-1967)
Swallows and Amazons established his reputation
as one of England’s best writer of children’s
books. It is the first of a series of eleven books
that tell the continuing adventures of the
same characters. The inspiration for the
book was drawn from his own
childhood experiences and
the place in the Lake District
where he lived.
5. To what extent can this passage illustrate
an episode in a Voyage and Return story?
What sort of Voyage and Return story
would it be?
is being reenacted and how it is being reenacted.
Interpreting
3. What worlds are depicted or evoked here?
4. Pick out lines in the text that refer to these various
worlds. Say what relations are drawn between those
worlds: are they separate / contiguous / intertwined?
Reacting
6. Does this scene remind you of personal
experiences? Which ones?
7. In your opinion, how can a fictional
character’s adventures influence one’s
imagination?
97
Dream and fascination
“A perpetual summer”
R. M. Ballantyne (1825-1894)
wrote a hundred or so adventure stories for young
people. Their titles (The Young Fur-Traders,
Ungava: a Tale of Eskimo Land, The Dog
Crusoe and his Master, Fighting the Whales,
The Pirate City, The Settler and the
Savage, Fighting the Lions…) all evoke
action-packed journeys and the thrills of
exploration and adventure.
Three boys, Ralph Rover (the narrator), Jack
Martin and Peterkin Gay, are the sole survivors of a shipwreck on the coral reef of an uninhabited Polynesian island.
F
or many months after this we continued
to live on our island in uninterrupted
harmony and happiness. Sometimes we went
out a-fishing in the lagoon, and sometimes
5_
went a-hunting in the woods, or ascended to
The Coral Island remains Ballantyne’s most famous novel, notably
the mountain top, by way of variety, although
because it is said to have inspired two other famous Scottish
Peterkin always asserted that we went for
writers, R. L. Stevenson who wrote Treasure Island in 1881 and
the purpose of hailing any ship that might
P. M. Barrie who created Peter Pan in 1901. Another reason is its
chance to heave in sight. But I am certain
direct link with William Golding’s Lord of the Flies (1954), a novel
10_
that none of us wished to be delivered from
seen as its antithesis.
our captivity, for we were extremely happy,
and Peterkin used to say that as we were very
young we should not feel the loss of a year or two. Peterkin, as I have said before,
was thirteen years of age, Jack eighteen, and I fifteen. But Jack was very tall,
15_
strong, and manly for his age, and might easily have been mistaken for twenty.
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30_
35_
40_
* a group of animals
98
The climate was so beautiful that it seemed to be a perpetual summer, and
as many of the fruit-trees continued to bear fruit and blossom all the year
round, we never wanted for a plentiful supply of food. The hogs, too, seemed
rather to increase than diminish, although Peterkin was very frequent in his
attacks on them with his spear. If at any time we failed in finding a drove*, we
had only to pay a visit to the plum-tree before mentioned, where we always
found a large family of them asleep under its branches.
We employed ourselves very busily during this time in making various garments of cocoa-nut cloth, as those with which we had landed were beginning
to be very ragged. Peterkin also succeeded in making excellent shoes out of the
skin of the old hog, in the following manner. He first cut a piece of the hide, of
an oblong form, a few inches longer than his foot. This he soaked in water, and,
while it was wet, he sewed up one end of it, so as to form a rough imitation of
that part of the heel of a shoe where the seam is. This done, he bored a row of
holes all round the edge of the piece of skin, through which a tough line was
passed. Into the sewed-up part of this shoe he thrust his heel, then, drawing
the string tight, the edges rose up and overlapped his foot all round. It is true
there were a great many ill-looking puckers in these shoes, but we found them
very serviceable notwithstanding, and Jack came at last to prefer them to his
long boots. We also made various other useful articles, which added to our
comfort, and once or twice spoke of building us a house, but we had so great
an affection for the bower, and, withal, found it so serviceable, that we determined not to leave it, nor to attempt the building of a house, which, in such a
climate, might turn out to be rather disagreeable than useful.
We often examined the pistol that we had found in the house on the other
side of the island, and Peterkin wished much that we had powder and shot, as
FILE 6 Voyage and Return stories
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it would render pig-killing much
easier; but, after all, we had become
so expert in the use of our sling and
bow and spear, that we were independent of more deadly weapons.
Diving in the Water Garden also
continued to afford us as much
pleasure as ever; and Peterkin began
to be a little more expert in the
water from constant practice. As for
Jack and I, we began to feel as if
water were our native element, and
revelled in it with so much confidence and comfort that Peterkin
said he feared we would turn into
fish some day, and swim off and
leave him; adding, that he had been
for a long time observing that Jack
was becoming more and more like
a shark every day. Whereupon Jack
remarked, that if he, Peterkin, were
changed into a fish, he would certainly turn into nothing better or
bigger than a shrimp.
Robert Ballantyne,
The Coral Island (1857)
Understanding the facts
1. Explain what you are told about:
– the boys’ routine and the basic needs they fulfill;
– the kind of life they are leading;
– their relationship.
2. Conclude about how the boys handle their
situation and what traits of characters are
stressed.
Interpreting
3. How does nature appear? What can you say
about the characters’ relationship with it?
4. Pick out words or phrases that refer to the image
which is given of this island. What is this image?
5. Pick out references to the outside world. How is it
seen? What place is it given?
6. Draw conclusions about:
– what the boys’ present world is likened to;
– the role the boys have in this world.
Reacting
7. Discuss whether this passage corresponds to your
personal idea of what being stranded on a desert
island may offer or imply.
99
A threatening shadow
William Golding
(1911-1993)
a widely acclaimed British novelist,
poet, and playwright awarded
the Nobel Prize for Literature in
1983. Lord of the Flies, his first
novel, made him one of the
most important
writers in British
literature.
A running theme
in most of his
works is
man’s fallible
nature.
“Who thinks there may
be ghosts?”
A plane carrying a group of British schoolboys has crashed into a desert
island, presumably shot down as a war wages on in the outside world. No
adult has survived. The children gradually manage to settle and survive.
At the start of the following passage, Ralph, who has been made chief from
the start, has called a meeting to take stock of the situation. One of the
topics they discuss is the beast some younger boys say they have seen.
A
hushed and anonymous voice broke in.
“Perhaps that’s what the beast is—a ghost.”
The assembly was shaken as by a wind.
5_
“There’s too much talking out of turn,” Ralph said, “because we can’t have
proper assemblies if you don’t stick to the rules.”
He stopped again. The careful plan of this assembly had broken down.
10_
“What d’you want me to say then? I was wrong to call this assembly so late.
We’ll have a vote on them; on ghosts I mean; then go to the shelters because
we’re all tired. No—Jack is it?—wait a minute. I’ll say here and now that I don’t
believe in ghosts. Or I don’t think I do. But I don’t like the thought of them.
Not now that is, in the dark. But we were going to decide what’s what.”
He raised the conch 1 for a moment.
“Very well, then. I suppose what’s what is whether there are ghosts or not—”
He thought for a moment formulating the question.
15_
“Who thinks there may be ghosts?”
For a long time there was silence and no apparent movement. Then Ralph
peered into the gloom and made out the hands. He spoke flatly.
“I see.”
20_
The world, that understandable and lawful world, was slipping away. Once
there was this and that; and now—and the ship had gone 2.
The conch was snatched from his hands and Piggy’s voice shrilled.
“I didn’t vote for no ghosts!”
He whirled round on the assembly.
“Remember that all of you!”
25_
1. a large sea shell; the boys
have decided that anyone
wishing to speak during
a meeting must ask for and
be given that sea shell first
2. earlier in the story, a ship
went past the island but
did not stop as the boys
supposed to watch and
keep the fire going had
gone away to hunt pigs and
let it go out
100
They heard him stamp.
“What are we? Humans? Or animals? Or savages? What’s grown-ups going
to think? Going off—hunting pigs—letting fires out—and now!”
A shadow fronted him tempestuously.
“You shut up! You fat slug!”
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There was a moment’s struggle and the glimmering conch jigged up and
down. Ralph leapt to his feet.
FILE 6 Voyage and Return stories
“Jack! Jack! You haven’t got the conch! Let
him speak!”
Jack’s face swam near him.
35_
“And you shut up! Who are you, anyway?
Sitting there—telling people what to do. You
can’t hunt, you can’t sing—”
“I’m chief. I was chosen.”
40_
“Why should choosing make any difference? Just giving orders that don’t make any
sense—”
“Piggy’s got the conch.”
“That’s right—favour Piggy as you always
do—”
45_
“Jack!”
Jack’s voice sounded in bitter mimicry.
“Jack! Jack!”
“The rules!” shouted Ralph, “you’re breaking the rules!”
50_
“Who cares?”
Ralph summoned his wits.
“Because the rules are the only thing we’ve
got!”
But Jack was shouting against him.
55_
“Bollocks to the rules! We’re strong—we
hunt! If there’s a beast, we’ll hunt it down!
We’ll close in and beat and beat and beat—!”
William Golding, Lord of the Flies (1954)
↑ A still from Lord of the Flies, directed by Harry Hook (1990)
Understanding the facts
1. Explain what happens during this meeting.
2. “We were going to decide what’s what.” (line 11): what
must be decided? What is the general decision?
7. In your opinion, what can the ghost
symbolize?
8. What is the main question asked in this
passage? What answer is given?
3. Identify the three main characters and focus on them:
compare the way they talk, their various reactions and say
what their feelings are.
4. Conclude on the mood prevailing on the island.
Reacting
9. Do the boys’ behaviours and reactions
Interpreting
5. “Once there was this and that; and now—” (lines 19-20):
10. What is threatening them?
11. Who are the characters in the picture?
whose comment is this? Explain what is “slipping away”.
6. What would you say the conch stands for?
make any sense? Discuss your point
of view.
What aspects of their personalities and
of their relationships are emphasized?
101
Rescue
“The end of innocence”
H
e staggered to his feet, tensed for more terrors, and looked up at a huge peaked cap.
It was a white-topped cap, and above the green shade of the peak was a crown, an
anchor, gold foliage. He saw white drill, epaulettes, a revolver, a row of gilt buttons down
the front of a uniform. […]
5_
The officer looked at Ralph doubtfully for a moment, then took his hand away from the
butt of the revolver.
“Hullo.”
Squirming a little, conscious of his filthy appearance, Ralph answered shyly.
“Hullo.”
10_
The officer nodded as if a question had been answered.
“Are there any adults—any grown-ups with you?”
Dumbly, Ralph shook his head. He turned a half-pace on the sand. A semi-circle of little
boys, their bodies streaked with colored clay, sharp sticks in their hands, were standing
on the beach making no noise at all.
15_
“Fun and games,” said the officer.
The fire reached the coconut palms by the beach and swallowed them noisily. A flame,
seemingly detached, swung like an acrobat and licked up the palm heads on the platform.
The sky was black.
The officer grinned cheerfully at Ralph.
20_
“We saw your smoke. What have you been doing? Having a war or something?”
Ralph nodded.
The officer inspected the little scarecrow in front of him. The kid needed a bath, a haircut, a nose-wipe and a good deal of ointment.
“Nobody killed, I hope? Any dead bodies?”
25_
“Only two. And they’ve gone.”
The officer leaned down and looked closely at Ralph.
“Two? Killed?”
Ralph nodded again. Behind him, the whole island was shuddering with flame. The officer knew, as a rule, when people were telling the truth. He whistled softly.
30_
Other boys were appearing now, tiny tots some of them, brown with the distended bellies
of small savages. One of them came close to the officer and looked up.
“I’m, I’m—”
But there was no more to come. Percival Wemys Madison sought in his head for an
incantation that had faded clean away.
35_
The officer turned back to Ralph.
“We’ll take you off. How many of you are there?”
Ralph shook his head. The officer looked past him to the group of painted boys.
“Who’s boss here?”
“I am,” said Ralph loudly.
40_
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A little boy who wore the remains of an extraordinary black cap on his red hair and who
carried the remains of a pair of spectacles at his waist, started forward, then changed his
mind and stood still.
FILE 6 Voyage and Return stories
“We saw your smoke. And you don’t
know how many of you there are?”
45_
50_
“No, sir.”
“I should have thought,” said the officer as he visualized the search before
him, “I should have thought that a
pack of British boys—you’re all British
aren’t you?—would have been able to
put up a better show than that—I
mean—”
“It was like that at first,” said
Ralph,”before things—”
55_
He stopped.
“We were together then—”
The officer nodded helpfully.
“I know. Jolly good show. Like the
Coral Island.”
60_
65_
Ralph looked at him dumbly. For a
moment he had a fleeting picture of
the strange glamour that had once invested the beaches. But the island was scorched up
like dead wood—Simon was dead— and Jack had… The tears began to flow and sobs shook
him. He gave himself up to them now for the first time on the island; great, shuddering
spasms of grief that seemed to wrench his whole body. His voice rose under the black
smoke before the burning wreckage of the island; and infected by that emotion, the other
little boys began to shake and sob too. And in the middle of them, with filthy body, matted
hair, and unwiped nose, Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart,
and the fall through the air* of the true, wise friend called Piggy.
↑ Lord of
the Flies
adapted by
Nigel Williams
(1995)
William Golding, Lord of the Flies (1954)
* Piggy died after falling off the mountain
Understanding the facts
1. Say what this passage depicts; explain what has
happened and what the boys have been doing.
2. Focus on the children: how do they appear to the officer?
3. Focus on the officer’s questions and on his reactions to
Ralph’s answers: what are his feelings?
4. What do the children do in the last paragraph?
Why, in your opinion?
Interpreting
5. Compare the officer and the children: what would you
say the officer stands for?
6. “I should have thought that a pack of British
boys—you’re all British aren’t you?—would
have been able to put up a better show than
that—I mean—” (lines 48-52): what does
the officer mean?
7. Focus on the narrator’s comments on what
the children have gone through. What is the
nature of these comments?
Reacting
8. How can this passage be seen as an illustration
of what a Voyage and Return story is intended to
do? What is there to learn in that type of story?
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Landmarks
Voyage & Return stories
the 18th century. Many exploring
expeditions were launched and on
their return, captains and mariners
had their journals published. The
accounts of their voyages described
unknown, hardly believable worlds
that were nonetheless real. The
new lands and people they discovered and the hardships they had
to go through sparked readers’
imagination and helped build the
picture of the Englishman as ruler
of the waves, endowed with an
ever triumphant spirit of enterprise
and adventure.
Origins
→
Stories of people being
stranded on desert islands, or islands inhabited by strange people,
go back to Homer’s Odyssey, an
epic poem composed around the
8th century BC. It tells the ten-year
long voyage that takes Ulysses from
Troy to his native island of Ithaca.
Ulysses and his sailors are washed
up on many islands, meet with all
kinds of creatures and manage to
escape many perilous situations.
The story of Robinson Crusoe is
said to have been inspired by the
true story of Alexander Selkirk, a
Scottish sailor who spent four years
as a castaway after being marooned on an uninhabited island, off
the coast of Chile, which is now
known as Robinson Crusoe Island.
Statue of Robinson on Robinson Island
Selkirk was rescued by English ships
in 1709. Robinson Crusoe’s success
is linked to England’s exploration of the Pacific Ocean and the
building of the British Empire in
17th Century
18th Century
1611
1719
Shakespeare, The Tempest
The island setting is a recurrent element of fiction and
is significant insofar as once an island isolates man
from civilization, the island itself becomes a minuscule
society reflecting a larger one. In The Tempest, Prospero
and his daughter Miranda are set adrift by Prospero’s
treacherous brother and Prospero in turn shipwrecks
his brother onto the island.
Shipwreck by Thomas Brich, 1829
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It is not surprising that the story
of Robinson Crusoe that had not
been written for children became
a tale that grown-ups used again
and again to teach children, and
mainly boys, what qualities could
be expected of them.
Daniel Defoe, The Life and Strange
Adventures of Robinson Crusoe,
a York Mariner
Its place in world literature and
in British literature in particular
is undisputed. It stands out as
marking the beginnings of a
major new genre, the novel,
where common people live lives
worth telling and reading about.
Its eponymous hero has become
“myth” and “archetype”. Several
modern themes and meanings
can be found in Defoe’s novel:
man’s solitude, his place within
nature, the Christian notion of
Providence, the Anglo-Saxon spirit
of conquest, the value of labour
over money, cultural relativism,
man’s everlasting resilience.
19th Century
1813
1829
Johann David Wyss,
The Swiss Family Robinson
One of the first and most
famous “Robinsonades” or
stories inspired by Robinson
Crusoe. It was originally
written in German. There
have been many versions
of this story, which shows
the Robinsonade’s enormous
capacity to adapt to different
cultural contexts.
Barbara Hofland,
The Young Crusoe
The “Robinsonade” often has a
didactic intent as shown in the story
of young Charles Crusoe, wrecked on
an island in the Indian Ocean with
his father and their Indian servant
Sambo. The Young Crusoe’s success
illustrates the way it was beginning to
focus upon a young boy as hero.
FILE 6
Voyage and Return stories
William Golding, Lord of the Flies
Can be seen as an allegorical novel in which
characters, actions and objects are symbols for
and represent ideas or abstract concepts, qualities
or faults. Political, religious and psycho-analytical
allegory can be traced in the novel.
Marooned by Howard Pyle, 1909
Arthur Ransome, Swallows and Amazons
Since its first publication in 1930, this novel has become part
of the school curriculum and interwoven itself into the fabric of
English childhood. It is a subtle study of childhood that shows
how remarkable characters in history or fiction leave their imprint
on children’s minds and consciousness.
Derek Walcott, “The Castaway”,
a poem, and Pantomime a play.
Saint Lucian poet, playwright and
writer, 1992 Nobel Prize for Literature.
Muriel Spark, Robinson
J. G. Ballard, Concrete Island
21th Century
20th Century
1841
1858
R. M. Ballantyne,
The Coral Island
This novel is seen as
the example of the
“boys adventure story”
as a genre and is also
discussed for its various
themes: the utopian
motif of the desert
island, and how they
assume their roles
and responsibilities.
Frederick Marryat,
Masterman Ready, or The Wreck
of the Pacific
Established the adventure
story for children as a
dominant literary form. It
inspired the works of later
19th-century writers, most
famously R. M. Ballantyne
and R. L. Stevenson.
1930
1954
1965 1974 1978
Modern-day versions of the story of Robinson Crusoe no longer cast
children as main characters and are focused with their authors’
concern about man in the 20th or 21th centuries: man’s uncertainty
and weakness, his place in an increasingly questionable world,
the search for identity, psychological battles for dominance, new
perceptions of white men’s history and tales.
2008
J. M. Coetzee, Foe
South African
novelist and literary
critic, 2003 Nobel
Prize for Literature.
CConnections
• The island setting has been transferred to other places, mainly the
wilderness. Numerous stories have been written about children or young
adults being stranded in deserts or unknown territories notably in Northern
America (Catharine Parr Traill, Canadian crusoes (1852); Elizabeth Speare,
Sign of the Beaver (1983); Gary Paulsen, Hatchet (1987).
• The many adventures that Robinson Crusoe encounters before being
marooned and after being rescued makes his tale a maritime story. This
aspect of its legacy can be seen in “sea stories”, adventure tales that depict
sea voyages, encounters with pirates and natives and search for treasures.
Many of them are “coming-of-age” stories. One of the most notable is
R. L. Stevenson’s Treasure Island (1883).
105
Over to you!
Writing
Create a page for a graphic novel
In groups, choose an episode in an adventure story linked to Robinson Crusoe,
and turn it into a page for a graphic novel.
• Write the outline of the episode you want to relate:
introduction / event 1 / event 2 / etc. / end
• Write out your ideas for what the character(s) will say and decide on how you
will tell your story (narrative / direct speech, etc.)
• Cast your character(s): their appearances, their personalities…
• Choose a drawing style: realistic / schematic / manga / US comics, etc.
• Decide on how to present the text: in a balloon with just the face of the
speaker showing, or spread out over several frames…?
• Decide on the number and shape of frames or panels.
Speaking
Breaking news!
A group of castaways have just been rescued.
In groups, make a radio report about that piece of news.
Your report can consist of five short audio clips as outlined below:
• The presenter introduces the story and each speaker
• Speaker no 1: someone at the heart of the story
• Speaker no 2: someone from the rescue team
• Speaker no 3: an outsider who can give an expert opinion on what happened
• The presenter concludes the story.
Recap
Prepare an oral overview of Voyage and Return stories, remembering
what you have learnt in the chapter. Present the documents you have studied,
keeping in mind the following elements:
• The characteristics of a Voyage and Return story (setting, characters, plot
and pattern)
• The importance of the story of Robinson Crusoe (the figure of the castaway
and castaway narratives)
• The appeal of the Voyage and Return story for children and young adults
(imagination, adventure, discovery, life away from grown-ups)
• The aim of such a story (acquiring experience, learning, warning).
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Voyage and Return stories
Voyage and Return stories
Books
British literature:
Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island (1883), Kidnapped (1886)
Rudyard Kipling, Captains Courageous (1897)
Joseph Conrad, Lord Jim (1900)
Henry De Vere Stacpoole, The Blue Lagoon (1908)
Adrian Mitchell, Man Friday (a play) (1973)
Derek Walcott, Pantomime (a play) (1978)
James Brian Jacques, Castaways of the Flying Dutchman (2001)
Going Further
FILE 6
Canadian literature:
Yann Martel, Life of Pi (2001)
American literature:
Jefferys Taylor, The Young Islanders: A Tale of Last Century (1842)
James Fenimore Cooper, The Crater, or Vulcan’s Peak: A Tale
of the Pacific (1847)
Herman Melville, Redburn (1849)
Jack London, The Sea Wolf (1904)
Carol Ryrie Brink, Baby Island (1937)
Scott O’Dell, Island of the Blue Dolphins (1960)
Gary Paulsen, The Island (1980)
Harry Mazer, The Island Keeper (1981)
Films
Mr. Robinson Crusoe by Edward Sutherland (1932)
Las Aventuras de Robinson Crusoe by Luis Buñuel (1954)
Robinson Crusoe on Mars by Byron Haskin (1964)
Lt. Robin Crusoe, U.S.N. by Byron Paul (1966)
Man Friday by Jack Gold (1975)
The Blue Lagoon by Randal Kleiser (1980)
Six Days, Seven Nights by Ivan Reitman (1998)
Cast Away by Robert Zemeckis (2000)
The Beach by Danny Boyle (2000)
On TV
Series: Gilligan’s Island (1960s), Lost (2004), Flight 29
Down, a version of Lost with and for teenagers (2005)
Reality shows: Survivor (2000) and Castaway 2000
Cartoons: The Simpsons (Season 9, Episode 14, Das Bus)
Listen to Lord of the Flies by Iron Maiden
107