Term 1 Week 2 (The Coral Island)

Summary of book
Recently, I read a book titled "The Coral Island", authored by R.M Ballantyne and written during the peak of the British Empire in 1857. Firstly, let me give you a brief introduction of the main plot and storyline.

The Coral Island

Ralph Rover, Jack Martin and Peterkin Gay, were three boys who were sole survivors of a shipwreck on one of the Polynesian islands in the Coral Sea. The islands were better known as the Coral Islands for their abundance of necessities such as food, water and materials. Their life at first was quite idyllic, with only a few tools at hand. However, they seemed to have landed upon one of the most plentiful islands in the region, without any savages inhabiting the island, and thus had no plan whatsoever for the future, deciding to follow fate.

The story continued on to describe their adventures together and the challenges they faced. They met savage Polynesians and even British pirates who claimed to be traders of the Polynesians but were actually no less savage than the Polynesians themselves. The boys found themselves in Mango Island, after Ralph discovered that Tararo, a chief whom they helped in a tribal battle, was living there. They intervened in the conflict between the islanders who were converted to Christianity and those who were not, and Tararo who called for their arrest. They were rescued in the end by a missionary who converted Tararo and the other unbelieving islanders. The boys soon set sail homebound, older and wiser.

---

Reflections
After reading this book, I was very touched by the bond of friendship between the three boys. They went through thick and thin together and never gave up on each other. The part when Tararo and his men rubbed noses with the boys as a form of a farewell gesture after the gory battle between the two tribes was very heartwarming as they had spent a few days living and communicating together. Peterkin even shed tears when they left in their war-canoes.

The author used a very wide range of vocabulary. He also had a very exciting plot and could make the story seem very realistic. Once I picked up that book, I was so engrossed in it that I was sometimes reluctant to stop for my meals! The first part of the story was very useful and enriching as it told about basic survival skills. The author used a lot of dialogue in his story and also described in great detail what condition and surroundings the boys were in.

I would definitely recommend this novel to my friends as this story is very interesting and it can be considered as one of the popular classics. This book has upped my interest in reading and it would certainly be the same for anyone who reads it.