Sample Essay On Survival On The Island: Swiss Family Robinson

Summary:

Swiss Family Robinson is a novel about a family being shipwrecked on an uninhabited island. They find ways to survive in the times that they are stranded and learn to acquire knowledge and adventure that they have never experienced before. As they learn to cope with life in the island, they also learn to become closer as a family and realized that they need each other in order to survive.  
In the story, the whole family was able to find ways to survive by exploring the island and finding things that can be used to make food, shelter, clothing, and more. Based on the story, I made a list of the things the family did on each element of survival. I think the way they did their surviving teaches us that we can survive if we work together.

Geography

-      Uninhabited island located in an unknown place and it was near where the ship was wrecked
-      They explored the island and found that there were no people on it.
-      Father and Fritz collected more things from the ship and brought them to the island

Food

-      They used the shells of the shellfish as spoons to eat and sip the soup.
-      They also saved corn for sowing in the future.
-      They found a wide variety of plants, sugar cane, coconuts, and gourds that they used as utensils in the future.
-      They found potatoes in a bag. Instead of eating them, though, Mr. Robinson persuades them to plant them instead for more food in the future
-      They shoot some buffaloes that will help them give in the milk and pulling the plough
-      They find food for all their animals
-      During the winter, they kill some of their animals because there is only little food left for the whole family.

Clothing

-      As for the clothing, Mrs. Robinson find plants and makes clothes from them for the boys.

Shelter

-      When they arrived on the island, they made a tent out of sailcloth and the beds out of grass.
-      While exploring, Mother spots a perfect place by the river to build a new house. Since there are huge trees and the place has a cool atmosphere, she thinks to build a tree house.  
-      They build a bridge so they can cross the animals across.
-      They built a makeshift barn for the animals
-      They make the floor of the tree house on two thick branches and hung a sail from a higher branch as a roof.
-      On their second journey to the ship, the Robinsons bring plants and objects which will help them on the island.
-      They build a hut for the tools and for the animals
-      They also start working on their gardens, so they got a bamboo for the garden’s protection
-      They also started making huts for the animals’ shelter
-      After what they experienced in the winter season, they decided to find a  more durable shelter to live in. They found a cave that is full of plants.

Seasonal Weather

-      The time when they built the house, the weather was cool and trees made the atmosphere nice and fresh.
-      When it comes to winter though, living in the island is very hard and harsh as the rain never stops and the family is always wet.

Own Activities

If, in the future, you experience being stranded on an uninhabited island, you must learn to find ways on how to survive for a long time. Here are some of my suggested survival activities that can serve as a guide in case you get stranded on a deserted island.

Clothing

If you have your clothes with you when you were stranded, you can reuse them. To find some clothes, try to get some scrap from leaves and in other parts of the island. You can put them together as clothes.
Food
I think one of the obvious ways of finding food is to get some fishes by the beach and cook it above the fire. To build a fire, you can use the rubbing of the rock technique to create a spark. Then you can start hunting for the other animals in the island. As for the water, some trees have water in them, so you can try those. If not, the beach and some rivers can serv as clean drinking water if you boil it with the fire that you made.

Shelter and Seasonal Weather

If you are stranded on deserted island, I am sure you will find some materials where you can build your own shelter. Finding or building a shelter is the first thing that you should do when you calmed down as you need to protect yourself from the cold weather and keep yourself warm, even if for just the day or night.
One of the ways you can build a shelter is to lean a large branch on one end of a large tree. Then by using smaller branches, place them at 45 degree angles along the length of the large branch. When you feel it is sturdy, cover the entire structure with leaves, big branches with leaves, wet sand, and some foliage. This will serve a your prtection from the wind and rain.

Medical Care

I think the one thing that can help you in wounds are the herbal plants in the island. But be careful and try to see which are harmful and which are not.