
The Coral Island - A Tale of the Pacific Ocean
'The Coral Island - A Tale of the Pacific Ocean' Summary
The story is written as a first person narrative from the perspective of 15-year-old Ralph Rover, one of three boys shipwrecked on the coral reef of a large but uninhabited Polynesian island. Ralph tells the story retrospectively, looking back on his boyhood adventure: "I was a boy when I went through the wonderful adventures herein set down. With the memory of my boyish feelings strong upon me, I present my book especially to boys, in the earnest hope that they may derive valuable information, much pleasure, great profit, and unbounded amusement from its pages."
The account starts briskly; only four pages are devoted to Ralph's early life and a further fourteen to his voyage to the Pacific Ocean on board the Arrow. He and his two companions – 18-year-old Jack Martin and 13-year-old Peterkin Gay – are the sole survivors of the shipwreck. The narrative is in two parts. The first describes how the boys feed themselves, what they drink, the clothing and shelter they fashion, and how they cope with having to rely on their own resources. The second half of the novel is more action-packed, featuring conflicts with pirates, fighting between the native Polynesians, and the conversion efforts of Christian missionaries.
Fruit, fish and wild pigs provide plentiful food, and at first the boys' life on the island is idyllic. They build a shelter and construct a small boat using their only possessions: a broken telescope, an iron-bound oar, and a small axe. Their first contact with other humans comes after several months when they observe two large outrigger canoes in the distance, one pursued by the other. The two groups of Polynesians disembark on the beach and engage in battle; the victors take fifteen prisoners and kill and eat one immediately. But when they threaten to kill one of the three women captured, along with two children, the boys intervene to defeat the pursuers, earning them the gratitude of the chief, Tararo. The next morning they prevent another act of cannibalism. The natives leave, and the boys are alone once more.
More unwelcome visitors then arrive in the shape of British pirates, who make a living by trading or stealing sandalwood. The three boys hide in a cave, but Ralph is captured when he ventures out to see if the intruders have left and is taken on board the pirate schooner. He strikes up a friendship with one of the crew, Bloody Bill, and when the ship calls at the island of Emo to trade for more wood Ralph experiences many facets of the island's culture: the popular sport of surfing, the sacrificing of babies to eel gods, rape, and cannibalism.
Rising tensions result in the inhabitants attacking the pirates, leaving only Ralph and Bloody Bill alive. The pair succeed in making their escape in the schooner, but Bill is mortally wounded. He makes a death-bed repentance for his evil life, leaving Ralph to sail back to the Coral Island alone, where he is reunited with his friends.
The three boys sail to the island of Mango, where a missionary has converted some of the population to Christianity. There they once again meet Tararo, whose daughter Avatea wishes to become a Christian against her father's wishes. The boys attempt to take Avatea in a small boat to a nearby island the chief of which has been converted, but en route they are overtaken by one of Tararo's war canoes and taken prisoner. They are released a month later after the arrival of another missionary, and Tararo's conversion to Christianity. The "false gods" of Mango are consigned to the flames, and the boys set sail for home, older and wiser. They return as adults for another adventure in Ballantyne's 1861 novel The Gorilla Hunters, a sequel to The Coral Island.
Book Details
Language
EnglishOriginal Language
EnglishPublished In
1857Authors

Robert Michael Ballantyne
Scotland
Robert Michael Ballantyne was a Scottish author of juvenile fiction who wrote more than 100 books. He was also an accomplished artist, and exhibited some of his water-colours at the Royal Scottish Aca...
Books by Robert Michael BallantyneDownload eBooks
Listen/Download Audiobook
- Select Speed
Related books

Ben Hur by Lew Wallace
Ben-Hur tells the story of Judah Ben-Hur, a Jewish prince living in Jerusalem during the Roman occupation. He is falsely accused of treason by his ch...

Marius the Epicurean, Volume 1 by Walter Pater
Marius the Epicurean is a philosophical novel written by Walter Pater, published in 1885. In it Pater displays, with fullness and elaboration, his ide...

In League With Israel by Annie Fellows Johnston
This novel follows Bethany Hallam, a young woman from the Southern United States, as she attends a League Conference in Chattanooga. She encounters Da...

Her Associate Members by Pansy (Isabella Macdonald Alden)
Step into the exclusive world of "Her Associate Members" by Pansy, a captivating novel that unveils the hidden layers of friendship, self-discovery, a...

Miss Priscilla Hunter, and My Daughter Susan by Pansy (Isabella Macdonald Alden)
This book presents two intertwined stories centered on themes of faith, community, and personal responsibility. In 'Miss Priscilla Hunter,' we witness...

Sowing and Reaping by Frances E. W. Harper
Sowing and Reaping is a didactic novel that explores the destructive effects of alcohol abuse on individuals and families. The novel follows the lives...

Judge Burnham's Daughters by Pansy (Isabella Macdonald Alden)
Ruth Erskine Burnham, the main character in "Judge Burnham's Daughters," is a woman of strong faith who has dedicated her life to raising her husband'...

Odd by Amy Le Feuvre
Betty, a young girl in a large family, feels isolated and lonely. Her siblings have pairs, leaving her as the 'odd' one out. She seeks solace in the...

Atala by François-René de Chateaubriand
Set in the untamed wilderness of North America in the early colonial days, "Atala" follows the story of a forbidden love between a French explorer and...

The Idiot, Part 3 and Part 4 by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
The Idiot is a novel by the 19th-century Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky. It was first published serially in the journal The Russian Messenger in 186...
Reviews for The Coral Island - A Tale of the Pacific Ocean
No reviews posted or approved, yet...