The Coral Island facts for kids
Title page, illustrated 1893 edition of The Coral Island
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| Author | R. M. Ballantyne |
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| Language | English |
| Genre | Adventure novel |
| Publisher | T. Nelson & Sons |
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Publication date
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1857 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & paperback) |
| Text | The Coral Island at Wikisource |
The Coral Island: A Tale of the Pacific Ocean is an exciting adventure novel. It was written in 1857 by a Scottish author named R. M. Ballantyne. This book was one of the first stories to feature only young heroes.
The story is about three boys who get shipwrecked. They are the only survivors and end up stranded on an island in the Pacific Ocean. It's a type of story called a "Robinsonade." This means it's like Daniel Defoe's famous book, Robinson Crusoe.
The Coral Island became very popular and has been printed ever since it first came out. The book talks about ideas like the importance of good leadership. It also shows how people from different cultures met in the 1800s.
This novel even inspired another famous book, Lord of the Flies (1954). That story, written by William Golding, shows the opposite idea. In Ballantyne's book, the boys meet bad things from outside. But in Lord of the Flies, the bad things come from inside the boys themselves.
In the early 1900s, The Coral Island was a classic book. Children in the UK read it in primary school. In the United States, it was often on high school reading lists. Today, some of the book's ideas seem a bit old-fashioned. However, it was made into a four-part TV show for children in 2000.
Contents
How The Coral Island Inspired Other Stories
The Coral Island had a big impact on many writers. It helped shape other well-known books and characters.
Inspiring Treasure Island and Peter Pan
Robert Louis Stevenson wrote the famous novel Treasure Island in 1882. He was partly inspired by The Coral Island. Stevenson really liked the good parts of Ballantyne's story.
J. M. Barrie's character Peter Pan was also influenced by this book. Both Stevenson and Barrie loved reading The Coral Island when they were boys.
The Contrast with Lord of the Flies
William Golding wrote his 1954 novel Lord of the Flies as a response to The Coral Island. He even makes clear references to it. For example, at the end of Lord of the Flies, a naval officer saves the boys. He mentions The Coral Island when he sees them hunting one another. He says it's "a jolly good show. Like the Coral Island."
Golding's main characters, Ralph, Piggy, and Jack, are like funny versions of Ballantyne's heroes. Golding enjoyed The Coral Island as a child. However, he disagreed with some of its ideas. In his book, the English boys become wild themselves. They forget what they learned, which is different from Ballantyne's boys. Golding said that The Coral Island "rotted to compost" in his mind. From that, "a new myth put down roots."
Television Shows Based on the Book
The Coral Island has been adapted for television a couple of times.
1980s TV Series
In 1980, The Coral Island was made into a children's TV series. This was a joint project between Thames Television in the UK and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It first aired in 1983 in both Australia and Britain.
2000 TV Drama
Later, in 2000, Zenith Productions created another TV version. This was a four-part children's drama. It was shown on ITV in the UK.
