The Swiss Family Robinson

I have just completed the book “Swiss Family Robinson” by Johann David Wyss, it was an exciting story about how a ship wrecked family survives alone on an island. Throughout the book there were all kinds of obstacles that the family had to overcome, for every problem that they met, there was almost always a way around it that they would discover. The father was usually the first one to find the solutions, but often even when he knew what to do he still allowed the rest of his family to discern the answers on there own. I think that being able to allow others to learn instead of taking all of the credit is a valuable and admirable trait to have, I also think that this is a specifically good skill for the head of the family to have, it is his job to influence, teach, and minister to the rest of his family, when a father neglects this responsibility it can and will bring issues to the rest of the family. One more thing that I observe is that the strategy of allowing others to learn leaves a positive memory and therefore when people have such a favorable recollection of learning they might apply the same teaching techniques to others as well. The book was narrated by the father, which is why he is one of the most well known characters in the book, he is also my favorite character because of his integrity through the entire ordeal, he was very calm and placid with his family at all times. I think that we all can take a tip from this to be more patient with others, as it says in Proverbs 19:11, “Good sense makes one slow to anger and it is to his glory to overlook an offence.” I would definitely say that the father in the “Swiss Family Robinson” had the benefits of good sense, that character should be treasured, as it is true that many people do not have patience with their families and this can cause those families to crumble. Applying patience is a way of holding the family together and it is also a sign of love because ‘love is patient’ as clearly stated in 1^st Corinthians 13:4. Following that, I think that the father was the best character in the story because of the love that he showed his entire family during their time stranded on the island.