The Swiss Family Robinson · Chapter
XXVIII explained
The family engages in propping up young trees with bamboo stakes, leading to a detailed discussion on the cultivation and grafting of trees, the origin of various fruit trees, and the moral lessons that can be drawn from nature about educat
What happens
The family engages in propping up young trees with bamboo stakes, leading to a detailed discussion on the cultivation and grafting of trees, the origin of various fruit trees, and the moral lessons that can be drawn from nature about education and improvement.
Themes in this chapter
Education and Moral Instruction
The father uses the practical task of propping trees to teach his sons about grafting, the origin of fruit trees, and the moral lesson that cultivation and education lead to improvement.
Nature and Divine Order
The discussion highlights how nature provides spontaneously in some climates, while human art and care are needed in others, reflecting a divine order that allows for improvement through effort.
Gratitude and Contentment
The family expresses delight in their work and the fruits of their labor, showing contentment with their island life and the lessons learned from nature.
Characters to notice
- Father
Leads the work of propping trees, provides detailed explanations on grafting and the origins of fruit trees, and draws moral lessons about cultivation and education.
- Fritz
Asks questions about wild versus cultivated trees and engages in the conversation about grafting.
- Ernest
Puzzles over the origin of the first grafts and shows thoughtful inquiry into the history of fruit trees.
- Jack
Makes witty remarks about tree cultivation, asks about homogeneous fruits, and shows curiosity about cherries.
- Mother
Stays behind with Francis to prepare dinner and melt wax berries for candles.
- Francis
Remains with mother to help with domestic tasks.
Key passages
“say, with care and cultivation, every being may become better, and acquire virtues and qualities which, left to himself and nature, he would be destitute of; thus I render our buffalo, and you your jackal, tame and manageable, by making them feel the power of man over brutes; thus I strive, my dear children, to lead you on towards perfection, by cultivating your understanding, giving you, as far as I am able, good lessons and good examples; so these trees, which at first were mere wild stocks, produced from kernels or seeds, and bearing only small imperfect fruits, have been made to produce those of an excellent quality by grafting on them a superior species.”
Through care and cultivation, every being can improve and gain virtues they would otherwise lack; just as we tame animals and educate children, so wild trees can be grafted to bear excellent fruit.
The father draws a parallel between horticulture and moral education.
“It is not a fruit, my dear child: it is, I confess, rather too learned a word, which I was wrong to use without explanation. It is derived or comes from the Greek, and signifies of the same nature, or bearing great similitude ; thus an apple, a pear, a quince-tree, may be ingrafted on each other, because their wood and their seeds are homogeneous or resemble each other.”
The word 'homogeneous' means of the same nature; trees like apple, pear, and quince can be grafted together because they are similar in wood and seed.
The father corrects his use of a complex term and explains grafting compatibility.
“I am of your opinion, Ernest, that historians would have done as well to give the names of those who procured an agreeable fruit, as in recording the destroyers of mankind.”
Historians should record the names of those who introduced useful fruits rather than only those who caused destruction.
The father values peaceful contributions over military conquests.
