Role of animals in Castaways

Animals play an important role in all of Jacques' books, but less so in this book. As the primary focus is on human characters, the animals receive less attention. However, Jacques cannot completely get rid on his love for animals. He gives all animals in the book human-like qualities and the ability to communicate with one another telepathically. They also help advance the plot by finding clues and items that human characters cannot.

Role Play: Ned

                     I went down to the village market today and an old lady told me I looked like a bear more than a dog. I snuffled at her and thought "My, my if I were a bear, then you'd be a whale." Then I went over to the almshouse to help Ben and our friends with our search for the royal deeds to Chapelvale. Along the way, I encountered a most unusual smell. I followed it back to the source and found that it was an ice cream from the Evan's shop that a child had left on the group. It produced a most awful smell and I was struggling to understand why anyone would leave that goodness on the ground! I am not ashamed to admit that I liked the remnants off of the ground and then moved onto the almshouse.

If there was a movie....

           If there were ever a movie adaptation of Castaways, I would really like for J. J. Abrams to be the director. He is one of my favorite modern directors and has done great work with the new Star Trek franchise and movies such as Super 8. He is also to be the director of the new Star Wars trilogy. Abrams shows great depth in his movies and goes into great detail with his creations. While he has never done a book to movie adaptation to my knowledge, it would be interesting to see what he could do with it.

Possible Prequels

              Early in Castaways Ned mentions to Ben their experiences at the Battle of Trafalgar and other historical events. I think it would be very interesting to learn more about these stories in another book in this series, maybe a sort of prequel. Jacques has already written two sequels to this book. Unfortunately, Jacques passed away in 2011, so it is unlikely that this will ever happen.

Picture: Royal Deed

This a royal deed. It can be used for many things, from endowing land to giving a monarchy away. In Castaways the characters are focused on finding a royal property deed. They are focused on this because the village of Chapelvale was given to the Winn family by King Edward III of England in a royal deed. If they find the deed they would be able to save the village from the industrialists.

On the Telepathy Between Ben and Ned

              One of the most interesting parts of the book is the ability for Ben and Ned to communicate telepathically. While reading the book, I kept thinking how neat it would be able to do this with my own pet: my cat, Isabella. It would be really interesting to hear what she was saying. Its just a thought and I know it could never happen.

Picture: Almshouse

This is an almshouse. In England. Almshouses were used as a sort of retirement home for well, retirees. In Castaways the almshouse of Chapelvale is significant because of its role in the story. The dilapidated almshouse is occupied by Jon Prescott and the first real clue of the quest is found inside of it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Alms_House,_Woburn.JPG

Character Anaylsis: Eileen Drummond

          Eileen Drummond is a Chapelvale housewife and wife of Will Drummond. While she is a minor character, she is still significant in that she is an older companion for Mrs. Winn and she understands various homemaking application which are important to the quest to save the village. She also helps Be when he has flashback attacks from his time on board the Flying Dutchman.

Character Analysis: Will Drummond

                 Will Drummond is a middle-aged milk man in the town of Chapelvale who is the husband of Eileen Drummond. Will Drummond is a somewhat minor character, but he is still significant to the story because he offers his cart to the others for transportation and has great insight and physical strength.

Reading Difficulty Analysis

              Even though Brian Jacques is officially considered a young adult author, his books have never been lacking in vocabulary. In fact most of his books are full of rich, vivid adjectives, so of which may send even the erudite student scrambling for a dictionary. This plethora of vocabulary extends to Castaways, which also has a healthy dose of nautical terminology. Overall, Castaways is a step or two above other books in its genre and can contains a massive amount of vocabulary that give the writing more depth and substance.

Cover Art Analysis

            The cover of this book showcases the two main characters with Ben on the right and Ned on the left. The pair look like that have recently washed ashore, judging by the rips and tears in Ben's clothing. In the background a ship, presumably the Flying Dutchman, is shown listing heavily to port and has tears in its sails as she begins her eternal voyage of the sea.

Title Analysis

              The title of this book essential means what it says. The book is about the castaways of the fabled ship the Flying Dutchman.

Character Analysis: Wilf Smithers

           Wilf Smithers is a big, mean tween boy who enjoys bullying people. He is the son of Obadiah Smithers. Wilf taunts Ben and Ned incessantly, often with bad results for himself. Wilf is significant to the story because he acts as a more minor antagonist.

Character Analysis: Wilf Smithers

           Wilf Smithers is a big, mean tween boy who enjoys bullying people. He is the son of Obadiah Smithers. Wilf taunts Ben and Ned incessantly, often with bad results for himself. Wilf is significant to the story because he acts as a more minor antagonist.

Character Analysis: Luis the Shepherd

              Luis the Shepherd is the first human Ben and Ned meet after leaving the Flying Dutchman. He is a very vice old man who tends to his sheep and enjoys spending time with Ned and Ben. He is significant because when the two are nice to him, they are given immortality.

Character Analysis: Jon Prescott

            Jon Prescott is an old ship's carpenter who runs the village almshouse. He was previously thought to be crazy, but becomes a tremendous asset to the children in their quest to save Chapelvale. Jon has strength, in both mind and body, which allows his to be very helpful. Jon is significant because he is extremely important to finding clues to save the village of Chapelvale because he knows many things about the village.

Character Analysis: Alexander Somers

               Alexander Somers (or Alex) is a small boy about 10-years of age who has confidence issues. He is significant i the book because of his intellect and his ability to see things that others don't. He is the brother of Amy Somers and he becomes friends with Ben and Ned.

My Review

       I really liked this book. Brian Jacques has always been one of my favorite authors. I enjoyed the playful wordplay between the characters and the understandable plot. The characters also received much development, which made them much more believable. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a good read.

Summary

           Castaways begins with the tale of the Flying Dutchman and how it comes to be cursed. Ben and Ned are introduced at this point in the book and are saved from the Dutchman’s fate because of their innocence. As a reward, the two beings are given the ability to hear each other’s thoughts and communicate telepathically. The odd pair wash up on the beaches of Tierra del Fuego and are greeted by an old shepherd named Luis, who they live with for the next 3 years. The old man eventually dies and then an angel appears to the pair and gives them the gift of immortality for helping make the old man’s last years the happiest of his life. Ben and Ned are then tasked with roaming the world and helping those in need. 250 years later, they come upon the village of Chapelvale, which is under threat of acquisition by greedy industrialists. Ben and Ned decide to help and they eventually save the village with the help of the locals. At the end of the book, Ben and Ned must leave and find others to help.

Castaways and the Redwall Series

          Brian Jacques is famous for his Redwall series, which has received massive critical acclaim and has been atop the New York Times bestseller list on numerous occasions. In this book, Jacques tried a different approach by writing about people, rather than about animals that act like people. However, the book is still similar to books in the Redwall series, with elements such as witty, very English-sounding dialogue, a plethora of moderately important characters, and a quest involving items that ancestors have left behind. Readers can expect basically a Redwall novel with humans, rather than animals, as the main characters when they pick up this book.

Picture: Black Labrador

A Black Labrador

The less important of the two main characters in Castaways is a large black Labrador named Denmark         ( later shortened to Den, then becoming Ned, which is Den spelled backwards).  I believe Jacques picked a Labrador due to their unfaltering loyalty to their masters. In the book, Ned is rarely far away from Ben and is always ready and willing to help.

Photo credits: http://www.glogster.com/alwayswithjames/black-labrador/g-6na5jks71apqooj345d3ha0?old_view=True

What is The Flying Dutchman?

                The Flying Dutchman is a lost, or ghost ship that has been cursed and must sail the seas for all of eternity. The legend first came about when it was mentioned in nautical folklore in the 17^th century, the time period in which the first part of the book is set. The common belief is that the ship was cursed by God when it’s captain blamed Him for his misfortune. Many, many stories have been written about the Flying Dutchman, but Jacques’ story is unique in that it focuses on two imaginary stowaways aboard the doomed ship.

         http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_Dutchman

Critic's Review of Book

Worthy "Dutchman"

            By E.A. Solinas

Top Amazon.com review for book.

Everyone knows how great Brian Jacques is, from the 12-plus Redwall series. Though he specializes in medieval rodent battles, Jacques's talent shines in a new and unique offering. Though the cover, with a handsome lad in a storm-tossed ship, seems to indicate a very different kind of book from the kind it is.

Ben, the mute hero of the story, survives the destruction of the Flying Dutchman, a sailing ship. Now he wanders the Earth with his talking dog (interesting switch), living forever thanks to an angel. Apparently they're supposed to "bring confidence and sympathy, help others to change their fate." Though this sounds like the beginning of a "Once in a Lifetime"/"Touched by an Angel" drama, it's anything but.

Centuries pass, and the two come to the peculiar town of Chapelvale. The citizens allow them to stay, but the villain is plotting the industrial destruction of their town. A scramble ensues to save the town, full of riddles and hidden clues.

Ben and Ned (the dog) are a delightful duo, well-balanced and sympathetic. Jacques' writing style is smooth and polished, his well-loved formula of good vs. evil as present as ever, even if Ben isn't a walking mouse with a sword.

With delightful dry wit and a supernatural thread running through the prose, Jacques steps outside his series. As well-beloved (and still fresh) as the Redwall books are, hopefully he will write more books in this vein.

All rights to Mr. Solinas

This is not my work and I am not saying it is.

Quotation Analysis

“Tearing himself loose, oblivious to the onlookers, he jabbed the blade skyward and began hurling abuse, at the weather, at the failure….At the Lord!” (page 50)

            This quote is significant because it sets forth the chain of events that bring Ben and Ned to Chapelvale.

Character Analysis: Vanderdecken

             Vanderdecken is the captain of the Flying Dutchman, the ship Ben and Ned are sailing aboard at the beginning of the book. Vanderdecken is exceptionally cruel to his crew, even throwing two overboard for insubordination.  Vanderdecken is a minor character in the book, as he is only present in the first few chapters, but he does play an important role in the two main character’s futures. Vanderdecken is trying to get around the Cape of Good Hope when he begins cursing at the Lord in frustration over the rough seas. Thus the Flying Dutchman is damned forever. Ben is haunted by Vanderdecken at times, even after 250 years after the events on the ship.

Character Analysis: Amy Somers

                Amy Somers is a village girl about Ben’s age with a big brain and a talent for sleuthing. When Ben and Ned first come into Chapelvale, they are greeted by Amy and her brother, Alexander. Amy and Alex take an immediate liking to the odd pair and they help Ben and Ned with their quest to save the village. Amy could be considered a moderately important character, much like many of the characters in Jacques previous books.

Character Analysis: Obadiah Smithers

            Obadiah Smithers is a pompous, self-centered, extremely large businessman who is intent on purchasing the village of Chapelvale to turn it into a factory town with an adjourning limestone quarry. As you may have already guessed, Smithers serves as the book’s antagonist. Smithers tries various bullying strategies to drive the residents of Chapelvale from their homes. Most of these schemes involve his young son Wilfred, or Wilf, and his so-called “Grange Gang”. These plots are foiled by the willpower of the villagers and the combined intuition of Ben and Ned. 

Character Analysis: Mrs. Winn

                     Mrs. Winn is a quaint, headstrong, elderly English lady who Ben and Ned stumble upon while traveling around England. She is an extremely nice lady who sort of reminds me of my grandmother. Mrs. Winn is the widow of a Royal Navy captain who served in the Crimean War. She is important to the story because her family supposedly holds the deeds for the village of Chapelvale. While staying in Chapelvale, Ben and Ned stay at her house.

Character Analysis: Ned

                 Ned, formerly known as Denmark, is the second and less-important of the two main characters in Castaways of The Flying Dutchman. Ned is described as a large black Labrador with a good nose and a great intuition. He is Ben’s best friend and the two have shared many adventures together. Ben nurtured Ned back to health after taking him aboard the Flying Dutchman and the two have been by each other’s side ever since. After the damnation of the crew of the Flying Dutchman, Ned was immortalized along with Ben and given the ability to communicate telepathically with his master. Ned proves his usefulness time and time again in the book by finding and deducing things that others cannot.

Character Analysis: Ben

              As the more important of two main characters, Ben receives much more attention from the author than any of the other characters in castaways of The Flying Dutchman. Brian Jacques introduces Ben as a young teenage boy, short in stature and mute. After the events aboard the Flying Dutchman that eventually lead to the crew’s damnation by God, Ben and his faithful dog, Ned, are immortalized by God and are tasked with helping others throughout time. Ben is extremely intelligent and can communicate with his dog telepathically. Ben is extremely helpful and kind, but is often haunted by his terrible experiences aboard the Flying Dutchman.