The Swiss Family Robinson By J. D. Wyss

Could you imagine riding an ostrich across the horizon while an eagle flies beside you? In The Swiss Family Robinson, by J.D. Wyss, this is what the characters tried to achieve. The family was successful in training both of these animals, yet the training differed in some ways. They chose these two animals to train because they believed that the animals could help them survive on this extraordinary island. One of the first animals they decided to tame on this island was the eagle, because they felt the eagle could help them with hunting and protection. Ernest remembered reading about blowing tobacco smoke “...into the nostrils of the birds of prey and of the parrots they catch, until they are giddy and almost senseless.” When the birds recovered, the birds would be more tame. Fritz used this method, and the eagle “grew tamer and calmer every day.” Once the eagle was tamed, it would protect the family by finding predators and gouging out the eyes. The predator would not attack anyone, and sometimes the family could kill the predator for food.
Another animal the family decided to tame was the ostrich.
The family felt they could use the ostrich as a form of transportation around the island and for activities that involved traveling long distances. The father had read that ostriches could be tamed, and they used tobacco smoke as they had done on the eagle. “The natural savageness of the bird disappeared more and more every day…”, and the family started trying other methods to train it. Eventually they were able to ride the ostrich and control it using reins. The father figured out that the reins could be used to control covers over the ostrich’s eyes so that it stopped completely or moved one way or the other depending on which eye was covered. Being able to ride the ostrich helped the family survive by allowing them to travel around the different locations of the island more
efficiently. While there were similarities in the way these animals were tamed, there were also several differences. Some similarities were that both animals were tamed using tobacco smoke, and they both had to be tied up to prevent them from escaping. The family also figured out that both birds responded to having their eyes covered, which was another similarity. Some differences in how these animals were tamed involved how the methods were used. During the training of the eagle, the tobacco smoke and eye covering took place at the same time, yet while training the ostrich these two methods were used at separate times. The training had different effects on each bird. The eagle was young and was taught these methods as the only thing he knew, yet the ostrich was full grown and had to adapt to the differences of what the family wanted him to do. In training both of these animals, the family was successful. The eagle helped keep the family safe and was an added bonus in hunting. The ostrich provided transportation from place to place on the island. Though the training methods may sound odd, it allowed the family to use the animals to help them survive on this island. Animals have always been used to help people, and for the Swiss Family Robinson the animals’ help meant survival.