The Castaway

by Arthur J. Roth

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0590312413
• ISBN13: 9780590312417
• Release Date: January 1983
• Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks
• Weight: 0.15 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Castaway a review by Ray

Have you ever been trapped? If you have you would have probably felt lonely, hungry, tired and scared! In the book The Castaway, by Arthur Roth, the main character, Daniel, was stranded in a lifeboat with no means of communication. He was starving on the lifeboat. Daniel had no water, the only thing he did have was salty pork, which made him even more thirty. The shipmates died off one by one. One of the shipmates went mad. His ration of food was gone and he was severely dehydrated. The shipmate lifted up his boat oar and tried killing Daniel tree times. Daniel and his friend, Josh, had no choice but to kill the mad shipmate. Daniel and Josh rolled the dead body overboard.You can just visualize his dead body rolling into the murky water. After months of starving Daniel and Josh were forced to eat their belts and boots, for what ever nutrients that might be left.Daniel and Josh finally spotted rocks far off in the distance. They rowed and rowed against the waves and finally they saw the rocks. Daniel and Josh thought of a plan to land the boat on the rocks, but the timing would have to be just right. If they were too early or too late they could die.Will Daniel and Josh make it or will they be fish food? I encourage you to read this book. This book will make you laugh, cry, and totally gross you out!

The Castaway

Do you have a pebble bringing penguin as a friend? Well Daniel does in the book "The Castaway". In this book Daniels boat the Catherina hits a ice berg. The next day Dan ends up on a island. And he meets a penguin. Penny (the penguins name)brings Dan a beautiful pebble. After Penny brought Dan the pebble she bowed to him. Dan thought this was very odd but he still bowed back to Penny. Everyday from that day on Penny brought Dan a pebble. The reason she did thuis was because she wanted Dan to make her a nest. Also everyday Penny and Dan bowed to eachother. Penny also always took Dan's finger and played with it. Everytime Dan did sothing Penny would almost always be by his side. One day on the island Dan was sick and sleepy. Penny was making so much noise it woke Dan up. Dan got up just in time to get his ore on top of the hut and for the passing by ship to see it Dan made it home and then he was safe. I am sure that you will love this book as much as I did. So go to your library and get this book!

Good survival story aimed at children

I finished reading THE CASTAWAY just now. It is a fine little book, dealing with a survival story of Daniel Ross, who is shipwrecked on an island. He must discover how to live and survive on an island of rock that has no life. It is good for younger readers. Daniel has to struggle with loneliness, routine, and torture of old and bad memories. The chief narrative deals mainly with the survival of Daniel, with flash backs and remembrances at various points along the way. The flashbacks help feel in the story of what happened at the seal hunting ship Daniel had taken berth in (the ship's name was Catherine). Also Roth uses them to detail the relationship between him and his brother Tom, and tells us how they left on a bad note. Another central character is Susan, as told by his memories. Because of the type of story it is, Roth must, by definition, rely on these flashbacks and descriptions of the environment (in this case an island) to tell the story. The plot is survival. The conflict is Daniel against Nature. For the purpose of the book, and the audience, it does just fine (it is probably not over thirty five or forty thousand words long - it can easily be read in a single reading, numbering just a little past 100 pages long [108]). If it was aimed at an adult audience, it would need to show more of the psychological aspects of such an ordeal. Daniel spends a very long time on that island (how long? read the book). But as it is a children's story, and Roth in all probability wanted it short, does quite well detailing the psychological and physical difficulties Daniel had to encounter and overcome. One charming thing (the method is charming, anyway) that Daniel overcomes (to an extent) is loneliness. There is an old seal named H (largely because of markings on skull looks an H, they are old scars), which we see a little of, and Penny, a penguin, aid Daniel in this matter. Penny is a quite loveable bird. This also helps to reinforce that human beings are created for social interaction, and that part of us is intrinsic with our nature. The survival of the human species is dependent on this drive for social interaction (without some type of social ties there would be no society and no reproduction).THE CASTAWAY is also a true story. Although doubtlessly embellished, true stories like that always help to capture and fire up the human imagination. It also shows the strength of the survival instinct. But I highly doubt that historians knew all the backstory that Roth provides for his protagonist. But according to the opening text in the book, Roth kept true to Daniel's possessions (a pocketknife, an oar, and the clothes on his back). I do not know how THE ICE HERMIT is, but it sounds largely the same thing. If you cannot find this, obtain that and read it. It is largely concerned with the same thing. All in all, a good book for young readers (especially those who like survival stories, but