1. Read Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe and compare it with The Swiss Family Robinson.

2. Write a short report about the authorship of The Swiss Family Robinson. You may want to consult Robert L. Wyss's "The Real Swiss Wysses," published in Life 37 (December 27, 1954): 63-64.

3. Johann David Wyss is believed to have been influenced in his writings by Jean Jacques Rousseau, a French philosopher who believed that people are good in their natural state and are corrupted by society. What adventures in the novel seem to you to be influenced by this view? You might want to have a look at some of Rousseau's writings, such as The Social Contract (1762) and Emile(1762).

4. The father of the family uses what is referred to as the Socratic method in his instructions to his sons. What is this method of education? How does he adapt it...