Glossary

1. Providence
Providence is a term often used by the castaways who are very religious, a common trait among European settlers in the New World. It is a title of God, but also refers to God’s constant upholding of the world’s and universe’s existence, as well as His miraculous interventions in people’s lives, which the castaways often believed were the cause of inexplicable events experienced during their stay on Lincoln Island.


2. Castaway
A castaway is a term describing a person(s) who has been thrown away from civilization or place, and lives in isolation. This term was used often by the author to name the characters as a whole, and was really an unwanted title. When the ‘castaways’ had reached a quality life, they had then vowed amongst themselves to grant each other the title of colonists, patriotically settling for the benefit of their beloved United States.


3. Enigma
Enigma is a term which refers to a person or thing that is perplexing and which has no explanation. The castaways used this term often, when having been assured that the strange events happening on Lincoln Island were no miracle, they had no other choice but to be confused, until the ending of the book, where the secret was revealed. The first usage of the term was by Captain Harding, who again confounded by strange happenings called the source of these happenings a “strange and perplexing enigma”.


4. Orang
Short for Orangutan, an orang is an animal of the Primate order and the hominid family, as well as being the South-East Asian nickname for a person. This orange-haired ape lives on Lincoln Island, and an intelligent and charismatic orang had been captured by the castaways, under the name of Jup or Jupiter, to help them throughout the story with a multitude of tasks. The characters, especially Pencroft, had grown quite fond of the furry animal and his sudden death had a profound effect on the group.


5. 'Son of John Bull'
This was a very memorable term used by Pencroft to describe the wild orangutans which had plundered their beloved Granite House, one of which would become a close friend of Pencroft. The author described the importance of this term to Pencroft: “Pencroft, being a Yankee, believed to have reached the epithet of insults with the last term.”
The term itself refers to the average Englishman, and this is where the importance of Pencroft being a Yankee plays its part. The English and Americans didn’t have the closest relations, in fact quite the opposite, and by calling the orangutans literally a “son of an Englishman”, Pencroft shows his typical patriot hatred of the English, embodying the free will and swagger of the young United States.