The Mysterious Island

Gideon is a journalist, “energetic, quick, full of ideas, ever ready for a challenge, a world traveler, at once soldier and artist, fearless in his counsel, resolute in his actions, insensitive to pain, fatigue, and danger in his quest to learn the facts” (14). While not an expert in any particular field of knowledge, his background as a reporter for all manner of stories and events proves to be of invaluable use for the castaways: He often provides a bit of information about some question the men have thanks to his work in the newspapers.

In the course of the events on the island, Gideon is just as formidable as any of the men, “a towering figure in the domain of information, of the unprecedented, the unknown, the impossible, he was one of those intrepid observers who write their stories amid a hail of bullets, who ‘chronicle’ events as cannonballs rain down around them” (14). He is a prudent and resourceful friend, often being the secondary voice of reason and most prudent in his decision-making after Cyrus.

Born to enslaved parents in Massachusetts, Neb was freed by Cyrus as a young man and has continued to accompany Cyrus as a servant ever since. Neb is described as “a young man of thirty, vigorous, agile, graceful, intelligent, gentle, calm; sometimes naive, but always cheerful, kindly, and eager to be of use” (15-16). Like Pencroff, he also is known by just a single moniker, always going by Neb instead of his full name.

Though living at a time when slavery is still an entrenched concept in the minds of many Americans, Neb is treated with respect and as an equal by the others, reflecting the other men’s Union sympathies in the American Civil War. Neb proves his mettle and hardiness countless times. During their troubles with the pirates, Neb stays back alone to guard Granite House, trusted to hold his own against any attack that might come his way. In addition, Neb is the most talented of the men in the culinary arts—"Neb was an efficient and expeditious chef” (540)—taking charge of preparing many of their meals throughout the years.

Always referred to by his last name—the reader only learns his first name when he suggests it as the moniker for their newly-built ship—Pencroff serves as something of a foil to Cyrus in that he is quick to show his emotions and can at times act impetuously. A sailor in his late thirties, “his skin deeply tanned by the sun, his eyes bright and fast-blinking” (18), Pencroff has been a sailor for the majority of his life and possesses “an enterprising spirit, always ready for a challenge and dismayed by nothing” (18).

While some of the other men typically act as the voice of reason and caution, it is Pencroff’s daring and adventuring spirit that pushes the company to try things that at times they made have been reluctant to attempt. The greatest instance of this is in the construction of the ship and the voyage to Tabor Island, undertaken almost completely under Pencroff’s influence. Eventually, he persuades the company not only to build the ship but also to take the voyage of over 100 miles to the nearby island called Tabor.