Posted by Jenna Darter
Hello everyone. I'm starting a new thread because I can't find the one I was thinking of putting this comment in. But I know there's been some discussion of how polite the Swallows are and the fact that they always get along with each other and the other kids. I've just been re-reading Swallows and Amazons and noticed that sibling rivalry came up more than once, as did some fairly sustained tension between the explorers and the pirates.
Re: sibling rivalry - Nancy and Peggy have two fights, one described as "a row and a half" (or something like that; I haven't got the book with me so can't give an exact quote) when they discovered they were marooned; and the second during the storm "there was the sound of a squabble from the Amazons tent". Plus Titty is fairly monomaniacal about wanting to sink the houseboat and John and Susan tell her to shut up quite a lot. There is also a near fight when Titty wants to go treasure-hunting and the others want to fish.
Re: tensions between the two groups: there was a realistic argument about the Swallows' right to be on the island: "we've been camping here for days" - "well, we've been coming here for YEARS" - "you don't know how the harbour is marked so that shows its OUR island" etc.