robinson crusoe analysis essay

A Summary and Analysis of Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

Robinson Crusoe, often called the first English novel, was written by Daniel Defoe and published in 1719. The novel is the tale of one man’s survival on a desert island following a shipwreck. Published in 1719, the book didn’t carry Defoe’s name, and it was offered to the public as a true account of real events, documented by a real man named Crusoe. But readers were immediately sceptical.

In the same year as the novel appeared, a man named Charles Gildon actually published Robinson Crusoe Examin’d and Criticis’d , in which he showed that Crusoe was made up and the events of the novel were fiction. The name ‘Crusoe’, by the way, may have been taken from Timothy Cruso, who had been a classmate of Defoe’s and who had gone on to write guidebooks.  

What follows is a short summary of the main plot of Robinson Crusoe , followed by an analysis of this foundational novel and its key themes.

Robinson Crusoe : summary

The novel, famously, is about how the title character, Robinson Crusoe, becomes marooned on an island off the north-east coast of South America. As a young man, Crusoe had gone to sea in the hope of making his fortune. Crusoe is on a ship bound for Africa, where he plans to buy slaves for his plantations in South America, when the ship is wrecked on an island and Crusoe is the only survivor.

Alone on a desert island, Crusoe manages to survive thanks to his pluck and pragmatism. He keeps himself sane by keeping a diary, manages to build himself a shelter, and finda a way of salvaging useful goods from the wrecked ship, including guns.

Twelve years pass in this way, until one momentous day, Crusoe finds a single human footprint in the sand! But he has to wait another ten years before he discovers the key to the mystery: natives from the nearby islands, who practise cannibalism, have visited the island, and when they next return, Crusoe attacks them, using his musket salvaged from the shipwreck all those years ago.

He takes one of the natives captive, and names him Man Friday, because – according to Crusoe’s (probably inaccurate) calendar, that’s the day of the week on which they first meet.

Crusoe teaches Man Friday English and converts him to Christianity. When Crusoe learns that Man Friday’s fellow natives are keeping white prisoners on their neighbouring island, he vows to rescue them. Together, the two of them build a boat. When more natives attack the island with captives, Crusoe and Friday rescue the captives and kill the natives. The two captives they’ve freed are none other than Friday’s own father and a Spanish man.

Crusoe sends them both off to the other island in the newly made boat, telling them to free the other prisoners. Meanwhile, a ship arrives at the island: a mutiny has taken place on board, and the crew throw the captain and his loyal supporters onto the island.

Before the ship can leave, Crusoe has teamed up with the captain and his men, and between them they retake the ship from the mutineers, who settle on the island while Crusoe takes the ship home to England.

Robinson Crusoe has been away from England for many years by this stage – he was marooned on his island for over twenty years – and his parents have died. But he has become wealthy, thanks to his plantations in Brazil, so he gets married and settles down. His wife dies a few years later, and Crusoe – along with Friday – once again leaves home.

Robinson Crusoe : analysis

Robinson Crusoe is a novel that is probably more known about than it is read these days, and this leads to a skewed perception of what the book is really about. In the popular imagination, Robinson Crusoe is a romantic adventure tale about a young man who goes to sea to have exciting experiences, before finding himself alone on a desert island and accustoming himself, gradually, to his surroundings, complete with a parrot for his companion.

In reality, this is only partially true (although he does befriend a parrot at one point). But the key to understanding Defoe’s novel is its context: early eighteenth-century mercantilism and Enlightenment values founded on empiricism (i.e. observing what’s really there) rather than some anachronistic Romantic worship of the senses, or ‘man’s communion with his environment’.

And talking of his environment, Crusoe spends the whole novel trying to build a boat so he can escape his island, and leaves when the first ship comes along. While he’s there, he bends the island’s natural resources to his own ends, rather than acclimatising to his alien surroundings.

In this respect, he’s not so different from a British person on holiday in Alicante, who thinks speaking English very loudly at the Spanish waiter will do the job very nicely rather than attempting to converse in Spanish.

This tells us a great deal about Robinson Crusoe the man but also Robinson Crusoe the novel. It was written at a time when Britain was beginning to expand its colonial sights, and it would shortly become the richest and most powerful country on earth, thanks to its imperial expeditions in the Caribbean, Africa, and parts of Asia, notably India.

Crusoe embodies this pioneering mercantile spirit: he is obsessed with money (he even picks up coins on his island and keeps them, even though he cannot spend them), and takes great pleasure in the physical objects, such as the guns and powder, which he rescues from the wreck. Man Friday is, in the last analysis, his own private servant.

But was Robinson Crusoe the first such ‘Robinsonade’? Not really. This, from Martin Wainwright: ‘There is a tale for our troubled times about a man on a desert island, who keeps goats, builds a shelter and finally discovers footprints in the sand. But it is not called Robinson Crusoe. It was written by a wise old Muslim from Andalusia and is the third most translated text from Arabic after the Koran and the Arabian Nights.’

That book is The Improvement of Human Reason: Exhibited in the Life of Hai Ebn Yokdhan , known as the first Arabic novel (just as Robinson Crusoe is often cited as the first English novel), written in the twelfth century by a Moorish philosopher living in Spain.

Yes, Robinson Crusoe wasn’t the first fictional narrative to take place on a desert island, although it has proved the most influential among English writers.

Although Defoe is widely believed to have been influenced by the real-life experiences of the Scottish man Alexander Selkirk (who spent over four years alone on a Pacific island, living on fish, berries, and wild goats), one important textual influence that has been proposed is Hai Ebn Yokdhan’s book.

Severin cites the case of a man named Henry Pitman, who wrote a short book recounting his adventures in the Caribbean (not the Pacific, which is where Selkirk was marooned) following his escape from a penal colony and his subsequent shipwrecking and survival on a desert island.

Pitman appears to have lived in the same area of London as Defoe, and Defoe may have met Pitman in person and learned of his experiences first-hand. It is also revealing that both men had taken part in the Monmouth Rebellion of 1685 (in the wake of which, at Judge Jeffreys’ infamous ‘Bloody Assizes’, Defoe was lucky not to be sentenced to death).

2 thoughts on “A Summary and Analysis of Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe”

Ummm.. who was “the wise old muslim”? What was the book? Another precursor is Henry Neville’s The Isle of Pines, pub;ished a few years earlier. https://www.cbeditions.com/GoodMorningMrCrusoe.html for another intreresting history and meditation on RC.

• Pingback: Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, persistent in prayer. * | dual personalities

Comments are closed.

Discover more from Interesting Literature

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading

Robinson Crusoe

Introduction to robinson crusoe.

Robinson Crusoe was written by Daniel Defoe , a canonical foundation in the art of novel and story writing. It was long considered a true story instead of a work of fiction , causing confusion about the author with the hero of the story. It was first published in English on the 25 th of April, 1719. Since its first publication, it has been termed a didactic, confessional, epistolary , and colonial story as well as a travelogue. The story of Robinson Crusoe spans over 28 years of his isolation on an island where he encounters different types of people and animals and learns to survive against all odds. The novel is also a subject of various critiques , picturizations, graphics, and even stage plays., Robinson Crusoe with its simple narrative style was well received in the world of literature and is often credited to being the beginning of realistic fiction in the genres of literary.

Summary of Robinson Crusoe

The storyline opens with Robinson Crusoe, an English boy, living in York of 17 th century England. As the son of a German merchant, Crusoe is told during his childhood to study law, but his love for the sea does not hold him back from expressing his strong desire to his father about voyages to the far-off lands. His father, instead wanted him to find a secure job for himself. Robinson initially wanted to obey his father but could not resist the temptation of fulfilling his longing. So, despite staunch familial opposition and paternal advice, Robinson leaves for London after boarding a ship in the company of his friend. Although his friend leaves him on the next voyage, Robinson does not budge from his stand despite facing a terrible storm during the journey.

However, he wins some financial success after which he makes another plan for such a journey. He leaves his profits in the care of a nice widow. But, he then becomes a victim of Moorish pirates, as well as abduction and becomes, is enslaved to a ruler in the North African town of Sallee. During a fishing expedition, he along with a slave and sail through the coast of Africa . A kind Portuguese captain picks them up and buys the slave boy from Robinson. He takes him to Brazil where he becomes a plantation owner successfully. He then leaves for West Africa on a slave-gathering expedition to bring slaves for his plantation but faces a storm on the way in which his ship is wrecked on the coast of Trinidad.

When Robinson comes to his senses, he sees that he is the sole survivor of the shipwreck and that he would have to fend for himself. Soon he becomes busy making a shelter for himself and preparing food. He returns to the wreckage to extract some food, gunpowder, and a gun and creates a cross to write his date of arrival; September 1, 1659. Soon he becomes an inmate of a shelter he has prepared, rearing goats he finds there on the island. He also maintains a journal to keep a track of everything he does like cleaning his hut, grazing goats, attempts at making candles, discovering sprouting grain, etc. After a while, on June 1660, he finds himself on the deathbed due to an illness and an angel warns him to repent.

However, while drinking tobacco-steeped rum, he experiences exoneration from his sins as God relieves him from this sickness. Soon he busies himself surveying the area and finds that he is on an Island. He constructs a retreat for himself after he declares himself as to its king. He domesticates some animals, makes things of everyday use, and builds a boat for himself to navigate the sea around the island. When he rows around the Island one day, he nearly dies but is thankfully saved as he hears his parrot calling his name once he reaches the shore. Crusoe enjoys several years in peace with his pets and animals when one day he discovers footprints on the seashore. He first thinks that the footprints are that of the devil’s, but later decides that it must be the cannibals. Finally, he arms himself and creates an underground cellar for himself and his pets to live in safety. He hears gunshots yet does not discover anything except a shipwreck the following day.

When he investigates that shipwreck, he sees footprints of cannibals. This alarms him and he keeps a lookout for the cannibals. He later discovers one victim killed and several cannibals chasing another victim. This victim heads straight toward Crusoe who offers him protection, kills the pursuer, and makes others run for their lives. Robinson being well-armed kills most of the cannibals onshore. The victim Robinson saved, becomes his servant for life whom he names Friday to commemorate that day of his life. They start living together in that part of the island where Robinson has built his hut. He finds Friday to be intelligent and starts teaching him English and the biblical concepts of God, life, and death. He, on his part, explains to him about cannibals and tells him about the Spaniards who survived the shipwreck. After this, both of them build a boat but soon find cannibals with three victims landing on their seashore. They fire at them, making them flee for their lives, leaving four victims behind, one of who happens to be the father of Friday which makes him overjoyed. The four men return to Robinson Crusoe’s dwelling and he welcomes them to join his community permanently.

After some days, Friday announces the arrival of a ship with an alarm. When the boarders come on the island, they discover that they are rebels with some captives, including the captain of the ship, which was was taken in mutiny. They chase the mutineers around the island until they surrender, including their ringleader. They make the men bring the ship at which Robinson becomes much elated, showing them that the island is the English territory and that they cannot run away from justice . Finally, when he returns to his home in 1686, he finds that only two of his sisters are alive and the rest of the family members have breathed their last. After retrieving his money from his widow friend, he learns about his planation of Brazil and sells it to have more money that he donates to the widow and his sisters and turns into a catholic to lead a peaceful life. He gets married and after his wife died, Robinson finally leaves as a trader for the East Indies in 1694. He also revisits his island to see it being ruled well by the Spaniards and that it become a wealthy colony.

Major Themes in Robinson Crusoe

• Christianity: The theme of Christianity is significant in the course of the novel through the physical journey of Robinson Crusoe to the island that is also a representation of his spiritual journey to become a good Christian. His initial disregard of the religious beliefs confirms this proposition that he considers his life faithless due to the warning of his father about God has not blessed him. His dream about his non-repenting attitude and his study of the Bible on the island confirms this assumption that Robinson has turned to Christianity and is engaged in its propagation. Also, it gives him a way out from his confusion and provides him with some solace during these dark moments on the island. This long and arduous rumination about religion provides him some confirmation about his belief’s miracle in the shape of Friday, his servant, and an English captain. Some other such incidents and happenings, which first seem disastrous for him, later prove blessings only because of his leanings toward Christianity in that he considers them God’s will and care for him.
• Society: Society and social interaction is another major significant theme of the novel in that Robinson Crusoe flees from his family, including trying to escape from his middle-class social relations in England. It is, in a sense, an escape from responsibilities as well as the obligation of adhering to the social framework. However, when he lands on the island, he comes to know about the value of people and social relations and immediately makes Friday his companion to make a sense of the isolated living. His view of prioritizing his own life over that of the social life by leaving toward the sea shows that he is fed up with the society, which he, later, thinks is necessary for the balanced growth of an individual to survive. However, in another sense, it is also appropriate for an individual to be isolated to learn the value of society as Robinson learns it.
• Individuality: The novel shows the theme of individuality through Robinson Crusoe’s desire of leaving English society despite his father’s warnings. When he is shipwrecked and ends up on an island, he learns about his individuality and the difficulties a person faces when they remain away from society. He also learns to live a sustainable life of independence that is free from the stress of everyday preoccupations and tensions. His final return to the English society, however, confirms to him that the individuality of a person can only prosper in a balanced lifestyle in a social setup where he has the will to leave the social fabric and then return to it when he wants. Yet what he values the most is his liberty and freedom that no harassing father or torturing relations could make a person to be loaded with cares and preoccupations.
• Isolation: Isolation is torturing and also enriching from the social and spiritual point of view . Robinson Crusoe, when he faces himself all alone on the island, not only finds himself isolated from the society but also from his family and faith. However, this isolation from society teaches him the value of self-living and self-reliance, patience, and socialization. When he makes Friday his comrade, he also learns that isolation teaches a person to have others at his beck and call , though, it seems quite contradictory to his freedom-loving nature. This isolation and loneliness bring him close to God and Christianity as he starts preaching later in life after his return to England.
• Independent Living: Self-reliance or independent living is another theme that Robinson Crusoe highlights through his life on the island. When he is alone on the island, he builds his own hut, and also domesticates different animals for his benefit, and starts using Friday for himself, though, at the surface level he is imparting his knowledge. His acts of escape from the master and his plantation in Brazil and later its sale and purchase point to his thinking of living an independent life away from the fever and fret of the daily living of the English urban life.
• Civilization: The theme of civilization unfolds when Crusoe is stranded on an island following the shipwreck. He lives in the wild, taking the fittest of survival to his heart. However, he soon starts spreading civilization when he domesticates animals and parrots and teaches the English language and Christianity to Friday. In one sense, this becomes a tool to spread the civilization that Kipling has called a white man’s burden.
• Nature: Nature and the impact of its forces on human beings in setting the course of their lives is another major theme that Crusoe shows through his story. It entails not only human nature but also natural forces. When Crusoe does not pay heed to his father’s advice, it is the rebellion of his nature, but when he faces a shipwreck, it is the wrath of the natural forces. Ultimately, he comes to know that his own nature mixed with the natural forces could balance the life of a person.
• Colonialism: The novel is highly seductive in presenting the theme of colonialism. Robinson Crusoe’s desire to execute his voyages to different lands and his desire to materially profit from his voyages are a reflection of human desire and the English bent of mind. Although the sane voice of his father restrains him for some time, he finally breaks the barrier by setting out to different islands. His idea of having a plantation in Brazil and its final sale is also a sign of the colonial mind to profit from such ventures.
• Morality: The novel also shows the theme of the existence of a moral framework although it is mostly based on English and Christian morals. Robinson Crusoe considers it his moral duty to save Friday to whom he later teaches Christianity and civilization. He saves several others and kills the cannibals chasing them, considering it a morally upright task.
• Self-Reliance: Crusoe presents the theme of self-reliance through his character that he faces the question of his survival in provision and fending off the animals at the island.

Major Characters Robinson Crusoe

• Robinson Crusoe: Robinson Crusoe is the protagonist of the novel and demonstrates character traits that make him worthy of praise as the hero of the story. His persistence against his father’s advice of not leaving home for his voyages, his perseverance in building a boat and domesticate animals, and his hard work of teaching Friday and sharing The Gospel and English education set him apart in the list of heroes used in the stories of those times. In this connection, Robinson not only shows his resourcefulness but also his intelligence in that he is able to survive on the island and cultivate nature to assist him to leave the island that he ultimately does. His intelligence is also evidenced in his act of investing in the Brazil plantation and saving his life when he is on the boat. However, his character is not without flaws; he is, in a sense, incentivizing colonialism. Despite this, his generosity of giving gifts to his family and others, his assistance to humanity, and his concern for human beings are praiseworthy qualities that win him the love of his family and friends.
• Friday: Friday is the second significant character of Robinson Crusoe, who appears on the scene when Robinson saves him on the island from becoming a victim of the cannibals. However, it proves that he is inferior to him in physical use of power and also in intelligence. Robinson teaches him English language and introduces Christianity. Friday finally becomes his student, as Robinson also trains him to domesticate parrots and goats. Friday also provides solace to Robinson Crusoe in the torturing and trying isolation of the island and proves himself a comrade for him to assist him when he needs him the most. The appeal of his personality lies in the exotic attraction that he exudes for Crusoe when expressing his love for the English man.
• Portuguese Captain: The Captain saves Crusoe from the bloodthirsty Moors and permits him to board his ship to go to Brazil. Robinson Crusoe, in his turn, establishes himself as the owner of the plantation over there, becoming a rich man. The second time he comes into contact with Robinson is when he returns home and the captain ensures him the safety of his plantation in Brazil and Captain arranges to sell at a hefty profit and brings money to him. His timely and appropriate assistance to Robinson wins him laurels from the readers also which is suggestive of his being a tool for the entrepreneur spirit. His coincidental appearance for the second time in the novel suggests the role of providence in the course of the novel as a miracle where human beings seem looking toward God for divine assistance in mundane matters. His morally upright position in conducting safe deals for Robinson wins him the admiration of the readers.
• The English Captain: The English Captain is testimony to the Englishness of Robinson Crusoe when Robinson saves his life on the island. The captain promises to rescue Robinson to take him back. Both of them fight against the mutineers to wrest the ship from their possession and help each other to return to the crew/civilization. The meeting of both the English men also testifies to better ingenuity and education.
• The Spaniard: The Spaniard is saved by Robinson from becoming a likely victim of the cannibals after his ship was wrecked near the island where Robinson has been living. He becomes compliant to Crusoe, considering him the owner of the island, and works for him until he and Crusoe both leave the island for good.
• Xury: Xury lies is also a non-white character who becomes Robinson’s friend when both of them join hands with slaves to escape Sallee island in a boat when others flee but they stay on the boat. Robinson, however, sells this pliant boy to the Portuguese captain, showing the English mentality of occupying human beings and humanity of that time.
• Robinson Crusoe’s Wife: Robinson Crusoe’s wife lives a respectable life in England with their children. However, when she departs from the scene after her death, he again takes to his addiction to voyaging and leaves England, showing the power of femininity of settling down the patriarchal wayward spirit.
• The W idow : A widow is an honest person who keeps Robinson’s 200 pounds safe when he travels around the world and continues for more than three decades. Her goodwill extends to Robinson Crusoe when he returns and gets back his money.
• Will Atkins: Will Atkins is known for his rebellion against the English captain who later refuses to forgive him due to his severity toward him during the mutiny. However, Robinson leaves him on the island to save his life.
• Robinson Crusoe’s Nephews and Sisters: Robinson’s family members, his two sisters, and nephews are minor and known for his familial relations. He brings them up with English traditions, making one of them a sailor and the other a good gentleman.

Writing Style of Robinson Crusoe

The writing style of Daniel Defoe in Robinson Crusoe is simple and direct in the first-person narrative as told by Robinson himself, the main narrator . The presentation of details to show realism through a travelogue demonstrates the journalistic capability of the author but at the same time, he has also used long sentences and spare use of adjectives . As far as the devices are concerned, the author is dexterous in the use of metaphors and extended similes along with rhetorical devices of pathos , ethos , and logos . The use of navigational jargon and maritime vocabulary has also played a role in lending credence to Robinson’s story.

Analysis of the Literary Devices in Robinson Crusoe

• Action: The main action of the novel comprises the whole life, growth, and voyages of Robinson Crusoe until the end of his life in England. The rising action occurs when Crusoe shows disobedience to his father and leaves for a voyage with a merchant. The falling action occurs when he faces a shipwreck on his second adventure and finds himself stranded on an island at the mercy of animals and cannibals.
• Allegory : The novel is an allegory as it shows Crusoe justifying his actions on moral and religious grounds when he starts teaching Christianity and the English language to Friday.
• Allusion : The novel shows good use of different allusions such as, i. I knew where my Patroon’s Case of Bottles stood, which it was evident by the make were taken out of some English Prize; and I convey’d them into the Boat while the Moor was on Shoar, as if they had been there before, for our Master: I convey’d also a great Lump of Bees-Wax into the Boat, which weighed above half a Hundred Weight, with a Parcel of Twine or Thread, a Hatchet, a Saw and a Hammer, all which were of great Use to us afterwards; especially the Wax to make Candles. (77) ii. As I had been one Voyage to this Coast before, I knew very well that the Islands of the Canaries , and the Cape de Verd Islands also, lay not far off from the Coast. (81) iii. The same Day I went on board we set sail, standing away to the Northward upon our own Coast, with Design to stretch over for the Affrican Coast, when they came about or  Degrees of Northern Latitude, which it seems was the manner of their Course in those Days. (93) iv. Notion of Jesus Christ being sent to redeem us, and of the Manner of making our Prayers to God, and his being able to hear us, even into Heaven; he told me one  Day, that if our God could hear us upbeyond the Sun, he must needs be a greater God than their Benamuckee , who liv’d but a little way off, and yet could not hear, till they went up to the great Mountains where he dwelt, to speak to him. (240) The first example shows allusions of navigation and marine life, the second of geographical locations, the third of geographical jargon, and the last of Biblical tales.
• Antagonist : Natural calamities and sea storms are the main antagonists of the novel as they appear to obstruct all avenues for Robinson Crusoe to force him to try his surviving human skills.
• Conflict : The novel shows both external as well as internal conflicts. The external conflict is going on between Robinson Crusoe and his father, then between Crusoe and cannibals and animals, and then between Crusoe and the mutineers. The internal conflict, however, is going on in the mind of Crusoe about his actions and his behavior vis-à-vis the advice of his father.
• Characters: The novel shows both static as well as dynamic characters. The young man, Robinson Crusoe, is a dynamic character as he shows a considerable transformation in his behavior and conduct by the end of the novel. However, all other characters are static as they do not show or witness any transformation such as Friday, The English captain, Xury, or even his father.
• Climax : The climax in the novel occurs when Robinson Crusoe finds himself trapped on the island after confronting the storm in which his ship is wrecked.
• Foreshadowing : The novel shows many instances of foreshadows such as, i. I Was born in the Year 1632, in the City of York ,* of a good Family, tho’ not of that Country, my Father being a Foreigner of Bremen ,*who settled first at Hull . (62) ii. I observed in this last Part of his Discourse , which was truly Prophetick, tho’ I suppose my Father did not know it to be so himself; I say, I observed the Tears run down his Face very plentifully. (64) The mention of his father, his father’s profession, and then of his own tears show that Crusoe is going to have trying times ahead.
• Hyperbole : The novel shows various examples of hyperboles such as, i. I expected every Wave would have swallowed us up, and that every time the Ship fell down, as I thought, in the Trough or Hollow of the Sea. (66) ii. I got up out of my Cabbin, and look’d out; but such a dismal Sight I never saw: The Sea went Mountains high, and broke upon us every three or four Minutes. (68) iii. Then all Hands were called to the Pump. At that very Word my Heart, as I thought, died within me, and I fell backwards upon the Side of my Bed where I sat, into the Cabbin. (70) These examples exaggerate things as the wave swallowing up, the sea high as mountains, and the heart has died.
• Imagery : Robinson Crusoe shows the use of imagery as shown in the below examples, i. It happen’d one time, that going a fishing in a stark calm Morning, a Fog rose so thick, that tho’ we were not half a League from the Shoar we lost Sight of it; and rowing we knew not whither or which way, we labour’d all Day and all the next Night , and when the Morning came we found we had pull’d off to Sea instead of pulling in for the Shoar; and that we were at least two Leagues from the Shoar: However we got well in again, tho’ with a great deal of Labour, and some Danger; for the Wind began to blow pretty fresh in the Morning; but particularly we were all very hungry. (76) ii. The Mouth of this Hollow, was at the Bottom of a great Rock, where by meer accident, (I would say, if I did not see abundant Reason to ascribe all such Things now to Providence) I was cutting down some thick Branches of Trees , to make Charcoal; and before I go on, I must observe the Reason of my making this Charcoal; which was thus. (206) These two examples show images of color, light, and sight.
• Metaphor : Robinson Crusoe shows good use of various metaphors as given in the below examples, i. I cast my Eyes to the stranded Vessel, when the Breach and Froth of the Sea being so big, I could hardly see it, it lay so far off, and considered, Lord! how was it possible I could get on Shore? (98) ii. My Thoughts were now wholly employ’d about securing my self against either Savages, if any should appear, or wild Beasts, if any were in the Island. (107) iii. How can he sweeten the bitterest Providences, and give us Cause to praise him for Dungeons and Prisons. What a Table was here spread for me in a Wilderness , where I saw nothing at first but to perish for Hunger. (182) These examples show that several things have been compared directly in the novel such as the first shows his eyes as if they are a net, the second his thoughts as if they are hooks , and the last the island as if it is a table.
• Mood : The novel shows various moods; it starts on a happy and optimistic note but turns out highly somber and dreadful as it moves and ends in a hopeful mood .
• Motif : Most important motifs of the novel are isolation, individuality, society, and religion.
• Narrator : The novel is narrated from the first-person point of view, who is the protagonist, Robinson Crusoe. The novel starts when he starts his narrative of navigating the seas and ends when he returns home after long voyages.
• Personification : The novel shows examples of personifications such as, i. The Wave that came upon me again, buried me at once 20 or 30 Foot deep in its own Body; and I could feel my self carried with a mighty Force and Swiftness towards the Shore a very great Way. (97) ii. She lay almost where she did at first, but not quite; and was turn’d by the Force of the Waves and the Winds almost Bottom upward, against a high Ridge of Beachy rough Sand; but no Water about her as before. (163) iii. In my viewing the Sea from that Hill where I stood, I perceiv’d a strong, and indeed, a most furious Current, which run to the East , and even came close to the Point; and I took the more Notice of it, because I saw there might be some Danger; that when I came into it. (174) These examples show as if the waves, boat, and the sea have the life of their own.
• Protagonist : Robinson Crusoe is the protagonist of the novel. The novel starts with his entry and moves forward as he grows young and takes up to voyaging across the oceans and living on the islands.
• Rhetorical Questions : The novel shows good use of rhetorical questions at several places such as, i. But judge you, if you can, that read my Story, what a Surprize I must be in, when I was wak’d out of my Sleep by a Voice calling me by my Name several times, Robin , Robin , Robin Crusoe , poor Robin Crusoe , where are you Robin Crusoe ? Where are you? Where have you been? (178) ii. I do not mean, that I entertain’d any Fear of their Number; for as they were naked, unarm’d Wretches, ’tis certain I was superior to them; nay, though I had been alone; but it occurr’d to my Thoughts, What Call? What Occasion? much less, What Necessity I was in to go and dip my Hands in Blood, to attack People, who had neither done, or intended me any Wrong? (252) This example shows the use of rhetorical questions posed by Robinson Crusoe to himself not to elicit answers but to stress upon the underlined idea.
• Setting : The setting of the novel is somewhere in Africa, Brazil, and then some island in the Atlantic as well as England.
• Simile : The novel shows good use of various similes as given in the examples below, i. I added a Wick of some Oakum, I made me a Lamp; and this gave me Light, tho’ not a clear steady Light like a Candle. (67) ii. I made me a Cave just behind my Tent, which serv’d me like a Cellar to my House. (109) iii. I went out with my Gun and kill’d two Fowls like Ducks, which were very good Food. (119) iv. I had a short Jacket of Goat-Skin, the Skirts coming down to about the middle of my Thighs; and a Pair of open-knee’d Breeches of the same, the Breeches were made of the Skin of an old He-goat, whose Hair hung down such a Length on either Side, that like Pantaloons it reach’d to the middle of my Legs; Stockings and Shoes I had none, but had made me a Pair of some-things, I scarce know what to call them, like Buskins to flap over my Legs, and lace on either Side like Spatter-dashes; but of a most barbarous Shape, as indeed were all the rest of my Cloaths. (184) These are similes as the use of the word “like” shows the comparison between different things.

Related posts:

• Daniel Defoe
• The Importance of Being Earnest
• The Hound of the Baskervilles

Post navigation

• Undergraduate
• High School
• Architecture
• American History
• Asian History
• Antique Literature
• American Literature
• Asian Literature
• Classic English Literature
• World Literature
• Creative Writing
• Linguistics
• Criminal Justice
• Legal Issues
• Anthropology
• Archaeology
• Political Science
• World Affairs
• African-American Studies
• East European Studies
• Latin-American Studies
• Native-American Studies
• West European Studies
• Family and Consumer Science
• Social Issues
• Women and Gender Studies
• Social Work
• Natural Sciences
• Pharmacology
• Earth science
• Agriculture
• Agricultural Studies
• Computer Science
• IT Management
• Mathematics
• Investments
• Engineering and Technology
• Engineering
• Aeronautics
• Medicine and Health
• Alternative Medicine
• Communications and Media
• Advertising
• Communication Strategies
• Public Relations
• Educational Theories
• Teacher's Career
• Chicago/Turabian
• Company Analysis
• Education Theories
• Shakespeare
• Canadian Studies
• Food Safety
• Relation of Global Warming and Extreme Weather Condition
• Movie Review
• Admission Essay
• Annotated Bibliography
• Application Essay
• Article Critique
• Article Review
• Article Writing
• Book Review
• Business Plan
• Business Proposal
• Capstone Project
• Cover Letter
• Creative Essay
• Dissertation
• Dissertation - Abstract
• Dissertation - Conclusion
• Dissertation - Discussion
• Dissertation - Hypothesis
• Dissertation - Introduction
• Dissertation - Literature
• Dissertation - Methodology
• Dissertation - Results
• GCSE Coursework
• Grant Proposal
• Marketing Plan
• Multiple Choice Quiz
• Personal Statement
• Power Point Presentation
• Power Point Presentation With Speaker Notes
• Questionnaire
• Reaction Paper
• Research Paper
• Research Proposal
• SWOT analysis
• Thesis Paper
• Online Quiz
• Literature Review
• Movie Analysis
• Statistics problem
• Math Problem
• All papers examples
• How It Works
• Money Back Policy
• Terms of Use
• Privacy Policy
• We Are Hiring

Robinson Crusoe: Critical Analysis, Essay Example

Pages: 4

Words: 1121

Hire a Writer for Custom Essay

Use 10% Off Discount: "custom10" in 1 Click 👇

You are free to use it as an inspiration or a source for your own work.

The author of the novel narrates a story of a stranded individual in order to judge the merits and faults of the society. His choice of the island enables him to show his readers what is necessary for the growth of a faultless society. His novel compares to that of Shakespeare, The Tempest, in that the small society of Prospero’s island explores the aspects of politics, the supernatural, and morality in British society. In Defoe’s novel, the natural environment of the island elicits the aspect of man’s development physically and spiritually. Man has been controlled and overpowered by nature as evidenced in the tropical storm that leads to the wreckage of Robinson’s ship. Marooned on the island, Robinson is put at a position that required him to use his knowledge and skills in order to survive. Since he had no choice, Crusoe had to survive. The survival led to the discovery of his other potentials. At first, he felt so lonely. He developed fear towards the feral beasts of the island, and stayed high up in a tree.

Without a weapon to hunt and kill creatures he was vulnerable (Defoe, 47). Defoe has believes that the nature of man stays in the capacity for progress in the context of a material world (Seidel, 59), and this is evidenced in the novel. The trait that Crusoe has from the ship bears this notion, developing his life on the island. He evolves quickly, and his feeling of isolation fades away. He builds a room in a cave and fences off wild animals using the little tools he had. The builds a farm he grew corn and raised goats. Eventually, his desires drive him to another side of the island where he built a country home.

From his skills in making weapons, he save Friday from cannibals, and makes him his help. Because of the tools he made, his harvest becomes more than sufficient for survival. He slowly understands that if he works with hi environment instead of pondering of what he did not have, he is able to find and use everything he needs in order to live. In addition to Defoe developing mentally and physically in the island, he also exposes Crusoe’s island as a model of European society. Crusoe’s education and European values are depicted: he rule the island by building houses. His progressive evolution on the island depicts that of the British Empire around the 18th century.

A part of the novel displays Crusoe’s astonishing prowess throughout the novel to grasp ownership of things. He trades his slave to the Portuguese captain; he salvages the content of two capsized ships and takes Friday as his help immediately after bumping into him. Significantly, he sees the island as his own property over which he has “undoubted right of opinion” (Crusoe, 241). Additionally, his art of making structures demonstrates his understanding of politics. He jokes about his happy reflections of looking like a king, but appears more of happy thought when he points out to “my people” (Crusoe, 241) being “perfectly subjected”. His personal standpoint is influential throughout the story and showcases how much colonization depended on decorum, self-righteous way of thought.

Crusoe takes a chip of paradise and makes it a sovereign state. He is the Lord of country, the king of vale, and the squire of the manor (Seidel, 10). Owing to the separation from civilization and the rest of the world, Crusoe creates a utopian society, which is not only dependent on him for survival, but he is also dependent on it. This society can be seen as a Marxist but it has confirmed that a utopian environment is possible to make. However, the ease with which the society can be created depends on the number of citizens; a single citizen makes it come easily. This is because people who destroy harmony and corrupt the government do not exist. It was then that he sensibly began to feel how much more happier the life he led was more than the abominable life he led previously (Defoe, 112).

In addition to criticizing the society, Defoe is able to represent the objects around Crusoe that reinforce the idea of the making of a utopian society. The corn and the barley in the island, which he refers to as prodigy of nature, are emblems of the emotional and spiritual growth that taking place within himself. However, the grains were the main provider of food for Crusoe. The notion of Crusoe and the island living together and providing to one another in harmony clearly supports the idea of a perfect society.

Crusoe manages to change his fear to bravery when he transforms from isolation to expansion. Moreover, the island assists Crusoe to change from a non-believer to a God-fearing. Prior to his adventures in the sea, religion had little meaning in his life. The absence of neither his father’s nor God’s blessing did not bother him when he decided to a ship destined for England. When the ship encountered a storm, Crusoe turned to God for guidance. Progressively, he notice God’s plans for him, and embarks to expand spiritually. In Defoe’s Serious Reflections, he defines providence as the operation of wisdom, power, justice, and goodness to God, by which God influences, directs, and governs not only the means, but activities, of all things which concern us in this world. While on the island, Crusoe realizes the work of destiny while watching his crop grow. Without the island setting, Crusoe would have not recognized such an event, as barely grows profusely in his country. Without the knowledge of such event, he would have not realized how wonderful people are delivered, they know nothing of it.

Although Crusoe has grown throughout the story to accept what has become of him, towards the end, readers find out that solitude has started to take its effect. He moves on in life, but misses the role that he played in society. Though he has created his clean habitat, humans are social beings, and require the touch that does not come from seclusion. The development that took place on the island, principally, made Crusoe acknowledge that even the perfect experience while in solitude is incompatible with that of sharing human emotion and the removal of loneliness and makes him recognize it much more.

In all, the novel, Crusoe, has caused it popularity in the manner in which it has undergone more translations, edition, limitations, and continuations. The narrator of the novel develops to make a promising outlook towards a problem, and, thus create a perfect solution for himself both physically and mentally. He does this by use of tone and first person narrative. The paper has spanned the author’s criticism of the society as a whole.

Stuck with your Essay?

Get in touch with one of our experts for instant help!

Legitimacy Within a Correctional Facility, Essay Example

The Job of Corrections, Essay Example

Time is precious

don’t waste it!

Plagiarism-free guarantee

Privacy guarantee

Secure checkout

Money back guarantee

Related Essay Samples & Examples

Voting as a civic responsibility, essay example.

Pages: 1

Words: 287

Utilitarianism and Its Applications, Essay Example

Words: 356

The Age-Related Changes of the Older Person, Essay Example

Pages: 2

Words: 448

The Problems ESOL Teachers Face, Essay Example

Pages: 8

Words: 2293

Should English Be the Primary Language? Essay Example

Words: 999

The Term “Social Construction of Reality”, Essay Example

Words: 371

Robinson Crusoe

By daniel defoe, robinson crusoe study guide.

The adventures of Crusoe on his island, the main part of Defoe's novel, are based largely on the central incident in the life of an undisciplined Scotsman, Alexander Selkirk. Although it is possible, even likely that Defoe met Selkirk before he wrote his book, he used only this one incident in the real sailor's turbulent history. In these days the island was known as the island of Juan Fernandez. Selkirk was not the first person to be stranded here--at least two other incidents of solitary survival are recorded. A Mosquito (Guyanese) Indian, Will, was abandoned there in 1681 when a group of buccaneers fled at the approach of unknown ships. The pilot of Will's ship claimed that another man had lived there for five years before being rescued some years before. Three years later, Will was picked up alive and well by an expedition that contained William Dampier, a keen observer who was good enough to recount that journey and a subsequent one in 1703, which Selkirk attended.

Dampier was sailing in command of a privateerting expedition that consisted of two ships. Alexander was the first mate on one of them. The purpose was to harry the Spanish and Portuguese shipping off the estuary. Failing this, the buccaneers would try their fortune off the shore of Peru. As they reached the area of the Juan Fernandez islands, the ships could not agree on a course of action. By a stroke of bad luck, the ships were separated. Selkirk's ship, the Cinque Ports, found herself in the Juan Fernandez islands, in great need of repair. Stradling, captain of the ship, preferred to keepn account of the rescue: "Twas he that made the fire last night when he saw our Ships, which he judged to be English...he had with him his clothes and bedding, with a fire-lock, some powder, bullets and tobacco, a hatchet, a knife, a kettle, a Bible, mathematical instruments, and books....He built two huts with pimento trees, covered them with long grass, and lined them with the skin of goats, which he killed himself...he was greatly pestered by cats and rats...At his first coming on board with us, he had so much forgot his language for want of use, that we could scarcely understand him." Upon returning to England, Selkirk was interviewed by the writer Richard Steele. His story appeared in the periodical The Englishman, and was a source of wonder for many. The bottom line: "he is happiest who confines his wants to natural necessities."

Robinson Crusoe Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Robinson Crusoe is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

What is the explanation of this quotation "and I must confess, my religious thankfulness

What chapter are you referring to?

Discuss Robinson Crusoe as a travelogue.

There are so many settings around the world in this story.Robinson Crusoe adventutres extend to Africa, Brazil, China, and Siberia, plus he gets deserted on an island. All these places are vividly described in the story.

What is the plot of robinson crusoe?

Check this out:

https://www.gradesaver.com/robinson-crusoe/study-guide/summary

Study Guide for Robinson Crusoe

Robinson Crusoe study guide contains a biography of Daniel Defoe, literature essays, a complete e-text, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About Robinson Crusoe
• Robinson Crusoe Summary
• Character List
• Parts 1-2 Summary and Analysis
• Test Yourself! - Quiz 1

Essays for Robinson Crusoe

Robinson Crusoe literature essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Robinson Crusoe.

• God Would Not Bless Me: Fatalism and the Father in Robinson Crusoe
• The Role of Race
• The Importance of Travel, Trade and Colonialism in Gulliver's Travels and Robinson Crusoe
• Master of Your Domain
• Religious Conviction in Robinson Crusoe

Lesson Plan for Robinson Crusoe

• About the Author
• Study Objectives
• Common Core Standards
• Introduction to Robinson Crusoe
• Relationship to Other Books
• Bringing in Technology
• Notes to the Teacher
• Related Links
• Robinson Crusoe Bibliography

E-Text of Robinson Crusoe

Robinson Crusoe E-Text contains the full text of Robinson Crusoe

• Chapters 1-2
• Chapters 3-4
• Chapters 5-6
• Chapters 7-8
• Chapters 9-10

Wikipedia Entries for Robinson Crusoe

• Introduction
• Plot summary
• Sources and real-life castaways
• Reception and sequels

Robinson Crusoe

40 pages • 1 hour read

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Pages 76-144

Pages 145-200

Pages 201-225

Character Analysis

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Discussion Questions

Why does Crusoe say he was unable to follow his father’s advice and instead became a sailor?

Describe how Crusoe comes to believe in the power of God’s providence .

How does the theme of deliverance begin to work its way through Crusoe’s conscience and into his vocabulary?

Don't Miss Out!

Access Study Guide Now

Related Titles

By Daniel Defoe

A Journal Of The Plague Year

Daniel Defoe

Moll Flanders

Roxana: The Fortunate Mistress

Featured Collections

Action & Adventure

View Collection

Academia.edu no longer supports Internet Explorer.

To browse Academia.edu and the wider internet faster and more securely, please take a few seconds to  upgrade your browser .

Enter the email address you signed up with and we'll email you a reset link.

• We're Hiring!
• Help Center

Robinson Crusoe and Modernity

2020, The Imaginative Conservative

The essay is a discussion of Defoe’s novel as an oscillation between a search for a Divine providential meaning in the plights of existence and a more secular interpretation of phenomena. The essay shows how Crusoe as narrator tries to reflect back on his journey as a sort of spiritual self-discovery; however, his own actions and deepest passions (in the form of his naturalistic interpretation of events on the island as well as his excessive attachment to wealth) undermine this spiritual orientation. This oscillation between the explanatory frameworks offered by Christianity and secular modernity, I assert, make the novel still relevant and powerful for us today.

Related Papers

Timothy H. Wilson

Presentation on Defoe's Robinson Crusoe in relation to the rise of the early modern novel and in relation to the first wave of modernity.

International Journal of English and Studies

Nnadube J O N A T H A N Ejiogu

Although New-Historicism and Reader-response literary theories suggest different attempts in the generation of meaning, in fact, they exist in separate domains. However, the connection between them is a matter of the existence of a text. Without doubt, on the most basic and cursory level, New Historicism is aimed at decoding the manner and culture prevalent in a particular time of history as encoded in the text while Reader-response firmly comes from the strength that a work of art cannot generate meaning for itself without the reader. From this measure of understanding, the clarity in the amalgamation possibility becomes clear. In Robinson Crusoe (1719) analysis here, the intention is to identify the meaning of realism construction the researcher gives to it but within the historical context of the 18th century English novel. On this significant scope the twin theories of New-Historicism and Reader-response become unavoidable tools in the research investigation.

Dr. Shagufta Parween

The aim of this research paper is to offer a postcolonial interpretative reading of Daniel Defoe’s magnum opus Robinson Crusoe. For years the text has been appreciated as a classic text of adventure, a tale of individualism, capitalism and also of spiritual growth. It has been studied as an exemplary text representing the liberal, adventurous and progressive spirit of the age. And while postcolonial elements in the narrative have been discussed before, critical readings of the text have not laid enough focus on the extreme denigration and essentialization of the native culture and religion and the repeated acts of assault on nature and animals that the ruler/colonialist, Crusoe engages in the fiction. This paper seeks to explore this gap in the field of critical inquiry with respect to the text of Robinson Crusoe.

Kevin Seidel

Rose Kulsum-Binder

This research paper aims to explore the topic of paternalism as it appears in Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe (1719) in relation to the novel’s themes of individualism, spiritual awakening, and survival. The analysis will therefore trace the dynamic of Crusoe’s paternal relationships with other characters in the novel. The idea of paternalism is thus manifested emphatically through Crusoe’s father, metaphorically through God, and subjectively through Crusoe himself yet in each case it has a specific function for the protagonist as related to the themes of the novel.

Josh Skinner

Crusoe While heralded by many as the first novel of the English language, Defoe's Robinson Crusoe also warrants praise as a novel in which the evolution of the protagonist shapes the entire story. Unwilling to allow his Crusoe to travel from cover to cover statically immutable, Defoe instead presents a character whose initially fear-filled, fatalistic colonialism gives way to a Christian understanding of providential kindness. Beyond the surface-level narrative of a castaway merely seeking survival, Robinson Crusoe is a story of a man working to learn how to live in both his immediate environment and that which lies beyond what he can physically see. Although the ethos of the protagonist, and the novel as a whole, is still significantly encumbered by imperialistic tendencies, Defoe's narrative unfolds his Crusoe's transformation into a relatively sympathetic representation of seventeenth and eighteenth-century Christian faith and a drastically different protagonist than the one who opened the novel. Critics of the Protestant view of providence often equate that doctrine with the broader idea of fatalism. While surface level similarities certainly exist and many who claim a belief in providence often express it in attitude and terminology more akin to a belief in Fate, the two ideas are distinct and in many ways contradictory. Far from being the result of an impersonal force, the Protestant view of providence argues that a personal deity exists in sovereign control of every second of every day and of every atom of every molecule. How this is manifest in the ebb and flow of everyday life is debated, but the personal nature of providence distinguishes it from fate. Robinson

Exam paper, Department of English, Germanic and Romance Studies, Copenhagen University

Benjamin Dalton

In the following essay, I deal with the representation of the middle classes and their values in Daniel Defoe’s novel Robinson Crusoe. The central problem is the manner in which Crusoe’s behaviour and situation clash with his father’s portrayal of the opportunities and proper conduct of a middle-class individual. I claim that this conflict represents a crisis of cultural values opened up by the altered role that the middle-class merchant comes to play in the expansion of European capitalism to overseas territories. Furthermore, I seek to show that the conflict displays a structural continuity of capitalist dynamics as well as a radical rearrangement of individual ego-consciousness—and that both the continuity and the disruptive change are legible in Crusoe’s conduct and reflections, not least his providence-oriented spirituality.

Ruria Kabotau

International journal of English Linguistics

Khalid Alkadasi

This paper attempts to study the novel of Robinson Crusoe from the perspective of Eurocentric discourse of travel. The paper sheds light on Western hegemony of travel from the metropolis to the peripheries for the sake of discovering and colonizing the "Other" parts of the world in one hand; on the other hand, these journeys enable the protagonist to grow physically, psychologically, spiritually and mentally. The paper also traces the physical journey that coincides with the inner journey which results in the self-discovery of the protagonist of himself as sequences of gradual growth from childhood to maturity; this trait makes the novel as bildungsroman. The protagonist commits a sin of disobedience at the beginning of his life and he has to endure all difficulties of life because of that deadly sin and with the passage of time he discovers his mistakes and repents from his wickedness and comes back to God who redeems him from his original sin. Therefore, he discovers himself after reaching the stage of wisdom, maturity and repentance. He has also been redeemed and awarded the fruitfulness of his endurance by reaching his father's house again and reunited with his family.

RELATED PAPERS

Andri Serge

Sarvinoz Mamatojieva

Türk Doğa ve Fen Dergisi

Kasım Mermerdaş

ATZ worldwide

Claudio Bertolini

Advances in Psychology, Mental Health, and Behavioral Studies

Sitwat Langrial

IEEE Access

Lester Collado Rolo

Asian American Law Journal

Shoba Sivaprasad Wadhia

Journal of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology

Dr. Motti Haimi

Revista Brasileira de Enfermagem

Carina Ceribelli

Bernt-Håvard Øyen

Meat Science

Gustavo Brito

Seminars in Plastic Surgery

Christopher Salgado MD

MOJ Anatomy & Physiology

Buse Kayhan

Scientific reports

Isaac Guerrero

bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)

Enrique Joffre

Diana carolina Alvarez

Artur Dubrawski

Fishery technology

Diana benjamin

Muna Abbass

Journal of Integrative Neuroscience

Mariarita Capizzi

Vânia Teófilo

Agriculture

Kyriakos Giannoulis

Green Processing and Synthesis

humaira rizwana

RELATED TOPICS

•   We're Hiring!
•   Help Center
• Find new research papers in:
• Health Sciences
• Earth Sciences
• Cognitive Science
• Mathematics
• Computer Science
• Academia ©2024

Robinson Crusoe

Daniel defoe, ask litcharts ai: the answer to your questions.

Christianity and Divine Providence

As much as Defoe's novel is about Robinson's literal, physical journey, it is also about his more metaphorical, spiritual journey toward Christianity. In the beginning of the novel, Robinson disregards Christianity and leads a life that he later looks back on as wicked. He discounts his father's warning that God will not bless him if he goes to sea, and does not thank God when he is rescued from the storm on the way to…

Society, Individuality, and Isolation

At the center of Robinson Crusoe is a tension between society and individuality. As the novel begins, Robinson breaks free of his family and the middle-class society in which they live in order to pursue his own life. If he were to stay at home, he would live a life already arranged for him by his father and by the constraints of English society. By setting out to sea, Robinson prioritizes his sense of individuality…

Advice, Mistakes, and Hindsight

Robinson Crusoe is constantly disregarding prudent advice. He begins the novel by discounting his parents' advice not to go to sea, disregards the shipmaster's advice to go home after the storm on the way to London, and goes against his own better judgment in trying to voyage from Brazil to Africa. Even at the end of the novel, he disregards the widow's advice in setting out on yet another sea voyage. Each time, Robinson later…

Contentment vs. Desire and Ambition

Robinson leaves home at the beginning of the novel because he is not content with a comfortable, middle-class existence. In England, his father can provide for him and help him establish a life. He tells Robinson that their middle station in life is the most comfortable: it is free from the anxieties of power or privilege and from the suffering of poverty. But Robinson cannot stay content with mere comfort. He has ambition and desire…

Strangers, Savages, and the Unknown

Throughout his wandering journeys, Robinson continually encounters the unknown in a variety of forms. He visits unknown lands, sees strange plants and animals, and encounters foreign peoples. His first response to such experiences with various "others" is usually fear. He is especially frightened by the strange beasts he sees in Africa and on his island, as well as by the African natives he sees and the Caribbean "savages," who come to his island. Stemming in…