Robinson Crusoe (D.Defoe)

DANIEL DEFOE

ROBINSON CRUSOE (1719)

realistic novel;incredible adventures of an Englishman who was shipwrecked on a desert island

PLOT

to survive he REPLICATES the same kind of society he belongs to:

Robinson leaves England; is a plantation owner: he needs some slaves; there is a shipwreck; is the sole survivor of the wreck

• builds a shelter,
• raises goats,
• writes a daily journal,
• learns practical activities

he saves a man from cannibals:

• calls him Friday;
• he teaches him some English
• how to be a good Christian)

after some time, he is saved by a ship. He goes back to the plantation (rich, settles in England)

Biography?

• attention to small details
• FICTIONAL AUTOBIOGRAPHY (old Robinson looks back on his life)
• omniscient first-person narrator (share his feelings)
• use of simple language

believed to be authentic, true accountinspired by a true account of Alexander Selkirk, abandoned on the island

ROBINSON CRUSOE:multi-layered character

REBEL (dominated by desire to reject the rules/values of his country)

Isolation as PUNISHMENT

independence: 28 years on the island

ISLAND= OPPORTUNITIES:

• explorations;
• applies the values he rejected

RATIONALITY:

• transforms a wild place into a CIVILISED home;
• makes Friday become Christian

ECONOMIC MAN:

replicates all basic production processes

didactic moral purpose

power of DIVINE PROVIDENCE:a castaway is saved after committing sins

Robinson as an EMPIRE BUILDER:values: ability, dignity, self-sufficiency, Christian values but he is a slave-owner rather than a friend to Friday

Island = MICROCOSM

Robinson can repent from his sins, appreciates the values he rejected;acts as a good Christian that helps Friday

SELF-MADE MAN = MIDDLE-CLASS HERO

Thanks for your attention

Any questions?