Robinson Crusoe

Robinson Crusoe

Daniel Defoe

Notebook

Notes about the island

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Defoe's bio

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Birth and Early Life:Born in 1660 in London, Daniel Defoe was originally Daniel Foe (he added the “De” later to sound more aristocratic).His family was Nonconformist, which means they didn’t follow the Church of England.He had an interest in business, politics, and religion.

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Backpack

Writing Style:

• Defoe used clear, direct language, making his works easy to understand.
• His style is realistic, filled with details and facts, and he often used a first-person narrator to make the story feel authentic.
• His stories, especially Robinson Crusoe, mix adventure with deeper themes like survival, morality, and human nature.

Significance:

• He is considered one of the founders of the English novel.
• He wrote over 500 books, pamphlets, and articles on a variety of topics: politics, crime, economics, religion, psychology, and even the supernatural.

Career:

• Defoe worked as a merchant, but went bankrupt.
• He turned to writing and became a journalist and pamphleteer (writing on current affairs).
• Known for his political opinions, Defoe was even jailed for his writings.

Shipwreck

Dangers

Desert island

Rescue

Friday

Robinson Crusoe

Plot

He spends 28 years on the island, learning how to survive by building shelters, growing food, and even taming animals.

• Despite his father's wishes, Crusoe sets sail and ends up shipwrecked on a deserted island.

The novel ends when Crusoe is finally rescued and returns to England.

Crusoe faces challenges like loneliness, fear of being attacked by savages, and spiritual crises.

Eventually, he meets and saves a native man, whom he names Friday. They form a friendship and work together to survive.

• Robinson Crusoe tells the story of a young man, Robinson Crusoe, who dreams of adventure.

Characters

Robinson Crusoe

The protagonist. He is adventurous, determined, resourceful, and deeply religious.

Friday

A native man Crusoe saves from cannibals. He becomes Crusoe’s servant and companion. Friday is loyal, brave, and intelligent.

The Spaniard

Another man Crusoe helps on the island. He represents European civilization.

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Logs

Forest

Main setting: A deserted tropical island, somewhere near the coasts of South America.The island: It's lush and full of natural resources, but also dangerous with wild animals and occasional visits by hostile tribes.Time period: The story takes place in the 17th century, during a time of European exploration and colonization.

Settings

Survival: The novel shows how a man can survive through ingenuity, hard work, and faith.Individualism: Crusoe’s journey reflects the rise of the individual in the modern world. He learns to rely on himself.Civilization vs. Nature: Crusoe brings European civilization (building a shelter, cultivating the land) to a wild, natural environment.

Religion and Providence: Crusoe often reflects on his fate and believes that God has a plan for him. His faith grows stronger throughout his time on the island.Colonialism and Racism: Crusoe names the native man “Friday” and teaches him European ways. This relationship reflects European attitudes towards colonization, with some problematic themes about superiority and control.

THEMES

Realism: Defoe fills the novel with practical details of Crusoe's survival, from how he makes bread to how he builds a canoe. It feels like a true story.

Journal-like: The novel is written in the first person, as if Crusoe is writing a diary about his experiences.Contextualize your topicwith a subtitle

STYLE and LANGUAGE

Simple, clear language: The novel is easy to read, with plain language, which made it accessible to a wide audience at the time.

Adventure and Moral Reflection: Though the novel is full of adventure, Defoe also includes Crusoe’s deep reflections on life, God, and human nature.

Literary Influence: Robinson Crusoe is often considered the first English novel. It influenced the development of the novel as a genre.Adventure Story: It’s one of the most famous adventure stories in English literature and has inspired many adaptations (films, books, plays).

Philosophical Questions: The novel explores key themes about civilization, morality, and the human condition, which remain relevant today.Colonial Perspective: Today, the novel is also analyzed for its portrayal of colonialism and racial dynamics, which are seen as a product of its time.

IMPORTANCEOF ROBINSON CRUSOE

Other Important Information

Genre: Robinson Crusoe is an early example of the “adventure novel” and the “survival story.”Cultural Impact: The story has inspired the term “Robinsonade” to describe stories about survival on deserted islands.Global Popularity: The novel was an immediate success and has been translated into many languages, becoming a symbol of human endurance.