Robinson Crusoe is a piece of 18th Century Literature influenced by the life of Alexander Selkirk. Who was a a Scottish castaway who lived for four years on the Pacific island called "Más a Tierra" in Chile. It has gone down in history as a phenomenal classic, and it is well deserved of this title. In it's most basic form it is the story of a boy going against his fathers wishes (that he become a lawyer) and instead follows his dream of going to sea. Encountering multiple counts of bad luck Crusoe eventually ends up abandoned on a desert island with all his shipmates killed, leaving him to find a way of successful living with the constant fear that he could be murdered by savages.
This novel plays to everyone's childhood dreams of living your life on an exotic island far away from any other civilisation. A concept that has been explored in many other works of literature (such as "Lord of the Flies") but not to such powerful levels as Defoe achieves. Each word Defoe writes leaves you hanging on in the hope that Crusoe may find some human company or fear that he will run out of things to survive or come into danger with savages. Defoe develops Robinson Crusoe as an intelligent man who despite his unlucky circumstance learns how to build a canoe, make bread and endure countless lonely years.
In his novel, Defoe not only manages to encapsulate the tantalizing tale of a shipwreck he also illustrates a moral and religious dimension to the novel, published in the preface as instruction to readers of God's benevolent wisdom. During a hallucination Crusoe receives the message "Seeing all these things have not brought thee to repentance, now thou shalt die.” and consequently turns a large portion of his life to studying God's word taking his ignorance to the Bible in his youth as the reason for the circumstance in which he finds himself in. Here links can be made with further religious imagery in such ways as Adam and Eve's expulsion from Eden after committing the first sins.
In my personal opinion Defoe's greatest achievement within this novel is his characterisation of Friday, the 26 year old savage Crusoe saves and turns into his servant when he is about to be eaten by other cannibals. From the start Friday is presented as a loyal servant never appearing to question the authority Crusoe claims over him. Friday can be interpreted to represent all natives of America, Africa and Asia who would later come to be oppressed by European Imperialism (of which Robinson Crusoe is representative of). One of my favourite and most touching moments of the novel is when Friday is reunited with his father, his passion and animation is in strong contrast to Crusoe's emotions to his family, and Defoe translate the archaic image of a family reunion in such a touching manner it reduced me to tears.
I have to admit I disliked the ending to Robinson Crusoe, however, it is necessary to the narrative Defoe develops. The main reason my feelings towards the ending are negative is due to my desperation to explore more of Crusoe's life and see him reunited with many characters (most significantly Xury, my favourite character). Yet the way Crusoe finishes his novel is intelligent and makes sense with the way the rest of the novel is narrated, "I may perhaps give a farther account hereafter" being the last line. Defoe narrates the account of Crusoe's life on the island as a journal so this is a logical, and creative, way to end the text as well as creating every authors desire, the reader looking for more pages after the last pages. And with me Defoe achieved this, leaving me sat flicking through the last pages (in my edition being a Glossary and Notes) searching desperately for an extension of the plot!
To summarise, in Robinson Crusoe Defoe creates an incredible piece of art following the life of a lone sailor successfully leaving the reader hanging on every word. Defoe's language, as can be expected from an 18th century literary master, is quite complex and so I would recommend this book to more advanced readers (specifically A-level and upwards). Defoe achieves a brilliant novel, and although at times it lulled or the language got in the way, it is one of the best books I've read, thus I would rate it 8/10.
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