English Literature

One of the most important relationships that exist in Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe is that between Crusoe and Friday, the "savage" who becomes Crusoe's companion during his last few years on the island. Yet, notice that although I have termed Friday as being Crusoe's "companion,' I am using it in the strictest sense of the word. The use of the broader definition would imply the presence of comradery or the Christian idea of "Brotherly Love." To use this definition is impossible. One cannot truly love another as a brother when that other person is one's slave, which Friday apparently is. After all, Friday is not even worthy enough to call Crusoe by any other name but "Master." Not only is Friday a slave, but he fits into the category of the "Noble Savage," the cannibal that can be taught and trained how to be acceptable in Crusoe's world. Crusoe even presents Friday's physical appearance in a manner acceptable to...

Often, one finds oneself in a difficult situation. Many times, the situation ia entirely caused by the individual, and therefore, easily understood. However, situations often arise that are not easily explainable. It is in these situations that many turn to religion for answers. Using religion to solve, or help solve problems, though, does not necessarily entail a "true conversion." Oftentimes, the individual becomes a transient or "convenient convert," whose faith lasts for the duration of the problem, and no longer. In Daniel Defoe's eighteenth century novel, Robinson Crusoe, Crusoe is faced with many problems. These problems force Crusoe to look to God for help. The reader is left to decide, though, as to whether Crusoe undergoes a "true" religious conversioin or whether he simply becomes "conveniently religious." Crusoe makes his religious "conversion" while shipwrecked on a desolate island and mired in the throes of an agu...

Apart from being an exciting account of a man�s adventures on an uninhabited island, the book, �Robinson Crusoe� has been found to possess a profound allegorical significance. For many, perhaps most readers, Crusoe's many references to God, to Providence, to sin are extraneous to the real interest of the novel. Readers through the nineteenth century read Robinson Crusoe in the light of religion. For example, a reviewer for the Dublin University Magazine called the book "a great religious poem, showing that God is found where men are absent" (1856). In deciding whether or to what extent Robinson Crusoe is a spiritual autobiography and "a great religious poem," one might consider the following: In the "Preface," Defoe announces that his intention is "to justify and honour the wisdom of Providence in all the variety of our circumstances" (xv). Moreover, Robinson Crusoe can be viewed from two levels: 01. Theological and 02. Practical level. If we...