Daniel Defoe & his Robinson Crusoe

Daniel Defoe is the author’s pen name. His original name is Daniel Foe He is an English writer, journalist, and pamphleteer who gained enduring fame for his novel Robinson Crusoe. Defoe is notable for being one of the earliest proponents of the novel. he helped to popularize the form of novel in Britain. He is even referred to by some as one of the founders of the English novel. he was a prolific and versatile writer He wrote more than five hundred books, pamphlets, and journals on various topics (including politics, crime, religion, marriage, psychology and the supernatural). He was also a pioneer of economic journalism.

Robinson Crusoe the Greatest work of Daniel Defoe The novel Robinson Crusoe was composed when Daniel Defoe was nearly 60 years old. It was first published on April 25, 1719. It is sometimes considered to be the first novel in English.

Robinson Crusoe the Greatest work of Daniel Defoe Robinson Crusoe is a fictional autobiography of the title character. Crusoe is a shipwrecked person who spends 28 years on a remote tropical island near Venezuela. He encounters Native Americans, captives, and mutineers before being rescued. The story was likely influenced by the real life Alexander Selkirk, a Scottish castaway. This device, presenting an account of supposedly factual events, is known as a "false document" and gives a realistic frame story.

Robinson Crusoe A False Document A false document: is a literary technique employed to create verisimilitude in a work of fiction. By inventing and inserting documents that appear to be factual, an author tries to create a sense of authenticity beyond the normal and expected suspension of disbelief for a work of art. The goal of a false document is to fool an audience into thinking that what is being presented is actually a fact.

Robinson Crusoe A Frame Story A frame story (also frame tale, frame narrative): employs a narrative technique whereby an introductory main story is composed, at least in part, for the purpose of setting the stage for a fictive narrative or organizing a set of shorter stories, each of which is a story within a story. The frame story leads readers from the first story into the smaller one within it.

Robinson Crusoe the Greatest work of Daniel Defoe The book is an expression of the bourgeois qualities of individualism and private enterprise. Robinson is a new man - a man sure of himself and sure of being able to establish himself anywhere in the world. He is a man of a new age, in which doubt and uncertainty are replaced by hope and confidence. Robinson is the enterpriser of his age. He is ready to command nature, his enemy, and to found his colony beyond the seas. He is a merchant-adventurer, interested in material profits. He is a colonist, the empire builder.

Robinson Crusoe Plot Summary Crusoe sets on a sea voyage in August 1651, against the wishes of his parents, who want him to stay at home and pursue a career, possibly in law. After a tumultuous journey that sees his ship wrecked in a storm, his lust for the sea remains so strong that he sets out to sea again. This journey too ends in disaster and Crusoe becomes the slave of a Moor. After two years of slavery, he manages to escape and is rescued and befriended by the Captain of a Portuguese ship off the west coast of Africa.

Robinson Crusoe Plot Summary The ship is en route to Brazil. There, with the help of the captain, Crusoe becomes owner of a plantation. Years later, he joins an expedition to bring slaves from Africa But, he is shipwrecked in a storm about forty miles out to sea on an island (which he calls the Island of Despair) on September 30, 1659. His companions all die, save himself, and three animals who survived the shipwreck, the captain's dog and two cats.

Robinson Crusoe Plot Summary Having overcome his despair, he fetches arms, tools and other supplies from the ship before it breaks apart and sinks. He proceeds to build a fenced-in habitation near a cave which he excavates himself. He keeps a calendar by making marks in a wooden cross which he has built. He hunts, grows corn and rice, dries grapes to make raisins for the winter months, learns to make pottery and raises goats, all using tools created from stone and wood which he harvests on the island.

Robinson Crusoe Plot Summary He also adopts a small parrot. He reads the Bible and becomes religious, thanking God for his fate in which nothing is missing but human society. Years later, he discovers native cannibals who occasionally visit the island to kill and eat prisoners. At first he plans to kill them but later realizes that he has no right to do so as the cannibals do not knowingly commit a crime. He dreams of obtaining one or two servants by freeing some prisoners;

Robinson Crusoe Plot Summary When a prisoner manages to escape, Crusoe helps him, naming his new companion "Friday" after the day of the week he appeared. Crusoe then teaches him English and converts him to Christianity. After another party of natives arrives to partake in a cannibal feast, Crusoe and Friday manage to kill most of the natives and save two of the prisoners. One is Friday's father and the other is a Spaniard, who informs Crusoe that there are other Spaniards shipwrecked on the mainland.

Robinson Crusoe Plot Summary A plan is devised wherein the Spaniard would return with Friday's father to the mainland and bring back the others, build a ship and sail to a Spanish port. Before the Spaniards return, an English ship appears; mutineers have taken control of the ship and intend to maroon their former captain on the island. Crusoe and the ship's captain strike a deal in which he helps the captain and the loyal sailors retake the ship from the mutineers, whereupon they intend to leave the worst of the mutineers on the island.

Robinson Crusoe Plot Summary Before they leave for England, Crusoe shows the former mutineers how he lived on the island and states that there will be more men coming. Crusoe leaves the island December 19, 1686 and arrives in England on June 11, 1687. He learns that his family believed him dead and there was nothing in his father's will for him. Crusoe departs for Lisbon to reclaim the profits of his estate in Brazil, which has granted him a large amount of wealth.

Robinson Crusoe Plot Summary In conclusion, he takes his wealth overland to England to avoid traveling at sea. Friday comes with him and along the way they endure one last adventure together as they fight off hundreds of famished wolves while crossing the Pyrenees.

Robinson Crusoe Significance of the Story Robinson Crusoe is a real hero. He almost has everything needed for becoming a successful man, such as his excellent creativity, great working capacity, courage, and persistence in overcoming obstacles. However, Robinson Crusoe is not a perfect man. He also has shortcomings. He was such a coward when he encountered a storm the first time. He swore and repented yet ate his words and sailed on after the storm.

Robinson Crusoe Significance of the Story By showing Robinson’s shortcomings, Daniel Defoe made Robinson a real person. After all, no one is perfect. Robinson Crusoe can not only lead the ambitious ones to success, but also guide average people to face up to life. This is the significance of the study of Robinson Crusoe.

Robinson Crusoe Main Characters He is the chief character of Defoe's novel, is a headstrong young man. In 1652, against the will of his parents, Robinson begins a life of sea-faring adventure. His resourcefulness in building a home, dairy, grape arbor, country house, and goat stable from practically nothing is clearly remarkable. He has admirable qualities：resourceful，capable，independent，creative.

Robinson Crusoe Main Characters Though he is generous toward people, as when he gives gifts to his sisters and the captain, Crusoe reveals very little tender or sincere affection in his dealings with them. When Crusoe tells us that he has gotten married and that his wife has died all within the same sentence, his indifference to her seems almost cruel. Crusoe is very interested in possessions, power, and prestige.

Robinson Crusoe Main Characters Friday: He is probably the first non-white character to be given a realistic, individualized, and humane portrayal in the English novel. Friday has a huge literary and cultural importance. At the moment when Crusoe teaches Friday to call him “Master”, Friday becomes an enduring political symbol of imperialism.

Robinson Crusoe Main Characters The Portuguese Captain: He is honest, informing Crusoe of the money he has borrowed against Crusoe’s investments, and repaying a part of it immediately even though it is financially difficult for him to do so. He is loyal, honouring his duties toward Crusoe even after twenty-eight years. Finally, he is extremely generous, paying Crusoe more than market value for the animal skins and slave boy after picking Crusoe up at sea, and giving Crusoe handsome gifts when leaving Brazil.