Book review
When I was young, I have read its Chinese translation book. At that time, I only regarded it as a novel of adventures. I was astonished by Robinson’s adventurous and legendary life and experiences and even yearned for his state of freedom. But now I think I am more closer to the theme and idea that the author wanted to express as I have got more knowledge about the background information and plenty book reviews from other readers and perspectives. So I made my own reviews as well as the integration of some resources I’ve read as follows.
The book was written by Daniel Foe who was born into a lower-middle class Presbyterian family in London in 1660. At this time, England was not a very tolerant place for non-Anglican Protestants—Defoe was unable to attend Cambridge or Oxford because of his religion, for example. After some time as a merchant, during which he traveled throughout Europe, he became known for writing political pamphlets in the 1680s and 1690s. In the early 1700s, he was imprisoned for some of his more controversial political writings. Defoe later turned his writing efforts toward fiction. He published Robinson Crusoe in 1719, which is often regarded as one of the foundational novels of literary realism.
Robinson Crusoe's journey takes place in the context of 17th-century European imperialism and colonialism, as different countries explored the Americas, establishing colonies and exploiting natives. More specifically, Defoe was likely inspired or influenced by the real-life adventures of Alexander Selkirk. Selkirk was a Scottish man who survived for four years stranded on an island in the south Pacific, who was widely thought to be the prototype of the protagonist.
Robinson Crusoe was brave and adventurous. The lines have mentioned that “ My father, who was very ancient, had given me a competent share of learning, as far as house-education and a country free school generally go, and designed me for the law; but I would be satisfied with nothing but going to sea; and my inclination to this led me so strongly against the will, nay, the commands of my father, and against all the entreaties and persuasions of my mother and other friends, that there seemed to be something fatal in that propensity of nature, tending directly to the life of misery which was to befall me ”. He was brave enough to walk out his comfort zone and he was always on the way to chase a changeable and unpredictable life. So he turned down his father’s advice which seemed to be good for a common people and he went on his boat to pursue what he really wanted.
When he lost everything and got to the island, he didn’t blame fate or other people. Instead, he tried to and learned to reclaim wasteland, do farm work, tame the wild creatures make tools so on so forth. This spirit, or individualism, considering the background, was praised to be the spirit of early capitalism which symbolized pioneers, heroes, individualism, hard-working, bravery, etc.. Besides the material life, Robinson Crusoe also showed us how to deal with loneliness well. He was a rich man, in every sense.
Apart from what I mentioned above, there was a view from the perspective of Christianity and Divine Providence which attracted me a lot. So I quote them from the Internet as follows. “The theme as much as Defoe's novel is about Robinson's literal, physical journey, it is also about his more metaphorical, spiritual journey toward Christianity. In the beginning of the novel, Robinson disregards Christianity and leads a life that he later looks back on as wicked. He discounts his father's warning that God will not bless him if he goes to sea, and does not thank God when he is rescued from the storm on the way to London, or by the Portuguese captain off the coast of Africa. However, after he dreams one night of a strange figure scolding him for not repenting, Robinson turns to Christianity on the island and eagerly studies the Bible. With his newfound Christianity, Robinson is never entirely alone on his island, because he can converse with God through prayer. Moreover, Christianity offers Robinson a way to make sense of his life and its various twists and turns. He sees his rebelling against his father as his original sin, for which he was then punished by being taken as a slave and then by being shipwrecked. However, he was blessed and saved by God by being saved from drowning and ending up on the island with enough provisions to survive. After repenting, Robinson sees himself as further blessed by various miracles, whether the accidental growing of his first crops or the arrival of Friday and the English captain. In addition, Robinson comes to see various unpredictable natural disasters like storms, hurricanes, and the earthquake that damages his island home as signs from God, instruments of his divine agency.
As Christianity becomes more and more central to Robinson's life (and to Defoe's novel), one of the most important aspects of it is the idea of divine providence. Closely linked to ideas of fate, this is the idea that God has foresight of our fortunes and is looking out for us. Along this understanding, events that seem like coincidences or unexplainable surprises turn out to be part of God's wise plan. This is how Robinson ends up seeing his being shipwrecked. What seemed like a disaster at first turns out to be a blessing in disguise: Robinson grows to love the island, learns much from his experience there, and comes to Christianity as a result of his life there. When the English captain arrives on the island, Robinson sees this as further proof of divine providence, as someone has come to rescue him at last, while the captain sees Robinson as an instrument of God's providence for him: the captain thinks that Robinson was saved on the island precisely to help save him. These two characters have confidence in their belief in God's providence, that there is some overarching plan behind the unpredictable whims of fortune. And Defoe seems to share this conviction, as the fictional editor who introduces the novel claims that it is an illustration of "the wisdom of Providence in all the variety of our circumstances." The novel thus urges the reader to have faith in God's divine plan. Interestingly, the reader must place a similar kind of trust in Defoe, as he or she must trust that there is some overarching plan or purpose behind the meandering, wandering plot of the novel, that Defoe will deliver his reader to some kind of satisfactory conclusion or ending.”
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