Reading feelings
About the Writer:
Daniel Defoe(1660-1731):the first important English novelist. He was born in London to a butcher, attended a Dissenting academy, put himself to trade and grew wealthy in his business. In his late fifties, Defoe began to produce fiction at incredible speed. First came Robinson Crusoe (1719), then Captain Singleton (1720); in 1722 appeared Moll Flanders, and then Roxana (1724) and A New Voyage Round the World(1725).
Defoe wrote in a plain, factual, almost documentary style without elaborate, romantic extravagances, and encouraged the development of realistic fiction. Defoe, with his great literary achievements, secured for himself the status of the father of the English novel, preceding both Fielding and Richardson, and Robinson Crusoe, the first important English novel, has taken its rightful place among the great myths of western civilization.
The background：
This novel was based on a real story of Alexander Selkirk, which gave Defoe great inspiration. In September,1704, a Scottish sailor, Alexander Selkirk defected on the sea. So, his captain left him in an island near Chili.4 years later, he was saved by a voyager and returned to his country. But he forgot the human language and became a savage completely. He didn't have great creation or heroic on that waste island ,however, Robinson Crusoe was a new character in the novel. The author put his own experience, true feelings and ideas into the character. He gave his fancy full scope to have artistic treatment. Robinson Crusoe became a hero in the petty bourgeoisie. He also has adventure of the bourgeoisie and enlightenment Consciousness. The author gave Robinson obvious characteristics of this period.
Plot Summary:
There are actually three parts in Robinson Crusoe. The first part is about Crusoe's first experience as a sailor, who was involved in a series of dangers and hardships and finally became a plantation owner in Brazil. The second part deals with the hero's adventures alone on the uninhabited island, which is the most significant part of the book. The third part tells of the hero's successful escape from the island and his final return to England.
Robinson Crusoe, a young English man runs off to sea to seek his fortune. After various adventures, he suffers a shipwreck and is cast ashore on a deserted island alone. There he manages to provide a shelter and food for himself and creates a home in the new environment: he explores the wreck, and establishes his “castle”, stalks wild goats, grows barley and rice, makes utensils, bakes bread, clothes himself, shapes canoes, and fight against possible wild animals and cannibal savages. Thus he has gradually settled into a steady island life. Later he acquires a companion, whom he rescues from cannibals and names “Friday". After encountering with pirates and mutineers, Crusoe and Friday manage to escape from the island. Finally Crusoe returns to England safely and finds that in his absence he has become a wealthy man. Years later he revisits his island, now populated by marooned sailors, to establish a regular colony there.
The thoughts
I suppose one of the main themes is survival. Robinson Crusoe was shipwrecked and had to survive life on a remote tropical island near Venezuela for 28 years until he was rescued. Robinson gave me the lesson that setbacks and failures, do not despair, and only did not despair, to be successful. Yeah, people’s life there will be a lot of setbacks, the face of setbacks, you are only two: one to move forward, and the other one is back, Robinson chose the former.
In my opinion, there is no doubt that there is no perfect life in our world, it will always be difficult, but what we can do is to try our best to change our life to make it perfect. On account of the novel, when we are in difficulties, we may be confused, have fear, have complained even in despaired, but the most important thing what we should keep in mind is “Never give up. “When we face difficulties, we must have faith in ourselves, never give up and do our best, just like what Robinson did. As an old saying goes, if you don't experience wind and rain, how can you see rainbow. In time of despair, we shouldn’t complain about the tribulation of life.
However, there are a lot of other important themes in the book. Robinson Crusoe says that he is writing his account to instruct others in God's wisdom and to know the importance of repenting one's sins. Crusoe had gone to sea against his father's wishes and he sees his isolation on the island partly as God's punishment and he feels a great need to repent of his sin. He also sees it being important to convert his servant Friday to Christianity (he believes that God will be pleased if he converts the heathens or just one heathen in Crusoe's case since there is only one other person on the island).
Religious belief combines with colonial activities so that legitimize colonial activities and makes its believers regard colonization as a glory career. Religion combines with colonial activity is a distinguishing feature of colonial activity in the17th and 18th century. Colonial activity promotes religion's spread. Religion plays a necessary role in colonial activity. Religion quicken colonial activity's path, which is to say on one hand, religion is colonist's spiritual support, on the other hand, taken advantage of religion, colonists legalize and rationalize their colonial activities.
So religion is an important theme in the book. He dined like a king and enjoyed absolute sovereignty over the whole island, with everything at his complete command, the parrot, the dog, and two cats. So the role of capitalism in shaping Crusoe’s character also shows the theme.
Actually Crusoe did more than mere survival, for he established a plantation, opened up a colony, and created even a civilization in the wilderness. Defoe presents here in Crusoe heroic image of the bourgeois man, a man who is daring, persistent, resourceful, and ambitious, adventurous, enterprising as well; a man who richly represents the spirit of capitalism.
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