Literary Analysis Essay on Robinson Crusoe

Introduction

The purpose of Daniel Defoe in writing the book, "Robinson Crusoe" was to show that faith can lead to a worthy life. He tries to outline this through the themes he uses in his book such as; religion, self-worth, solidarity, and survival. An essential role in the purpose of the author can be seen when Robinson mentions, "I knelt and gave God thanks, for recovering from my sickness (Defoe 97)." Robinson Crusoe has managed to attain the status of myth and has lived outside its original context, culture and time. Defoe formed one of the most familiar tales of the contemporary literature. The story has a structure of a man who struggles to survive in a world that seems to work against him, through little energy, stepping over problems and creating his idea of what, it had been hopeless, would remain chaos. The outlook of this story on humanity and life has stayed popular and of a powerful image, fulfilling the author's purpose.

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The author manages to use good expressions. The novel, "Robinson Crusoe, is about how Europeans could colonize the territories in Africa and in America to make use of the working people and their resources. When Robinson leaves London to escape his middle-class family, he is enslaved but manages to run away with two "people of color." This shows how normal it is for whites to enslave black people and not fellow whites. The expression "dreadful deliverance" comments on Robinson's first reaction after he survives the wreck of his sheep in the deserted island. After such a miracle he thinks, "Now I looked back upon my past life with such horror, and my sins appeared so dreadful, that my soul sought nothing of God but deliverance from the load of guilt that bore down all my comfort (Defoe 98)." This change has had an impact on his life, and he tries to find a new solitaire life. Instead of staying bitter, the author changes his expression to that of making the best of his situation through faith.

The author examines themes in the text and bases the settings of the novel in those themes. I see that idea of individualism and a person's ability to survive in the world. The characters in this book seem real. It is a typical outline of real-time events that happened in the slavery era. For instance, Friday is an excellent example of how slaves behaved towards their masters. The character, Robinson, is good at approaching situations from various sides, making him a round figure. There is a good show of his conscience as he says, "He offered me also sixty pieces of eight more for my boy Xury, which I was loath to take, not that I was willing to let the captain have him, but I was loathed to sell the poor boy's liberty who has assisted me so faithfully in procuring my own (Defoe 37)." This shows that he did not want to sell the boy but did it because he respected the captain. Robinson's mind is also involved. This is confirmed when later on, he starts bringing slaves into his plantation to work. The author strives to present the truth about colonialism by portraying the book as merely adventurous (Fishelov 335). The book was inspired by a true story of the castaway in the 18th century.

Works Cited

Defoe, Daniel. "Robinson Crusoe. 1719." London: Warne, nd(1994).

Fishelov, David. "Dialogues with/and great books: With some serious reflections on Robinson Crusoe." New Literary History39.2 (2008): 335-353.