Robinson Crusoe.

Robinson Crusoe

                                                 -Daniel Defoe 

                   Daniel Defoe who was a great traveler as a young man and is remembered for his great imaginative adventure novel Robinson Crusoe’s life on island.

        “ Robinson Crusoe – as a work whose protagonist is the founder of the new world which he rules and realism for Christianity and England.”

                                                                                                                                -   Edward.

       Novel beings with ‘ Trade’ means..Human trade. The novel has multiculturalism and develops with various themes. It is the journey of common man to master.

       

        Crusoe is never interested in portraying himself as a hero in his own narration. He doesn’t boast of his courage in quelling the mutiny and he is always  ready to admit unheroic feelings of fear  or panic as when he saw footprint on the beach .Crusoe worries about the religious consequences of disobeying his father, but as individual personality.

        When Crusoe first calls himself “ King” of the island it seems jocund but when he treated Spaniard as his subject we must take his royal delusion seriously.  He established his own world on island.

                                        

Example :

                He himself becomes the Master of Friday and teaches him the word ‘Master’ eve before teaching him the word “ yes” or “No” . that seems obnoxious even under the racist standard of the day.

“ Education is the weapon to rule over the illiterate people.”

Education gives knowledge and knowledge is power.

                Crusoe’s desire to become the owner and Master of island leads towards the source of the Capitalism and Imperialism.

        Incidentally, Crusoe reaches the unknown island where there is no existence of other human being. Being alone on island , he himself start to do farming, merchant and all works of day to day life. 

The true symbol of British conquest is Robinson Crusoe, who cast away on a desert island. In his pocket, a knife and  a pipe becomes an architect, a carpenter, a knife grinder, a potter, a saddler, a farmer, a tailor, an umbrella maker, and clergyman.  He becomes ‘ Every Man ‘ on island.

        Being a Englishman, he has a pride of his nation and religion Christianity also. Crusoe as an intellectual man though on island , Crusoe suffers from identity crisis – “ Who am I ?”

        “ Dominated country to dominator.”

“White Man’s Burden” –  refers to the colonial –era idea that white men were burdened with bringing civilization to the uncivilized.

“Power and duty is responsible for burden.”

        Crusoe never enjoy the idea of considering Friday as Friend  or equal for some reason. Superiority comes instinctively to him as Englishman. Master (Crusoe ) needs to Friday not for love and care but wants slave .  We have question 

“ Why Friday easily accept the boundary or slavery of Crusoe ?”

Power generates the fear in mind and Crusoe has a power of gun and because of fear Friday accepts the slavery of Crusoe. Crusoe is suffering from loneliness on island before arrival of Friday.

“ Loneliness is punishment but solitude is boon.”

Crusoe has a fear of losing Friday as slave not as companion. It is not only British mentality but reflects the human nature who wants to rule over others through power and position. Friday exists on island and therefore Crusoe has the importance as “King”.  Crusoe decides the rules of island because……..

Where is society , there is rules!

 Crusoe rules over Friday so he has fear that without Friday…….. 

“ How Crusoe rules over the kingdom?”

        Crusoe acts as a colonizer in assumption complete dominion over the island and any people he encounters. The land and its all products belong to him .

“ Crusoe’s actions as an individual duplicate those of nations in climbing land for colonies.”

                Nature creates boundary away from the society. Natural things grows gradually not in society but far away from the society.

        Having the power of colonialism and imperialism , Crusoe becomes cruel to Friday. Because of Crusoe’s influences , Friday lots his own language and culture, too. Means………

“ Friday lost his original identity.”

“ Colonialism helped Capitalism to become Powerful.”

         Being alone on island he becomes the spiritual and also calls the island – “ The island of Solitude.”

“ Spirituality is beyond the Religion.”

Spiritual deliverance from sin is more important than physical deliverance from  the island. He gets the salvation from the father in dream.

“  Call on me in the Day of trouble and I will deliver and thou shall glorify me.”

- Bible

   At the end , Crusoe gets everything which he wants on island. Through the narrative of ‘ Spiritual’ and ‘Emotional’ growth and everything is within the self. Crusoe has optimistic outlook towards an unfortunate situation and he also survive there.

“ Crusoe becomes the epitome of Man’s contact with nature and final victory over nature.”

                                                                  -Hawthorne.

        Crusoe established the image of a perfect society but that is in the absence of people and that is the irony of the novel. In reality , it is not possible to exist the “ Utopian society.” He achieves which he wants because there is no existence of human being. He full fill his wishes on island which he can’t fulfill in the own country.