Essay on Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe

Robinson Crusoe is a man who was lost in the world, stuck at home with his parents, he was expected to be a lawyer, but his heart longed for the sea. Crusoe eventually left home, without telling his parents what he planned. After several voyages, all of which were seemingly “unlucky,” he is shipwrecked on a desert island and is forced to survive with only bare necessities. Many people consider him a hero because of how he dealt with his misfortune. Some people believe that Robinson Crusoe is a likeable and admirable character, but others disagree. Robinson Crusoe is not a likeable or admirable character for three reasons: he is self-absorbed, he lacks emotion, and he is hypocritical.

In the story of Antigone, an argument of who is the tragic hero between Antigone and Creon exists. I firmly believe Creon is the tragic hero of the play. Creon becomes the typical fallen hero in Greek drama. He faces many conflicts, internally and externally, and undergoes quite a bit of painful emotions. One might say Antigone should receive the title of being the tragic hero, but Creon plays a more significant role by learning his lesson the hard way and ending up as the classic tragic hero who loses everything at the end of the dramatic play.

Greek plays include the element of the tragic flaw to demonstrate how mistakes can greatly affect one’s life; especially in Greek culture because one wrong mistake and the Gods could be very offended. In the Greek play, Antigone, Creon illustrates a tragic hero because his pride and ego took over his morals of resembling a good ruler. Historically, this would mean Creon’s Hubris, or over-weaning pride, makes him a tragic hero. Creon is a tragic hero because his demise as a ruler is illustrated from the beginning of the play, to the middle, and to the end of it. Creon began his kinghood with promise of being a successful leader, but his Hubris ultimately led up to his tragic flaw.

The conflict between law and morality has been in existence since the beginning of human society, and to this day still greatly influences people and society. Written by the Greek playwright Sophocles in the 5th century BCE, Antigone is the tragic story of a young girl who goes against the king’s edict and buries her brother, a traitor to the state, sentencing herself to execution. The conflicting ideals of logos - moral, divine, or natural laws, and nomos, or man made laws are Greek virtues explored in the characters of Antigone and Creon, both of whose lives end horribly. Although nomos is often too concrete to manipulate to one’s advantage, logos is much more open to interpretation, and in the case of Creon, whose tragic flaw is hubris, the fluidity of logos allows him to use it to justify and influence his actions, ultimately harming him much more than nomos, and causing his story to end in tragedy. After investigating societal gender roles and the effect they

In the play Antigone by Sophocles,one could easily be lead to believe Antigone is the the tragic hero when in fact a strong case can be made that Creon, the king of Thebes, is actually the tragic hero. In believing that Creon is the tragic hero it would seem practical to call the play Creon rather than Antigone. On the other hand, naming the play Antigone gives the play a twist that leads the audience into a dynamically tragic journey through the lives of a prestigious royal family and it gives birth to thoughts of politics, religious beliefs, social roles and moral obligations.

Thus, Robinson Crusoe was displaying uncertain signs of his belief in God. It isn’t until he is on the uninhabited island that he begins to slowly convert into a full Christian.

Many themes are explored when reading Lewis Carrol’s, Alice in Wonderland. Themes of childhood innocence, child abuse, dream, and others. Reading the story, it was quite clear to see one particular theme portrayed through out the book: child to adult progression. Alice in Wonderland is full of experiences that lead Alice to becoming more of herself and that help her grow up. It’s a story of trial, confusion, understanding, and success. And more confusion. Though others might argue that the story was distinctly made for children just to get joy out of funny words, and odd circumstances, the tale has obvious dynamics that confirm the fact of it being a coming of age story.

The first reason that Robinson Crusoe is an admirable character is because he devotes himself to growing his spiritual life. First, he asserts, “My duty to God, and the reading scriptures, which I constantly set apart some time from thrice every day.” (Defoe

However, unlike the custom of the times, Crusoe carves out a dedication "I came on shore here of the 30th of Sept. 1659" (Defoe 61) as opposed to a tribute to God or Christ. Next, in his journal, Crusoe begins to relieve himself by listing both the good and evil of his situation. Crusoe confronted with tragedy quickly takes religion into his life, but once again the sincerity in his beliefs can easily be questioned by the reader. Additionally, once Crusoe is settled into his life on the island, he forgets his commitment to religion until he becomes deathly ill. In his journal he writes "Very ill, frighted almost to death with the apprehension of my sad condition ... Prayed to God for the first time since the storm off Hull" (Defoe 84). His strength returns soon then suddenly he falls back into sickness. During this fit of illness he cries out for God to pity and have mercy on him. After waking up feeling better, but thirsty, Crusoe lies in bed and falls back to sleep. While asleep, Crusoe experiences a vision of a man descending from the clouds. The apparition approaches Crusoe, saying "Seeing all these things have not brought thee to repentance, now thou shalt die" (Defoe 85). Crusoe finally realizes all the wickedness in his life, such as disobeying his father and participating in the slave trade for his own profit. While suffering in sickness for another day, at last

In the beginning of the book, Robinson Crusoe runs away from home to get on a ship. Then, when he was on his way to Canary Island, his ship was bombarded by pirates, who took him hostage. Finally, after two long years,

In a way, the journey in the canoe in itself contradicts the idea of providence. The purpose of the journey for Crusoe was to obtain more knowledge. Prior to this journey, however, he states "Thus I liv'd mighty comfortably, my mind being entirely composed by resigning to the will of God, and throwing myself wholly upon the disposal of his Providence." (108) Very shortly after this declaration of his submission to Providence, when referring to his exploration of the island on foot, Crusoe says that "the discoveries I made in that little journey, made me very eager to see other parts of the coast; and now I had a boat, I thought of nothing but sailing round the island." (109) As illustrated by the canoe journey, Defoe shows us that Crusoe's longing for knowledge, and for more than what God's Providence has provided him, almost costs him his life.

Impact of British Colonization Exposed in A Small Place, A Passage to India, and Robinson Crusoe

Daniel Defoe wrote Robinson Crusoe as a restless and generally unhappy character in the beginning of the novel. Like a lot of people in society, Crusoe was never truly satisfied with the “middle state” even though his father claimed it to be “the best state in the world” (Crusoe 44). In the beginning of the novel, Crusoe was also never truly satisfied when it came to his religious life and, like many people, made empty promises he could not keep due to his inherent desire to escape the restrictions of his social class; from the very beginning, this novel implies that human nature is inherently

The theme of "man’s relationship to God and the universe" presented in Epistle 1 of Alexander Pope’s "An Essay on Man" complements Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe. Crusoe is an inconsistent character who turns to God whenever he is in need, yet fails to maintain respect for nature and for his fellow man. In the first year of Robinson Crusoe’s solitary life on the island, he falls ill and has a terrifying dream that alters his awareness of his place in the universe and God’s control of it. This experience leads him to contemplate his past ingratitude and to embark on a life of piety, reading the Bible daily, though without a drastic or permanent change in his character.

Daniel Defoe's novel, published in 1719, is the spiritual autobiography of one man: Robinson Crusoe. The novel tells the story of an English mariner of York, with wanderlust spirit, who decides not to follow his parents’ plans for him of living a middle-class life preferring to travel around the world. His father did not give him the consent to go away arguing that his choice meant as going against the authority of God himself; therefore, God will not have mercy on Robinson. In fact, his first trips seem to fulfill the prophecy of his father because his ship was wrecked in a storm and later was attacked by pirates. Ashamed to go home, Crusoe bordered another ship and returned to another trip towards Africa challenging his fate. Consequently