Robinson Crusoe : The Classical Age Or The Augustan Age

What do we learn about life in the 18th century and how successfully does the writer convey this information whilst telling us a good story?

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.

That economic system is called capitalism. The way some countries use to control the political and economic movements of every industry it has. Capitalism is the way to create money, starting by one economical source without paying enough to those who work for their family welfare. And this is one of the elements found in this chapter, where this unfairness is a main point to discover the real history behind the tragedy of the whaler’s island.

In Robinson Crusoe (1719) the protagonist Robinson leads himself into believing that he masters nature through the reason of being the first person to settle in the island that he has the power to capitalize and exploit everything on the island. Also he is considered that he is " Jack of all trades" that he could exploit and commodify everything ; Robinson is considered the pragmatic and the prototype of the British colonist who became a carpenter , a knife grinder , a baker , a potter , a sadder , a farmer , an architect , an astronomer and a slave trader. What is more intriguing that Robinson demonstrates the difference between the use value and the exchange value however ironically, as he compared the value of wood is a use value in the island where it is an exchange value in England

Throughout the world, social classes tend to separate people into groups. Everything depends on a person’s experience with wealth and power. Therefore, the levels of education determine the value of a person. In the articles, “Blue-Collar Brilliance” and “Why Colleges Shower Their Students with A’s” by Rose and Staples, they go in depth about how education and wealth plays a significant role in today’s society.

What do we learn about life in the 18th century and how successfully does the writer convey this information whilst telling us a good story?

Does Robinson Crusoe change throughout the novel? The tale of Robinson Crusoe was published 298 years ago, it’s no surprise many people have developed their own arguments as to whether Crusoe had evolved over the course of the story or not. Some believe before Crusoe took to the sea, he was an unreligious man who had no respect for God or his Father. Then at the end of his time on the island, Crusoe had been converted into a firm believer of God. There are valid arguments made against this theory that Crusoe had changed, such as the fact he approved and used slaves himself without ever any change of heart. Crusoe’s character goes from unbelieving in God to the complete opposite and this can be contributed to his experiences at sea and on

Secondly, in order to keep his tamed goats apart from the wild goats on the island, “I resolved to enclose a piece of about 150 yards in length and 100 yards in breadth. I was about three months hedging in the first piece. Now I not only had goat’s flesh to fee on when I pleased, but milk too.” (Defoe 107-108) He realizes the benefits of domesticating the wild goats which are plentiful on the island, and he sets himself to constructing a series of pens to hold them. Some of the benefits of raising the goats are milk, meat, and companionship. Lastly, he takes advantage of the corn and rice growing on the island, “Laying up every corn, I resolved to sow them all again, hoping in time to have some quantity sufficient to supply me with bread. Besides this, there was, 20 or 30 stalks of rice, which I preserved with the same care.” (Defoe 57) Crusoe learns to farm the corn and rice, which was already growing on the island, in a way that expands his supply. He also teaches himself how to turn these grains into bread suitable for consumption.

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,

Crusoe's island, like the Garden of Eden, provides for all his needs. He has complete dominion over this island and all of its inhabitants; yet, he still longs to know the other parts of the island. Like Adam, after his search for knowledge, Crusoe sleeps on the hard cold ground "being quite spent with the Labor and Fatigue of the Voyage." (Note that before the "fall of man," labor was not a source of fatigue.) Here Defoe reminds us that God punishes man who is not

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.

I took into consideration that information from different sources are very important in order to complete my thesis in the was that I intended to. Firstly I read the book in Albanian, in order to have clear opinions about the book and then I read it in English. After completing the reading I started doing a lot of researchers on the internet, where I found a lot of books which were written about Robinson Crusoe. I have read different essays, books, newspapers, and critical thoughts from different authors which I found very helpful in order to construct thoughts of my own about the novel. Among them are Christopher Borsing “Daniel Defoe and the Representation of Personal Identity”, John Richetii “The Life of Daniel Defoe: A Critical Biography 2005, John Rochetti “ The Cambridge Companion To Daniel Defoe”, Ian Watt “MYTHS OF MODERN INDIVIDUALISM”,Robinson Crusoe, D. P. LEINSTER-MACKAY The Educational World of Daniel

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