¶ … setting for a book is as important, if not more important, than the depiction of characters. A detailed depiction of the architecture in a scene often adds to the credibility of the story. In the books Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe, Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, and Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, architecture is used not only as a scene setter but also as a testament to socio-economic values and cultural beliefs.
Robinson Crusoe, Heart of Darkness and Things Fall Apart all deal with so called "primitive" conditions as their subject matter. The stories do not take place in a thriving modern metropolis, but in areas well removed from the western eye. This being the case, much of the architecture described belongs to the indigenous people of the stories or the Caucasians who were forced to act as if they were natives because of the lack of "modern" conveniences.
In Robinson Crusoe the main character finds himself shipwrecked on an island he calls "The Island of Despair." (Chpt 2 p. 1) Once he ascertains that he is going to be responsible for his own survival he begins to fulfill his most basic needs food, clothing, and shelter.." I walk'd about the Shore almost all Day to find out a place to fix my Habitation, greatly concern'd to secure my self from an Attack in the Night, either from wild Beasts or Men. (Chpt2 p. 1) This shows the reader that the primary purpose of the place of shelter is not just a convenience but a fortress as well, directly reflecting the European attitude of the main character.
The architecture (of the habitat)...
Robinson Crusoe and Individualism The adage "no man is an island" always holds true because humankind has always been a social being. By belonging to a group or society, individuals are expected to abide by the collective norms and behaviors thereto. Although individuals are assumed to follow the standards of the group, there are those who chose otherwise and demonstrate individualism, believing in the core importance of the individual and having
Not all of the Europeans that went to America had been persecuted in their home countries, and there had been several reasons for why people chose to leave. While some merely wanted a life of adventure on an unknown continent, others searched to take the word of God further by Christianizing the Native Americans. Religion is also present in Robinson Crusoe, as Crusoe converts Friday to Christianity and teaches
The only real politics that the book deals with is the one promoted by Defoe, as he is obviously focused on supporting the image of England as one of the most important colonial forces. Works cited: Clowes, Edith W. "The Robinson Myth Reread in Postcolonial and Postcommunist Modes," Critique36.2 (1995): 145 Crosby, Ray, "Robinson Crusoe's Anti-Pilgrimage," Retrieved June 29, 2011, from the University of California Website: http://ucriverside.academia.edu/RayCrosby/Talks/37311/Robinson_Crusoes_Anti-Pilgrimage Defoe, Daniel, "Robinson Crusoe," Arc Manor
He doesn't really need the company of other people and this shows that he was essentially a materialistic person- someone who was happier with money alone and didn't care much about people. "It was now that I began sensibly to feel how much more happy this life I now led was than the wicked, cursed, abominable life I led all the past part of my days"(Defoe 113). Out of
Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe and Jane Austen's Mansfield Park actually share a number of themes relating to the centrality of land in the formation of eighteenth and nineteenth century conceptions of rural virtue, politics, and property. Crusoe's South American island could not be farther from the staid environs of Mansfield Park, but the same tension between rural virtue and worldly interests permeates both stories, particularly in regards to Crusoe's
Robinson Crusoe & Don Quixote The character of Robinson Crusoe have shown as to how faith helps a person to survive purely on determination and will. This story has conveyed that how Robinson has survived in difficult situations even though he had no previous knowledge of tools, navigation, or even a belief in God. It was only his will power and ambition that helped him to acquire these skills by himself
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