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 self-reliant and independent behavior. To some groups or societies, individualism is shunned and members who show this trait are considered pariahs. Others though value individualism because it promotes innovation and creativity. Several great works of arts, scientific inventions, marvels of technology and engineering, and breakthroughs in other endeavors were the result of individualism; thus, heralded by collective society that benefitted from these. Daniel Defoe's The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, published in 1719, would not have been one of the great literary classics had he chosen to maintain the middle-class / workman's life like his father. Instead, he engaged in various occupations and travelled extensively; the experience provided a wealth of knowledge that provided the wonderful stories when he began writing his books during the twilight of his years. Hence, if Defoe had he not shown his individualistic nature, there would not be the Robinson Crusoe, Captain Jack, Moll Flanders and other literary classics being read through generations.
Literary works by authors are often said to mirror life and particular the lives of those who wrote them. Defoe's Robinson Crusoe may be deemed as Defoe's life story itself since there are several parallels. The most important aspect though was how Defoe's innate individualism has been well projected in his book. As a young man, Robinson Crusoe's father wanted...
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
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
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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