NOTES ON ROBINSON CRUSOE

DANIEL DEFOE

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Daniel Defoe (1659-1731) serves as a link between the great essayists of the earlier years and the great novelists of the later years of the 18^th century. He is said to be one of most voluminous writers of the English language. Born at St. Giles, London and educated at Newington, he was a government secret agent and worked for both Whigs and Tories. He had a versatile personality being a speculator, a traveler, a bankrupt and a journalist. In stead of becoming a minister he took to trade. He participated in Monmouth’s rebellion after being a failure in trade. During the closing years of the 17^th century he went on a visit to the Continent. His failure in business attracted him towards pamphlet journalism and fiction writing.

The fame of Defoe as a novelist depends on his novels like Robinson Crusoe (1719), Captain Singleton (1720), Moll Flanders (1722), Journal of the Plague Year (1722) and Roxana (1724).

Though Defoe belongs to the first group of fiction writers in English but scholars and critics do not consider him as a novelist in the strict sense of the term. He is considered merely as a writer of adventure stories and moral parables. Sir Ifor Evans regards Richardson as the father of English novel. As far as Defoe is concerned we may apply the term novel in a loose sense.

Defoe draws his materials from the travel books and adventure stories of his days. The adventures of Robinson Crusoe are based on the adventures of Alexander Selkirk and Juan Fernandez. Moreover Defoe’s art was not for the sake of art but for the sake of his readers. Therefore he wrote about amorous relationships and sexual encounters as his readers wanted to read about sin, sex and materialism. This preoccupation certainly limited his art. Meanwhile he is outstanding in characterization, story-telling, humour, pathos, illusion and reality.

As Defoe was unaware of the techniques of novel writing, his plots are not artistically up to the mark. They are rather loosely spun. He imitates human life in its raw shapelessness yet he is successful in achieving certain thematic unity in his works. The underlining themes of his stories are sin, crime and lustful advances. In Moll Flanders and Roxana we have sinful amorous advances towards wealth while the hero of Robinson Crusoe commits the original sin against his father and God. The major themes are followed by repentance, forgiveness and reconciliation.

Defoe is unable to create life like characters. His characters lack dynamism and remain static throughout the story. It is said that his characters are a representation of Defoe himself. He is supreme when he narrates various events and episodes. His stories are realistic and thrilling as well. His descriptions are detailed, realistic and even naturalistic. He fulfills his readers’ demands of facts by supplying them both realistic and imaginative facts. He tried to create an illusion of reality and attempted to achieve verisimilitude. The descriptions of the amorous advances of loose women like Moll Flanders or Roxana and the remains of bones and flesh littered everywhere are ghastly.

The dominating theme of Defoe’s novels is sin committed at different levels. This theme is consequently followed by punishment, repentance, forgiveness and reconciliation. The protagonist of Robinson Crusoe commits the original sin by disobeying his father’s instructions. God first warns him and afterwards he was reduced to slavery. His continuous hankering after wealth invites God’s wrath who punished him with 28 years of imprisonment on a lonely island. He cries in agony but no one wipes his tears. First he becomes indignant but gradually he bears the indignation of God patiently. Shedding penitential tears he feels blessed and praises God for bestowing him an island where there was no lust of flesh and eye and no pride. The island, which was earlier a hell, later becomes a heaven of ecstasy for him. Roxana and Moll Flanders both commit the sin of embracing the lustful desire to gain affluence.

Defoe is a supreme craftsman of humour and pathos. He had a wide variety of humour. Robinson amuses himself with a cat even though he has been cast in a lonely island. Defoe is able to create variety and pathos. Robinson, cast on a desolate island, is full of remorse. We experience some kind of pathos into the life of Moll Flanders when she feels the pricks of her guilt conscience for her sinful amorous advances during her youth.

Defoe had a proud possession of rich imagination. He has the ability to make fiction look real. His hero Robinson does all the actions related to a sea journey. Defoe takes pains to convince his readers and does so by presenting minute facts. He has a perfect vision and can visualize even a virtue of a person. He presents vivid and picturesque images like those of Keats and Tennyson. His style is plain, straight forward and matter of fact. There is no felicity or embellishment in his sentences. His language is simple and lucid.

SUMMARY OF ROBINSON CRUSOE

AN INTRODUCTION: As a work of fiction Robinson Crusoe can be compared with Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress and Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels. While The Pilgrim’s Progress is a religious allegory Robinson Crusoe, like Gulliver’s Travels, is a description of sensational voyages and scintillating adventures. The misanthropy and bitter satire of Swift is made against the littleness of mankind which is a little odious vermin for him. A bitter denunciation is camouflaged under the garb of an adventure story in Gulliver’s Travels. Similarly Robinson Crusoe wraps spiritual titillation under the cover of adventure. But unlike Gulliver’s Travels it can be deciphered at different levels. It is an adventure story, a moral treatise, a religious allegory, a spiritual revelation, a study of colonial expansion and a Biblical parable.

THE STORY: Robinson Crusoe, born at York in 1632, is the son of a German father and English mother. The couple had two more sons. One brother of Crusoe died in a war while the other was lost. From his early childhood Crusoe was inclined towards a wandering life. Seeing the world by sailing on the tempestuous seas was his innermost desire. He was advised and reprimanded by his father not to go on voyages and lead a settled life. But keeping apart his father’s admonitions, his mother’s love and his friends’ persuasions one day he went to Hull and at the prompting of his companions he went on board a ship which was bound for London. He did not seek the permission of his father and the blessings of the Almighty.

After reaching Humber the ship was wind tossed by a horrid storm. Robinson now started repenting that he had breached his duty to God and his parents. He was afraid that he was facing the judgment of the Great Providence because of his lapse of duty. He made his resolution that if God spares his life after the storm he would go back to his parents and in future he will never set his foot into a ship. But when the weather becomes favourable he forgot his resolution and was lost into a bowl of wine. The storm raged again much more furiously. Robinson could not resume the penitence he had forgotten. The sailors had started praying. The ship sank and all the passengers were saved by a life saving light boat which took them to Yarmouth safely.

In London Crusoe met the English captain of the ship who offered to accompany him to Guinea. Robinson accepted the proposal. It was on the advice of the captain that Crusoe purchased toys and trifles for business. The voyage was successful from the point of view of knowledge and profit. He came to know many things about navigation and earned 260 pounds as profit. The captain died and Crusoe kept his 200 pounds with the widow of the captain. The ship again sailed for Guinea under the captainship of Mate. When the ship reached Canary Island it was attacked by Turkish pirates. Robinson was taken to Sallee as prisoner. His stay at Sallee was for two years where he pondered over schemes to liberate himself. Once again the thought of his father comes to him and he regarded his slavery as a punishment for his disobedience. One day he got the opportunity to escape from the island.

The Turkish captain had to entertain some guests so he sent Robinson, along with a man and a boy, to the sea for fishing. When they were fishing in the sea, Robinson went towards the man Ishmael (Maley), pretended as if he was stooping for something, took him suddenly by his arms and tossed him overboard into the sea. He persuaded Xury to be loyal to him. Changing the direction of the ship they were 150 miles away from Sallee the next morning. Robinson continued sailing the ship till he ensured that they were too far away to be captured. They anchored in the mouth of a river. They heard the wild animals roaring. Robinson fired at an animal that came near the ship. They went away sailing, stopping on the shores to collect water. They wanted to reach Cape Verde where they were hopeful to get a European ship. After sailing for ten days they reached a place which was inhabited by naked savages. The savages crowded their ship and brought water and food for them. Robinson shot a ferocious animal and offered them to eat it. Robinson and Xury then sailed for eleven more days. Robinson was almost dejected when Xury suddenly saw a ship at a distance. It was a Portuguese ship whose captain was kind enough to take them to Brazil voluntarily. He purchased the barge from Robinson and also took Xury as slave.

Their journey to Brazil was pleasant. The captain introduced Robinson to a man who was the owner of a plantation farm and a sugar house. From this man Robinson learnt a lot about plantation. Planning to be a planter, Crusoe got his money back from the widow of the English captain and purchased land for plantation. He started growing canes and tobacco and felt the absence of Xury as a helper. He started progressing and coming into the fold of middle class. But he proved to be his own destroyer by succumbing to immoderate desires. The planters, associated with him, suggested him to go to Guinea to bring Negroes to work as slaves in their plantation farms. Robinson accepted their proposal and agreed to accompany them if they promise to look after his plantation and would dispose it off as per his wishes in case of his death.

He went on board the ship in the fateful hour on September 1, 1659. After a journey of twelve days a furious sea storm arose. They continued their sail for twelve more days. The storm tossed them and they were about to be swallowed by the sea. The ship struck upon sand and they used their life boats. Suddenly a huge wave came and the boat sank. Robinson, struggling courageously against the waves reached the sea shore. He was thankful of God who saved his life. He was the only survivor on an uninhabited island. He had nothing to eat and had only a knife and a tobacco pipe. He was fearful of being devoured by the wild beasts. Because of tiredness and exhaustion he went to sleep on a tree. After a sound sleep he woke up and was feeling fresh.

The storm had abated when he woke up from his sleep and the sun was shining with all its glory. It was fortunate that the tides drove the ship towards the shore. It was just at a distance of one mile from the coast. Crusoe wanted to get at the ship and to bring the necessary things. When the sea became calm, he reached near the ship and got into its forecastle with the help of a rope. He filled his pockets with biscuits and started eating them. He prepared a raft and loaded it with the available rice, bread, cheese, wine, dried flesh, barley, wheat, carpenter’s tools and various miscellaneous items. His next step was to look for a proper place where he could live. He had no information about the land whether it was an island or a continent; whether inhabited or deserted. Armed with a gun and a pistol he descended from the ship and climbed up a steep hill. He shot a bird with his gun. It was the first shot that had been fired there after the creation of the earth. He made several trips to the ship and brought things like sails, nails, spikes, screws, screw jacks, hatchets, grindstones, iron crows, bullets, shots, clothes, hammocks, bedding and several other items. He also got money from the ship.

Now it was his inner urge to have a residence of his own where he could live and keep his things. He wanted to dig a cave down below the earth and to put a tent above the earth to keep himself away from any kind of threat to his life. Till this time he was living in a low Moorish land near the sea. He longed for a place where fresh water should be available; where he can take shelter from the scorching sun; a place which should be safe and secure from wild beasts; and moreover a place which should be open to the sea so that in case of arrival of any ship he should take his chance. He came near a plain below a rising hill. On one side of the hill there was a hollow that seems to be a door. Robinson decided to fix his tent at this place. He made a fence to stop any intruder. He reached his tent with the help of a ladder, and after getting in he lifted the ladder so that nobody could come inside. He, now, had a strong sense of safety. He treasured all his items inside the tent. In order to protect himself from rain he put a smaller tent inside the big one. He had a hammock to sleep which he brought from the ship. He prepared a cave behind his tent to serve as a cellar. He butchered a she goat and kept its kid. As the kid refused to eat he ate it too. He made a fire place by enlarging his cave.

In spite of all these engagements he started feeling lonely. He complained to God for his loneliness and felt that he had been punished for his sin. Meanwhile he was thankful to God that he saved him and provided with the substances required for life. He was thankful of God for taking his ship near the shore. He had come on the island on 30^th September when the sun was shining in its autumnal equinox. He used to cut dates on the wood in order to remember the Sabbath days. In this way he was able to prepare a calendar. He used to read the Bible which he brought from the ship. He also brought two parrots and one dog from the ship and prepared a table and a chair. He made his life comfortable by his industry and application. He recorded all the events and actions in a journal. He stopped writing only when the ink ended.

One day he shook the husk of corn on one side of the tent. A month later he saw a few stalks coming out of the ground. After some more times he saw ten to twelve ears coming out; it was green barley. He thought that God has taken mercy upon him and caused to grow the grain for his survival. His eyes were filled with tears out of thankfulness for God but when he realized the reason for the growing of grain his thankfulness for God vanished. He saved the ears of corn for sowing. He sowed two third of his grain in dry season but the yield was zero. He sowed the remaining grain in February. Because of rain in the month of March and April he had a good crop. By now he had his own country house where he used to go regularly. He made earthen pots to store liquids. He traveled in the island taking his gun and dog along with him. That part of the island which he visited was a pleasant place with a lot of greenery and a large number of parrots. In the meantime the place was dreadful also as it was visited by the savages. From that place he brought a parrot and taught it to utter his name. The place was so full of trees that for sometimes he was roaming aimlessly there. He brooded over the second anniversary of his landing on the island. He was thankful to God for his lonely existence and considered it better than his past life of wickedness and sin. Yet the anguish of his soul got loose and he burst out into tears. He called himself a hypocrite who was feeling happy in such terrible conditions.

He had made a judicious division of his time for hunting, reading scriptures and other duties. He was bound to work for larger tract of time due to lack of tools and equipments. Further more, he badly needed a helper. He enclosed his fields with hedges to keep the animals away. He killed a few birds and hung them to frighten other birds. He was unaware of the know-how of grinding and baking breads but with the passage of time he learnt these things. He made a sieve and an earthen vessel which he used to bake breads. The boat, which he and his companions used in the past, was lying upside down. He pondered if he could turn it, he would have gone to Brazil.

Weary of his loneliness he cut a huge cedar tree and started making a canoe which would eventually carry him out of this desperate situation. Though he was successful in making a huge boat but he was unable to take it to the sea. In a mood of reflection he thanked God who provided him all the things he required for spreading his table in the wilderness. He was of the opinion that here in this island he had neither the lust of flesh nor the lust of the eye. Once again he repented for disobeying his father and God. He was of the view that God has accepted his remorse and repentance and awarded him in plenty. He brooded over the coincidences of his life. He was born on 30^th September; went to Hull on the same date; was made a prisoner at Sallee on the same date; was saved from the ship wreck at Yarmouth on the same date; and reached this desolate island on the same date.

He was in dire need of clothes as his attire was badly torn. His naked body will blister in the extreme heat. He tailored a jacket by altering the waist coat he had brought earlier from the ship. He made a cap and a waist coat out of an animal’s skin. He made a small raft and went on a voyage. He launched his boat when the wind was calm but soon he and his boat was engulfed in deep water. The currents were on both the sides, if they joined, Robinson would have gone. A little breeze cheered him for a while. He feared that if he was driven into the vast ocean which is endless he would be lost forever. From the sea he looked back upon his solitary island which was, for him, the most pleasant place in the world. He wished to be there again. A favourable wind started blowing. He spread his sail and a strong wave of wind and water current took his canoe back to the island. He was thankful to God after reaching the island.

Robinson was feeling sad as his boat, on which he went on the voyage, was lying defunct on the other side of the island. He started improving his skills in mechanics. He achieved expertise in carpentry and pottery. Instead of killing goats he started taming them. He enclosed a certain area of land with fence and ensured the safety of his goats. After two years he had a stock of forty three goats. He set up a dairy and got milk, cream, butter and cheese. He spent them over cats, dogs and parrots. He dined like a king and lived like an emperor. He longed for nothing but the company of human beings. He planned to bring back his raft from the other side of the island. Meanwhile he started working on a new canoe. Now he had two dwellings; one was his fort and the other was a country house.

One day when he was going towards his boat he saw foot prints of a man on the shore. He stood still, thunderstruck as if he has visualized a ghost. He looked here and there but found nothing. He returned thinking that it might be the footsteps of the devil but ruled it out soon. Then he thought that it might be the footprints of a savage. He became afraid of the savages that they might devour him or destroy his crops or take away his goats. Surprisingly he was fearful of the sight of a man. He was inspired by the words of scriptures and his dwindling religious feeling was recovered. For sometimes the footprint appeared to him an illusion. Though he came out of his fortified home after three days to look after his crops and to milk his goats, he was still in a state of terror. He went to the shore to confirm whether it was not his own footprint. But the footprint was larger than his footprints. A mood of devastation engulfed him and he thought of destroying his fortress, throwing down the enclosures, freeing his pet animals and crushing his crops so that the savages could not get anything intact at their arrival.

One day while wandering near the shore he saw a boat and later in a state of bewilderment he was confounded to see the parts of human body scattered here and there. The mystery of the footprints came to an end and all the time he was reminded of the brutal sight. He remained concealed in his fortified place for two years. He was grateful to God that cannibals did not ravage his part of the island. He became more and more cautious. He felt indignant at the sight of human flesh and resolved to take revenge but he abandoned the idea of killing those cannibals as God Himself did not punish them and furthermore, they had caused no harm to him. He confined himself within his fortified enclosure and came out only to milk his goats or to look after his crops.

One day he saw the canoes and the cannibals eating human flesh and making themselves merry. He was filled with indignation again and felt that it was not unjust to kill them. So he decided to kill the cannibals on their next visit. He has to wait for thirteen months. It was his twenty fourth year on the island when the cannibals revisited the place.

One day he heard the noise of a bullet shot from a ship. He burnt fire up above the hill as signal to those aboard the ship. He rushed to the shore but to his utter dismay he found that the ship was wrecked. He thought that the passengers on the ship had been either taken to another ship or had been drowned. A few days later he saw the dead body of a boy. He went close to the wrecked ship and found that it was struck between two rocks. He saw the dead body of two men being drowned in the kitchen. He brought wine, shirts, handkerchief, sweetmeats, gold coins and dog from the ship. He longed for company and even desired to go to the island of the cannibals. He had spent twenty five years on the desolate island and led a secluded life.

One day he had a vision that two canoes and eleven cannibals are present on the shore. He saw that a victim ran towards his grove. He saved him and took him to his fortress. His hopes of reaching the shore seemed to materialize. After waking up he was disillusioned to know that he was just having a dream. He wished if the dream could be realized. He waited for this for sixteen months. One day he saw five canoes and thirty cannibals. They were dragging two victims to eat them. They had already started eating one while the other was standing to be baked and eaten next. Suddenly the victim ran away with enormous speed. He was chased by the cannibals. Armed with his gun Robinson came in between the chasers and the chased, knocked down one of the cannibals by his gun. He saved the victim and named him Friday. Out of gratitude Friday vowed sincerity and obedience to Crusoe. After almost twenty five years he heard a man’s voice.

Friday was handsome, attractive and well built. Robinson took him to his place and fed him. Because of exhaustion and tiredness he was soon fast asleep. When he woke up he fell prostrate before Robinson out of gratitude and pledged his faithfulness for him. Robinson taught him to speak ‘master’, ‘yes’ and ‘no’. As Friday was stark naked he provided him with clothes. Being a cannibal Friday relished in eating goat meat but swore not to eat human flesh. He was taught by Robinson and did all the assignments with devotion and sincerity. They loved each other. Robinson once again became hopeful of getting rid of the lonely island and to visit the main land in the company of Friday. He taught Friday about God and scriptures and converted him to Christianity. Under the influence of Robinson, Friday started speaking fluent broken English. Robinson narrated his whole story to Friday and showed him the boat which he and his companions had used earlier. Friday told him that seventeen white men came to his country in the same boat. When Friday saw his country from the hill he was overjoyed and started jumping. Robinson did not like this attitude of Friday and became weary that if he accompanied him to his country he might kill and eat him. But soon his doubts were cleared and he felt ashamed of being doubtful about the integrity of Friday. Robinson resolved to visit the mainland and to meet the seventeen white men.

Robinson had sent Friday to the sea shore to bring a turtle. Friday rushed back terribly scared. He reported about three canoes. Robinson armed himself and Friday and went to the shore. They saw twenty one cannibals and three prisoners. Robinson was in doldrums for sometimes as he was unable to justify the killing of cannibals. But when he saw the European white man as their victim he resolved to kill the cannibals. Together Robinson and Friday killed many cannibals and was successful in releasing the white man. Robinson gave weapons to the white man and some items to eat and drink. The white man’s spirits were revived and he also killed three cannibals. Four of the cannibals started running helter skelter towards the sea. Robinson and Friday pursued them to their canoes where they saw an old man. The let the person loose and their happiness knew no bound when the old man turned out to be Friday’s father. Robinson took the white man and Friday’s father to his fortified home.

Friday’s father removed all the doubts of Robinson regarding the runaway cannibals returning with an army. The white Spaniard informed them that their ship had been stuck between two rocks and they had reached the mainland. Now they planned to bring more Spaniards to the island so that they should make a barge on which they could sail to a European country. They waited for their departure for six months so that enough grain might grow and they could feed their Spanish guests easily. Then the Spaniard and the old man sailed towards the mainland with a ray of optimism and jubilation.

Eight days later Friday was rushing towards Crusoe to inform him about their coming back. He rushed to the shore and saw that the boat was coming from a different direction and not from the mainland. From the hill Robinson saw, with the help of a magnifying glass, an English ship anchored at some distance. He was quite doubtful and was mentally shaken yet he had hope of his rescue. Then he saw eleven men on the boat, three among them were prisoners. Two persons remained on the boat while others went to see the country leaving the prisoners under a tree. One of the three persons was a passenger, the other was a mate and the third was the captain of the ship. Robinson promised the captain to help him to recover his ship if he followed his instructions and in case of recovery of the ship would take them to England. The captain agreed and Crusoe armed the captain’s men with ammunition. The captain and his men killed two mutineers while the others surrendered. Robinson ordered Friday and the mate to bring everything from the boat and to make a hole into the boat so that the new captain and his men might not take the boat. They planned to recover the ship as there were twenty six persons still left on board the ship. Two of the prisoners, who surrendered, were taken into service by Robinson. Now theirs was a seven member squad. There were firing signals from the ship to indicate the return of the boat. There was no response from the other side so most of them came to search their men leaving two persons on the boat. One of the two person who remained on boat, was killed. The other surrendered and joined the group of Robinson becoming its eighth member. As per the strategy adopted by Crusoe, the mutineers entered deep into the island. They wandered for a very long time and became tired and exhausted. When they came back to the shore they were shaking. They were surprised when they did not find two of their men on the boat. They became weary of the land being haunted. The captain killed the chief architect of the mutiny and one more member of the group. The others surrendered their arms and begged for mercy.

Robinson was now of the view that very soon he will come out of his secluded life. He and the captain planned a strategy to seize the ship which was still held by some of the mutineers. They divided themselves into two groups, one led by the Mate and the other led by the captain. They attacked the ship and were successful in killing the other mate, the carpenter and the rebel captain. The remaining people surrendered. The ship was recaptured and a signal of victory was given to Robinson who was waiting anxiously at the shore. The captain was full of gratitude for Robinson. Robinson, feeling his release at hand, was filled with tears. The captain was extremely overjoyed and presented hundreds of gifts to Robinson. They sailed the next day. Robinson left the island on 19^th September 1686. He had been on the island for 28 yrs 2 months & 19 days. He reached England on 11^th June 1687 after having been away from his country for 35 years. His condition was like a stranger in his own land. The widow had become a widow again for the second time. His parents were dead but his two sisters and two nephews were alive.

He went to Lisbon to meet the Portuguese captain to collect information about his plantation in Portugal. The captain showed his ignorance and told him that he owed a lot of money to Robinson. He gave him 160 moidores, of which 60 moidores were returned to him by Robinson. The captain agreed to help Robinson in relation to his plantation. They signed a document attested by a notary. The captain also sent a letter to a merchant known to him requesting him to help Robinson. Robinson received a letter from the survivors of his trustees, giving him an account of his wealth. Robinson’s heart filled with pleasure as he found his wealth intact. He returned 100 moidores to the captain. They drew a deed according to which the captain would receive 100 moidores annually and after his death his son would receive 50 moidores a year. Robinson sent 100 pounds to the widow and 100 pounds each to his sisters. He asked the Prior to dispose off his 872 moidores. He praised his partner for integrity and was thankful to the trustees. Robinson decided to go back to England by land accompanied by an English guide and some other persons.

They started crossing the mountains on 15^th of Nov. All of a sudden three monstrous wolves and a bear appeared in front of them. The wolves attacked them but Friday saved the guide and the horse. He entertained the party and played with a huge bear ultimately shooting it in a strange manner. Meanwhile they saw a dozen wolves feeding upon a horse. After some times they faced a hundred wolves which they had driven away by shooting and shouting. On different places they saw a pack of wolves eating horses and riders. At the entrance of a pass almost three hundred wolves attacked to devour them. Once again Robinson’s skill to plan strategies proved useful. It was because of his scheming that they killed about sixty wolves while the rest fled away. Ultimately they reached the village and then to Toulouse. The people of the place commented that it was a foolish act by the guide to select this dangerous way. However they showed their happiness at their safe arrival.

Robinson decided not to make Brazil his home on religious grounds and sold his plantation to the trustees. He was unable to quench his thirst for adventure for a long time. He was dissuaded by the caring widow to take risks of life. He married and had two sons and one daughter. His wife died and on the request of his sea man nephew he sailed to the East Indies and revisited the island. He took account of the affairs of the island. Now there were women and twenty children present. He solved some of their problems. From Brazil he sent a barge full of many things along with women. He also sent a few English women for the Englishmen present there. When he visited the island once again he saw men and women there doing very well.

PLOT STRUCTURE OF ROBINSON CRUSOE

Daniel Defoe was not well aware of all the characteristics of the novel proper. So his stories are more a story of adventure and romance than a true novel. Like other tenets of novel writing Defoe is unable to weave his plots in a cohesive manner. The plot structure of Robinson Crusoe is not well knit or so to say loose and ill constructed. A well constructed plot has all its events intricately inter woven. The events of a well constructed plot issue from one another. Such plot moves with harmonious and logical consequences. Not a single event can be deleted as it may disturb the smooth fabric of the whole plot. Such are the plots of Shakespeare, Hardy and Jane Austen. While on the other hand several pages can be taken away from the works of Milton or Dickens without causing any damage to the story. The end of a well knit plot can be visualized at the very beginning or as Eliot says “In my beginning is my end”.

The plot structure of Robinson Crusoe is not as per the conditions mentioned above. It is neither well knit nor intricately woven but episodic and loosely structured. One event starts only after the completion of the previous event. The story will appear unhampered and unwanting even though a whole is taken out from the story. For example if we take out the whole episode of the wolves from Robinson Crusoe even then the story will not be damaged. W H Hudson remarked about the plot of Robinson Crusoe, “no attempt was made towards the organization of the material into a systematic plot.” Professor Secord observes that Robinson Crusoe is an imitation of life in all its shapelessness. But in spite of this shapelessness there is a sort of thematic unity in the novel.

The plot of Robinson Crusoe is harmoniously blended by its theme. Reacting against the criticism of the plot of Robinson Crusoe being shapeless J Paul Hunter says that the plot structure of the novel has a thematic unity and it is set up by the artistic and philosophical rationale. It is true that the novel lacks the architectonic unity or a well shaped structure yet this weakness does not damage the thematic unity of the novel. It is important to quote the observation of Ifor Evans in this regard, “there exists in him a talent for organizing his material into a well conducted narrative, with an effective eye for detail…… Form, in its subtler sense, does not affect Defoe; his novels run on until, like an alarm clock, they run down, but while movement is there the attention is held.”

The underlying theme of Robinson Crusoe is the theme of the prodigal son. In Biblical parable the son flees away taking his share of property to a far off land, spends it, starves, feels lonely, returns, repents and is forgiven by the benevolent father who orders his servant to kill a calf so that they may celebrate. Defoe starts Robinson Crusoe with a Biblical reference: “Had I now had the sense to have gone back to Hull, and have gone home, I had been happy, and my father, an emblem of our blessed Savior’s parable, had even killed the fatted calf for me.”

The other significant themes of the novel are sin, punishment, repentance and forgiveness. Defoe not only imitated the story of the parable but also emulated it. The father who forgives Crusoe is in fact God. Robinson is guilty of committing several sins. He flees from his house without taking permission from his father and without seeking the blessings of God. He commits the sin of hubris. While in Brazil he succumbs to the immoderate desire of rising faster than nature permits. On the island he ventured to go around it on the canoe, thus violating the code of imprisonment. Before punishing for his sin, God warns him when his London bound ship was wind tossed and rose mountain high. Robinson promises to go back but commits the sin of breaking promises and goes on a voyage to Guinea. God inflicts the first punishment upon him. He was punished to be a slave. Escaping from slavery he established himself as a planter and flourished in Brazil. He was forgiven by God but once again he sinned. He goes on an illegal and sinful slave buying expedition to Guinea. He is punished with loneliness on a desolate island. He was extremely grieved and faced with loneliness and hunger. He was wet, had no clothes, nothing to eat or drink. He is faced with the dual fear of hunger and wild beasts. The punishment does not end here. God keeps him alive so that he can realize his sin and repent. God tortures him continuously with the pang of loneliness. When a Spanish ship wrecked near the island Robinson hopes that there may be any survivor who may become his companion. He had a strong longing for human company so he cries: “O that there had been but one or two, nay, or but one soul saved out of this ship.”

In due course God becomes considerate and provided Crusoe with human companionship first of the savage Friday and then of Friday’s father and the Spaniard. But before that he had to suffer more punishments. He becomes very much afraid when he had a dream in which a person emerges from clouds to kill him with his spear. He was terribly shocked when he saw a footprint on the shore. His feeling of fear banishes all his religious hope and his confidence in God is shaken for sometimes. After seeing the footprint he was unable to sleep. He kept himself in close quarters of his fortified house for three consecutive years. And when he ventured out of his residence he felt miserable. He was haunted by an evil conscience and feels that some ghost may appear from the bush and would punish him. Though he moves forwards but looks behind as if somebody is chasing him. He was so much afraid that he starts staring at his own shadow.

Every time he suffers, his realization of committing the original sin grew in extent. He was repentant and felt remorse. When he feels that God has been spreading his table in the wilderness he feels that perhaps God has acknowledged his repentance. His feeling of indignation against God’s dispensation turned to nothingness when he realized that his punishment is lesser in proportion than the extent of sin he had committed. He praised God for being bountiful, thanked Him for being benevolent to him and longs for His blessings. The island which was once an island of despair was now converted into his fort of ecstasy. He felt redeemed and restored. He surrenders himself to the afflictions bestowed upon him and submits his will to the will of God. He not only resigns to the will of God but also offers his sincere gratitude. Thus the theme of sin, suffering, repentance, forgiveness and reconciliation has given the plot of Robinson Crusoe a sort of thematic unity.

CHARACTER OF ROBINSON CRUSOE

According to some critics Daniel Defoe cannot create three dimensional or round characters. The character of Robinson Crusoe remains unchanged throughout the story. He was a restless wanderer at the beginning and remained so at the end. Moreover, according to some critics, he is the idealized self of the novelist himself. In spite of being a flat character he is loved and admired by the readers. People have admired him for his adventurous zeal and sympathized with him for his pain and suffering. There are certain considerate traits in his character.

A Wanderer: Robinson has a great affectation for sea. He wants to go on surfing the perilous sea and to roam around the world by undertaking dangerous voyages. His spirit of adventure compels him to disobey his father and to neglect the golden middle path of life. It is this very spirit of adventure that induces him to commit the original sin.

His wandering lust can be well expressed in the lines which he utters when he was unable to resist the temptation of sailing to Guinea: “all these miscarriages were procured by my apparent obstinate adhering to my foolish inclination of wandering abroad, and pursuing that inclination in contradiction to the clearest views of doing myself good in a fair and plain pursuit of those prospects and those measures of life which Nature and Providence concurred to present me with and to make my duty.”

Robinson’s thirst for wandering is not quenched even at the fag end of his life in spite of horrifying dangers on the sea and the terrible loneliness of the islands. For a short while his marriage and the dissuasion of the widow stopped him from undertaking any sea-faring mission. But nothing has the power to check his wander-lust for a long time. Ultimately he sails again to Brazil and to his secluded island.

A Sinner: Apart from disobedience, Robinson is guilty of committing hubris and breaking promises. He suffers from excessive pride. During his voyage to London he faces a terrible sea storm and swears that if he is saved by the grace of great Providence, he will go back to his parents. But after the storm was over he forgets this and engulfed himself in the intoxication of wine. He was shameful that if he goes home his neighbours would mock him for his failure.

The novel expresses his sense of guilt, his repentance for violating the wishes of his father and ignoring the will of God. Time and again he resolves that he will not repeat his wicked act but every time he forgets his vows. Though he regards his present miserable state as punishment for his sin yet he repeats the sin of breaking promises.

A Double Standard: The character of Crusoe is a unique blend of spiritualism and materialism. On one hand he is a voracious reader of the Bible while on the other he hankers after wealth. He becomes religious only at a very later stage and even then when he faces desolation and pain. When a man faces sorrows he lands himself on holy grounds otherwise in his happy days one hardly remembers God. The novel is full of Robinson’s worldliness, materialism and acquisitiveness. While sailing to Guinea for the first time in the story, Robinson collects 40 pounds from his relatives, purchases toys and trifles, sells them in Guinea and makes money worth two hundred and sixty pounds. In Brazil he becomes a planter as he has seen planters flourishing. He asks the widow to send his money. He regrets having lost Xury, not because of any humanistic concern but because had Xury been available he would be of great help to him. Though religious but he favours slavery and employ a slave. He agrees to go on a slave buying mission to Guinea. He harbours rash and immoderate desire of becoming rich by hook or by crook. He stores valuables including gold from the marooned ship though he needs the minimum on the desolate island. Even when he gets his deliverance from the island he delays his freedom by one day in order to collect his materials from his fortified house. Any other person would have rushed to the ship but he bids his time: “upon this I prepared to go on board the ship, but told the captain that I would stay that night to prepare my things.”

Insensible: Robinson had no feeling and affection for his parents. He was restless to go on voyages but never feels restless for his mother and father. There is no nostalgia for home, no longing for his parents. Though he remembers his father but it is because of his sin not because of any love for the old man. He is heartless and ignores the entreaties of his parents. Xury was so loyal to him that he went to fetch water for him risking his own life but Robinson has no consideration for his love and sells him like a slave.

A Partisan: A Hamlet like dilemma is presented before him when he sees the cannibals enjoying human flesh. He wanted to kill them but thinks that this would not be justified. In his opinion the cannibals were justified in killing their victims as the Christians are also killing their prisoners. This moral sense hinders his resolution to kill the cannibals. But the time he saw that the cannibals are killing a white man, he at once resolves to kill them. It is not because of any moral sense but because of racism that he kills those cannibals.

A Coward: Cowardice is another flaw of Robinson’s character. He was afraid of death when his ship was wind tossed by a storm during his voyage to London. When he saw a footprint on the seashore he was so terribly aghast that he did not come out of his place for three days. He was unable to sleep and eat anything due to this fear psychosis. He trembles whenever he apprehends the presence of a man. He was so much fearful that he started staring at his own shadow. He was so much haunted by his evil conscience that sometimes he feels ghostly presence in the bush.

A Contradictory Figure: During his stay at the island for more than 28 yrs Robinson tried emphatically for his release from seclusion but when the opportune time came he not only delayed his escape from the island but also thanked God for sending him on the island where he led a life of repentance and forgiveness which was certainly better than his earlier life of wickedness. He considers himself a hypocrite because he was praising that life which he wanted to escape.

Like the Shakespearean tragic heroes he suffers from a fatal flaw or in Aristotelian term ‘hamartia’. In Robinson’s case it is his wander lust which proved instrumental in his misery. He appears to be a believer of the dictum ‘character is destiny’ and regards himself as his own destroyer. His fatal flaw brings about a ‘catastrophe’ for him and he was devastated.

But all the above mentioned failings and weaknesses on Robinson’s part are infact proved virtuous in due course. Though he is a volatile wrong doer but he always means well. Apart from the negative elements in his character, he appears to be having some positive traits also.

Courageous: As mentioned somewhere above Robinson was a coward. But we must consider that any person under those unavoidable circumstances would have done the same. An ordinary man would have collapsed because of heart failure or might have drowned himself in the sea after experiencing those ghastly feelings. But Robinson faced them with manliness. As he was fond of adventure naturally he must possess a brave heart. True, that he was frightened when he saw the face of death but is there any person in the world who does not feel frightened at the sight of death?

Robinson’s fight with the cannibals, encounter with the wolves and his battle with the mutineers of the ship--- are all examples of his courage and bravery.

Ingenuity: Ingenuity is central to the character of Crusoe. It is because of this characteristic that he was able to harness the apathetic and cruel forces of nature. This ingenuity is expressed by his mechanical, practical and strategic skills.

Knowledgeable: After being liberated from Sallee he was sailing aimlessly over the sea. At this juncture it is his knowledge about geography which proved handy. He is aware that the islands of the Canaries and Cape Verde lie not far off and keeps in his mind that if he sails alongside the coast he will certainly find a European ship that may take him back.

Practical: Though he feels tears in his eyes due to loneliness in the secluded island but he realizes that shedding tears will not be of any use. If he has to survive he must have a practical approach. He is aware that he is struggling against the cruel forces of nature and he has to harness all the available resources. Therefore he goes to the wrecked ship time and again and brings back various valuables and necessities as well.

Mechanical: Robinson is fully aware that in order to harness the limited resources and to face a lone battle, he must have the expertise to do so. Thus by constant practice he developed his mechanical skills by making different things. By his constant efforts he learnt to sow, plough, reap, winnow, grind and bake. He was able to make beautiful baskets. He tried his hands at tailoring and carpentry. He can prepare his caps, umbrellas and attires. Along with being a carpenter he tried to be a wood cutter. He makes tables, chairs and boats. Besides making all these things he made stone mortar, sieve and earthen pots.

Strategic: Robinson is an expert planner and a great strategist. He proved his strategic skills in planning his release from slavery in Sallee. He persuaded Ishmael to bring powder and fired from the gun to keep the sea beasts at bey. He did not catch fish to persuade Ishmael to sail further into into the sea to get fish. Then he pretended to be stooping for something and suddenly tossed Ishmael into the sea. He compelled Xury to be his faithful and sailed towards the strait’s mouth till Ishmael becomes out of sight.

When the mutineers were returning to the ship, Robinson and the sea captain had no hope of regaining the ship. Robinson, at the spur of the moment, devised a plan to bring them back on land so that they must be defeated. He instructed Friday and the Mate to cry loudly to make them believe that their fellows are calling them. Thus these sea men were drawn deep into the island. He commended his men not to pounce back on them but to wait till they separate themselves into smaller groups.

His plan to protect himself and his squad from the dangerous wolves is also an example of his strategic skills.

Presence of Mind: He was successful in surviving, preserving and protecting himself because of his presence of mind. He never loses his presence of mind in case of any impending danger. It is his presence of mind which enabled him to encounter the cannibals, the mutineers and the wolves.

Religious: Because of his imprisonment for 28 yrs on the island he became religious. He thanked God for saving his life. He surrendered himself to the will of God and accepted the afflictions bestowed upon him. He started reading the Bible regularly. He reformed Friday, a cannibal and made him religious and compassionate.

Pathetic: The character of Crusoe is a pathetic figure. He is a tragic character like King Lear. It appears as if he is more sinned against than sinning. His wander lust is certainly the fatal flaw of his character. In spite of instructions and persuasions from his parents he undertakes a sea faring life. But the suffering caused by his wander lust was intense. First he suffers from slavery and then loneliness at the desolate island. He led a miserable life without any companionship. Though he was delivered from the island but it was a dreadful deliverance.

Supplementary Virtues: Robinson has the quality of winning the hearts of people. He is generous and benevolent. He is imaginative and appreciative of integrity. He did not forget even a little act of kindness. He acknowledges kindness and be kind to others. He returns the amount he received from the captain. The time he becomes a possessor of wealth from his plantation he helps the Spanish captain who was his benefactor. He is considerate towards the poor widow whose husband had done well to him and she herself was a very devoted instructor and steward. He comforted her in her poverty by sending one hundred pounds to her. Further he helps his two sisters by sending one hundred pounds each. He is full of praise for his partner for his integrity and honesty and sends a present of Italian silk for his wife and daughter. He appreciates the honesty of the Prior of St. Augustine and sends a letter of thanks to him. He donates 872 moidores to be given to the poor and the monastery. He also writes letters of thanks to his two trustees and acknowledges their justice and honesty. He desires to see his two nephews settled in their life and spends a lot of money on them. He was quite generous towards those living in the island.

All these acts of generosity abate his acquisitiveness. This large heartedness, benevolence and many other acts redeem him for his sin of neglecting the affection of his parents.

ROBINSON CRUSOE AS A RELIGIOUS ALLEGORY

Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe is a story of suspense, action and adventure. It is, like Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels, a hair-raising anecdote of romance and adventure. But, like Gulliver’s Travels, it is also a book having allegorical touches. It is not merely about the apparent journey of the sea but also an inner voyage--- a voyage to the soul. It has the undertones of Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress in which the hero makes the journey towards God.

We may consider Robinson Crusoe as a religious allegory. On the surface level it is merely a tale of adventure but at the inner plain it is a spiritual quest in which the hero explores his real self and God. We may negate the remark of Virginia Woolf who refutes the presence of God in the novel. Infact God is present in almost every page of the book. It is rightly said that where there is sorrow there is holy ground. The affliction and pain suffered by Crusoe on the secluded island brings about a spiritual awakening in his soul. When Robinson finds himself as a prisoner prisoned “with the eternal bars and bolts of the ocean in an uninhabited wilderness” he seeks God, discovers Him and converses with Him.

The novel appears as a puritan drama of the soul. In the course of action Robinson, the protagonist, fumbles, falls and fails but ultimately comes out triumphant. The island of despair was consequently changed into a heaven of ecstasy. The novel has been taken as a spiritual journey in which the hero explores God. Robinson speaks about blessings of God while leaving for London. He decides not to set his foot on any ship if God spares his life. When his life on the ship was in danger he prays to God: “Lord, be merciful to us.”

The captain and the crew prayed to God. The planters, going to Guinea, commit themselves to God when they faced the danger of ship-wreck. When the ship was stranded but Robinson, somehow, managed to reach the sea-shore, he was thankful to God; “Lord! How was it possible I could get on the shore.” The evidences are enough to prove God’s presence in the novel.

Robinson not only seeks the blessings of God but also makes protest against Him. He complained against the dispensation of God when he landed in the desolate island. When he saw a footprint, all his faith in the mercy of God was shaken. This episode unnerved him so much that he had lost his confidence in the benevolence of God. The fear of becoming a victim of the savages lies so heavy upon his heart that he seldom prays to God. It seems that a peaceful condition is much more needed for prayer than an environment of terror.

Robinson once again complained against the dispensation of God when he saw the cannibals enjoying human flesh. His surrender to the great Providence seemed suspended. When all goes well Robinson not only prays to God but also praises Him and be thankful to Him but when he feels afflicted he protests to God. He challenged the justice of God when he was stranded in the island. But soon he resigns himself to the will of God and accepted the afflictions bestowed upon him. He prays God for saving his life. When he saw plants of barley growing in the wilderness he regards them as gifts of God. But as soon as he remembers that he had shaken a bag of chickens’ feed out in that place, the wonder faded away and his thankfulness to God begins to diminish. He was thankful to God as he was not there on the shore when the cannibals came. But in due course his fear of cannibals tarnished all his religious hope and his confidence in God was shaken. During the course of the novel he feels sincerely thankful to God with all his humility that without the deliverances of God he might have become the victim of the cannibals. But only sometimes earlier he says that all his calm of mind and his resignation to God has seemed to be suspended. He becomes indignant to see the cannibals feasting on human flesh. He invaded the sovereignty of God. But soon he resigns himself to God and expresses his belief in God’s holiness and infinite powers.

In this way it appears that Robinson prays to God according to his convenience. Sometimes he praises God for his benefits but when he feels dissatisfied with the turn of events he finds faults with God. Thus like Milton, Robinson is a unique blend of Puritanism and Renaissance humanism. Like a puritan he justifies the ways of God but when he feels indignant he retorts like Milton’s Satan. When his anger cools down he surrenders to the pain given to him by God.

It seems that he is a believer of the dictum ‘they also serve who stand and wait’. He witnesses the blessedness of God everywhere. He is of the view that God has blessed his life by saving him while all his ten companions were drowned. He feels blessed on the desolate island because he was removed from all the vices of the world. He thinks that he has neither any lust for flesh nor the lust of eye and not even the pride of life.

He was of the opinion that even in his miserable condition he has been soothed with “the knowledge of himself and the hope of his blessing”. His condition was far from being miserable in comparison to others. Thus he feels blessed. Enough has been said to prove that Robinson feels blessed by the mercy of God. So his heart overflows with gratefulness and thankfulness to God.

Almost every page of the novel has the feeling of gratitude. Robinson is thankful to God for not landing him on the other side of the island which is frequented by the cannibals. He was thankful to God for providing him everything in the wilderness. He was thankful to God for his deliverance from the miserable island. The captain, for him, was a man sent from Heaven. Robinson believes that an infinite power can search into the remotest corner of the world. He believes that God sends help to the miserable. These examples are evidence that the novel has the feeling of blessedness, gratefulness and thankfulness to God. As a reader we start believing that a mysterious hand is always there to help the miserable.

As the novel is full of religious and spiritual overtones it is quite natural that there should be awe and mystery to overwhelm the readers. This element of mystery is expressed through prophesies, dreams and other mysterious visions.

Robinson’s father professed that if Robinson takes the foolish step of going to the sea and disobeys his parents he would incur the wrath of God and He will not bless him. In due course this prophecy proved true. The ghost of Julius Caesar pursued Brutus till the end and ruined him. Similarly the prophecy made by Robinson’s father was always hanging like a menace over Robinson and robbed his mental peace.

Robinson’s own dream of fighting with the Cannibals and saving the life of a savage proved true. The riddle of the footprints teases not only Crusoe but also the readers. All these elements have a tinge of the supernatural and create an atmosphere of awe.

Thus the novel has God, Providence, prophesies, dreams and visions. These elements make the novel mysterious, spiritual and religious. Defoe had puritan leanings right from his childhood. He had religion in his blood. He seems to have been a bit ashamed of a mere story teller so he has illuminated the adventure story of Robinson Crusoe with the light of religion and spiritualism.

THEMES OF SIN, PUNISHMENT AND REPENTANCE

Sin, punishment, expiation, repentance, remorse and reconciliation ---- all goes hand in glove as an important theme of Robinson Crusoe. The last plays of Shakespeare such as Cymbeline, The Winter’s Tale and The Tempest have similar overtones. In these plays of Shakespeare we see the characters committing sin, suffering punishment, repenting and then getting reconciled. It seems as if Defoe has been inspired by these Shakespearean romances.

Robinson commits the sin of disobeying the wishes of his parents and the dictates of God. He meets misfortunes at sea and on the island. He regards these misfortunes as his due punishment and repents for doing wrong. He was ultimately reconciled to the afflictions bestowed upon him by Providence.

SIN: Robinson is obsessed with a passion of wandering abroad and to visit around the world in a ship. He is almost obstinate in his wander lust. His parents urged him not to leave them. His father says that if he goes away for a sea faring life without his consent, God will not bless him. But Robinson ignored all persuasions and entreaties of his parents and ran away to London. Thus he committed sin against God and his parents. He never consulted them nor did he send any word to them. He left them without asking their blessings and the blessings of God.

As soon as his ship began to move a furious sea storm raged and the sea waves rose mountain high. Robinson thought that he is overtaken by the judgment of God for leaving his parents in tears. Robinson was terrified as the ship was about to wreck. He swears that if God spares his life, he will return home and will never make any voyage. But as soon as the weather calms down he forgets all his vows in a bowl of wine. After reaching London again he thought about his return but the sin of hubris overtakes him. He was of the opinion that if he returns home his neighbours will laugh at him. Thus he is responsible for committing the sin of disobedience and hubris.

When he sailed for Guinea for the second time he was imprisoned by the pirates. Whenever he suffered afflictions he reflects and asserts that he is overtaken by nemesis. It is his pride in himself which leads to further adventures and prolonged sorrows. The prophecy of his father turned true when he was rendered from a merchant to a miserable slave. His sin is responsible for his misery without any relief and redemption.

He committed another sin when he was flourishing in Brazil. He abandoned the middle path of life and adheres to his foolish inclination of sea faring. He is sinful that he pursued a rather rash desire of rising faster. He aspired to grow fast and thus he becomes the willful agent of his own miseries.

Once again he becomes hostile to his father’s counsel and could not restrain his rambling design. He regards his casting away on the desolate island as the outcome of his sin. He was of the view that he has lost his right of complaining due to his sin: “I ought not to complain, seeing I had not the due punishment of my sins.”

Repeatedly he recollects his sin of disobedience, pride and immoderate desire. He was of the view that most of human miseries flow from not being satisfied with the station God and Nature had assigned. God had placed Robinson in his plantation business but he committed the sin of challenging the will of God. He regards his ‘opposition to the excellent advice of his father’ as his original sin.

PUNISHMENT: Robinson regarded all his afflictions as punishment for his sin. When his ship, bound for London, is faced with turbulent sea waves and his life was in danger, he believed that he is overtaken by the judgment of Heaven. He realizes that what a punch Heaven has given him for what he is expected if he persists the foolish adventure against the mandate of his father and the will of God. He looked back upon the prophecy made by his father when he became a miserable slave at Sallee. He believed that Heaven has overtaken him and he is undone without redemption. When he has been cast upon the desolate island he feels that he has been punished for his sin: “I had great reason to consider it as a determination of Heaven, that in this desolate place and in this desolate manner I should end my life.”

He feels that he is the author of his own woes because he disregarded the advice of his father who emphasized upon embracing the middle station. The same has been repeated throughout the whole novel.

REPENTANCE: It is only after his punishment that Robinson pondered about sin and repentance. He suffered the most severe kind of affliction of wilderness and loneliness. He cursed the day when he disobeyed his father. He was cast upon a secluded island and was completely cut off from the world and was away from humans. He felt repentant for committing the original sin. He regards himself even worse than the prodigal son for not returning to his father. The feeling of guilt storms upon him and he weeps like a child. He repents not for the original sin only but also for leaving the plantation business.

He shed tears of repentance on the wild and desolate island. Not only that he even reconciled himself to fate and accepted his sufferings as a punishment for his sin. He rather feels that his punishment is less in proportion to his sin as he is blessed with food and other things required for life. Therefore he is thankful to God. The feeling of grief becomes lighter and he rejoiced that he has been brought to this place where he is redeemed. Here he feels no lust of eye or flesh and even no pride. The most dreadful punishment which has been fallen upon him has awakened his conscience. The place of despair was changed into a heaven of ecstasy. He feels so because he started believing that he has been allowed by God to repent and then his repentance has been accepted by God. Thus he spoke: “the redemption of man by the Saviour of the world…..of the gospel preached from heaven, namely, of repentance towards God.”

Binding the thread we may say that Robinson commits the original sin, suffers, is punished, repents and is forgiven and gets reconciled to God. The stern Providence relents and smiles on His bountifulness and magnanimity and the forgiven heart of Robinson Crusoe is grateful to his Saviour.

ROBINSON CRUSOE AS AN ALLEGORY

Robinson Crusoe has been regarded as one of the finest allegorical pieces of English literature. It seems that Defoe was inspired by the great allegories of his time. Allegorical literature was popular in England right from 16^th century onwards. Defoe must have read Spenser’s The Faerie Queene and Milton’s Paradise Lost. In the war between God and Satan, Milton visualized his own struggle against Charles 11. The allegory which just preceded Defoe was John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress which is certainly an influence and inspiration behind Robinson Crusoe.

Life has been treated as a voyage of human soul, both in The Pilgrim’s Progress and Robinson Crusoe. Life, in both the novels, is probation and earth is not a goal but the starting point of man. In The Pilgrim’s Progress a pilgrim, who is the human soul, makes his spiritual journey towards the House Beautiful. Likewise Robinson makes his voyage on sea. It is natural that allegorical novels are autobiographical in touch. Dickens in David Copperfield and Great Expectations writes about his own miserable life. Defoe paints his own life in Robinson Crusoe. This does not mean that we should search for every major and minor details of the life of the hero and the writer. Not the circumstances but the essence must be explored. We have to explore the heart of the matter.

G H Mair, while praising Robinson Crusoe and exalting it above The Pilgrim’s Progress, writes: “The Pilgrim’s Progress is begun as an allegory, and so continues for a little space till the story takes hold of the author. But the autobiographical form of fiction in its highest art is the creation of Defoe.”

F B Millet traces close similarities between the life of Defoe and that of Robinson: “in fact, so utterly did he merge himself into Crusoe that, when his work was finished, he came to see in the struggle of the York mariner an allegory of his own toilsome and dangerous experiences of life.”

We can decipher many personal experiences of Defoe in the novel. He had led a miserable life which was full of struggles. He was imprisoned because of his political activities. His wife and children faced starvation when he was in jail. We can feel the undertone of his imprisonment in Robinson’s plight at the lonely island. We can read his being pilloried in the punishments inflicted on Robinson on the desolate island, the punishment of fear and hunger. The feeling of starvation is expressed in a very sentimental manner: “I had a dreadful deliverance. For I was wet, had no clothes to shift me, nor anything either to eat or drink or to comfort me, neither did I see any prospect before me but that of perishing with hunger.”

In Robinson Crusoe human life has been treated as a voyage. This is the reason that its hero suffers from wander lust. Defoe, in the life of Robinson Crusoe, foresees his spiritual development and salvation. Robinson commits the sin of disobedience to his father and God. He also succumbed to the sin of pride, sin of rising faster and the sin of running away from the island of imprisonment. Defoe had suffered punishment, tortures and humiliation. This can also be read in the life of Robinson Crusoe. Robinson is punished with slavery, with imprisonment, and fear on the island. He is made to fear the foot print, the dream in which a man descends from the cloud to kill him with a spear and the cannibals. Moreover he is tormented by loneliness. He longs for the company of humans.

The spiritual salvation of Defoe can be imagined in that of Robinson who repents for his wickedness and sins. He prays to God to allow him to repent. He prays that the penitential tears he sheds for God, should be accepted by Him. He was thankful to God that He enabled him to save the soul of the cannibal, Friday. He thanks God that He had sent him to the island where his redemption became possible. The place of dreadful sufferings becomes a heaven of ecstasy. He was of the view that God has dealt with him bountifully as still there is mercy in store for him. He was, now, no more indignant because he thinks that his punishment is less in proportion than his crime. He believes that only the Providential wonders have brought him his daily needs. He is fed as Elijah was fed by the ravens. He now reconciles himself to the pain given to him and was thankful to God for blessing him. He, like the Bishop of Canterbury in Eliot’s Murder in the Cathedral, mixes his own will to the will of God. His soul is saved and he received the spiritual salvation he longed for. Thus Robinson Crusoe can also be viewed as a spiritual allegory.

If we interpret Robinson Crusoe philosophically we can see it as an allegory of isolation and alienation. Man’s arrival in and departure from the world is marked with loneliness. Life is an empty dream, only an illusion. No one, in fact, has any kind of belonging to others. Relationships or rather human relationships are mere fancy. Life is a mirage and it slips from our hands like sand. For Shakespeare it is a ‘walking shadow’ and a ‘tale told by an idiot’. Ecstasy, in the world, eludes like horizon. True ecstasy can be sought only in the union with God. The solitary, desolate island of the novel symbolizes this loneliness. The island is also symbolic of alienation. A person feels lonesome even in the midst of large crowd. A person is alienated because he has no one to share his ideas and feelings. Moreover one feels lonely when one falls upon the thorns of life and bleeds. No one comes to balm and sooth the man. When we laugh the whole world laughs with us but when we weep we weep alone. The weeping of Robinson on the lonely island was not heard and seen by any one.

Like Bacon, Defoe was practical and like Locke he was empirical. He was a staunch materialist and believed in amassing wealth. Robinson is a true representative of this trait of Defoe. According to Ian Watt he is an economic individualist and Karl Marx, in Das Capital, regard him a capitalist. Robinson undergoes voyages upon voyages not just because of his passion for adventure but also for economic considerations. He earns quite a lot during his first voyage to Guinea. He had an infinite, immoderate desire for rising higher and rising faster. On the island he collected a lot of money from the stranded ship which cannot do any good to him. He stayed his release from the island just to collect his materials which he had treasured. As a matter of fact Robinson Crusoe displays the art of amassing wealth and it can be read also on this level of material advancement.

The British imperialist forces founded too many colonies all over the world. Robinson appears as a true representative of British imperialism. Robinson treats himself as the king of the island. He is a sort of monarch of all what he surveyed. In his later visit to the island he claims half of the island as his property. The story can be read on this level also.

An allegory is a work of art in which two, sometimes more, implications run on equal terms. One thing stands for the other. It can be read on two levels, the one as it is and the other it stands for. However a symbol is just like the innumerable waves formed when a stone is thrown into the water. Symbolic literature can be deciphered on various levels.

We can read Robinson Crusoe at several levels. It is an autobiographical story, a story of adventure, a religious pilgrimage of the soul, a parable of the prodigal son, a moral treatise, a conquest over nature, a story of material advancement and a tale of colonial expansion.