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Robinson Crusoe #1
Robinson Crusoe
Daniel Defoe relates the tale of an English sailor marooned on a desert island for nearly three decades. An ordinary man struggling to survive in extraordinary circumstances, Robinson Crusoe wrestles with fate and the nature of God. This edition features maps.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published April 25, 1719
About the author
Daniel Defoe
4,481 books1,534 followersDaniel Defoe (1659/1661 [?] - 1731) was an English writer, journalist, and spy, who gained enduring fame for his novel The life and strange surprizing adventures of Robinson Crusoe: of York, mariner (1719). Defoe is notable for being one of the earliest practitioners of the novel and helped popularize the genre in Britain. In some texts he is even referred to as one of the founders, if not the founder, of the English novel. A prolific and versatile writer, he wrote more than five hundred books, pamphlets, and journals on various topics (including politics, crime, religion, marriage, psychology and the supernatural). He was also a pioneer of economic journalism.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 8,859 reviews
January 28, 2009
It's really sad that people judge books from the 17th century from their 21st century politically-correct perspective. You don't have to agree with Defoe's worldview and religious beliefs to like the book. I'm repulsed by Homer's beliefs but I know his works deserve to be classics.
People who think this book is boring probably think hikes through majestic mountains or quiet afternoons in a beautiful garden are boring. This book is slow at times. But the slowest parts are the best. Defoe is a master of detail. And the action is much more exciting when it comes after the calm. A book with only action would be boring to me (not to mention corny, e.g. Treasure Island).
This is, hands down, my favorite novel of all time. Rich detail, gripping plot, profound character development, insightful meditations, and the meeting of two radically different worlds in Robinson and the cannibals. I never stop reading this book. When I finish I start again. I love Robinson and Friday as if they were a real life father and brother.
BTW - There is an audio recording by Ron Keith that is spectacular. The publisher is Recorded Books.
People who think this book is boring probably think hikes through majestic mountains or quiet afternoons in a beautiful garden are boring. This book is slow at times. But the slowest parts are the best. Defoe is a master of detail. And the action is much more exciting when it comes after the calm. A book with only action would be boring to me (not to mention corny, e.g. Treasure Island).
This is, hands down, my favorite novel of all time. Rich detail, gripping plot, profound character development, insightful meditations, and the meeting of two radically different worlds in Robinson and the cannibals. I never stop reading this book. When I finish I start again. I love Robinson and Friday as if they were a real life father and brother.
BTW - There is an audio recording by Ron Keith that is spectacular. The publisher is Recorded Books.
November 25, 2021
This is one of those books that really serves to remind a modern audience of why we should kill [censored to protect sensitive Republican ears]. Robinson Crusoe is the story of a young man with atrociously bad luck who, unfortunately for any shipmates he ever has, suffers from an extreme case of wanderlust. Every ship he gets onto sinks, but he just keeps getting onto them. Even after he's got a nice, successful plantation of his own, he decides he's just GOT to get on ANOTHER ship to -- get this -- procure himself some slaves. It crashes of course, and he gets stranded alone on an island.
Not to worry, though -- he's got a bible, and he successfully becomes a religious zealot while alone with nothing better to do. It's too bad that his only book couldn't have been a copy of Don Quixote or something because maybe then he'd have become a more interesting storyteller. But no, like so many people who have terrible luck, he turns to "god" and starts counting his "blessings," more-or-less out of a lack of anything better to do.
Then, after he's been alone for 24 years, he sees a footprint in the sand, and he totally freaks, and he becomes convinced it must belong to the devil. Ummm, ok. So I'm sitting there thinking, "Maybe it's your own footprint." But it takes this genius a whole day of scaring himself before he comes up with that explanation. Anyway, it turns out not to be his footprint at all, it actually belongs to the "savages" (Carribean Indians) who apparently visit the island sometimes in order to cook and eat their prisoners, which, for the record, was not actually a common practice among Indians in the Americas. And here's the part where you really hate white people. He then saves one of the prisoners from being eaten and makes him into his slave, who he renames "Friday," teaches English, and converts to Christianity. Friday, instead of kicking this pompous jerk's posterior from here to next Friday after repaying whatever debt he owed Robinson for saving his life, is a faithful slave in every way for the remainder of the book. Friday speaks in a pidgin English, which is probably realistic enough for a man who learned English late in life from one solitary individual, but Robinson has an offensive habit of translating easy-enough-to-understand things that Friday says to us, the idiot readers ("At which he smiled, and said - 'Yes, yes, we always fight the better;' that is, he meant always get the better in fight"). Also, during Friday's religious education, he asks Robinson why god doesn't just kill the devil and end evil, and because there is actually no good answer to such a question for a religious person, Robinson simply pretends not to hear him and wanders away. What a jack*ss! Luckily, Robinson Crusoe's religious conversion doesn't last forever. As soon as he's back in civilization and making money hand over fist, he pretty much gives it up.
Speaking of which, what was with the end of this book? He gets rescued, he goes home, but there's no emotional payoff, and instead he goes on about his European adventures with Friday. We don't care about the wolves and dancing bear! We want to know, did you learn anything from your years away? Do you feel like you missed out? Was anyone happy to see you? Did they have a funeral for you while you were missing? What did your mother do when she saw you again? Robinson Crusoe is a man without any of the human characteristics that make people interesting to read about when they get into difficult situations. He has no regrets, no personal longings, and he never reflects on his life before he was on the island during his decades on the island. I understand that this is just an "adventure novel" but people actually still read this tripe and consider it a classic!
Not to worry, though -- he's got a bible, and he successfully becomes a religious zealot while alone with nothing better to do. It's too bad that his only book couldn't have been a copy of Don Quixote or something because maybe then he'd have become a more interesting storyteller. But no, like so many people who have terrible luck, he turns to "god" and starts counting his "blessings," more-or-less out of a lack of anything better to do.
Then, after he's been alone for 24 years, he sees a footprint in the sand, and he totally freaks, and he becomes convinced it must belong to the devil. Ummm, ok. So I'm sitting there thinking, "Maybe it's your own footprint." But it takes this genius a whole day of scaring himself before he comes up with that explanation. Anyway, it turns out not to be his footprint at all, it actually belongs to the "savages" (Carribean Indians) who apparently visit the island sometimes in order to cook and eat their prisoners, which, for the record, was not actually a common practice among Indians in the Americas. And here's the part where you really hate white people. He then saves one of the prisoners from being eaten and makes him into his slave, who he renames "Friday," teaches English, and converts to Christianity. Friday, instead of kicking this pompous jerk's posterior from here to next Friday after repaying whatever debt he owed Robinson for saving his life, is a faithful slave in every way for the remainder of the book. Friday speaks in a pidgin English, which is probably realistic enough for a man who learned English late in life from one solitary individual, but Robinson has an offensive habit of translating easy-enough-to-understand things that Friday says to us, the idiot readers ("At which he smiled, and said - 'Yes, yes, we always fight the better;' that is, he meant always get the better in fight"). Also, during Friday's religious education, he asks Robinson why god doesn't just kill the devil and end evil, and because there is actually no good answer to such a question for a religious person, Robinson simply pretends not to hear him and wanders away. What a jack*ss! Luckily, Robinson Crusoe's religious conversion doesn't last forever. As soon as he's back in civilization and making money hand over fist, he pretty much gives it up.
Speaking of which, what was with the end of this book? He gets rescued, he goes home, but there's no emotional payoff, and instead he goes on about his European adventures with Friday. We don't care about the wolves and dancing bear! We want to know, did you learn anything from your years away? Do you feel like you missed out? Was anyone happy to see you? Did they have a funeral for you while you were missing? What did your mother do when she saw you again? Robinson Crusoe is a man without any of the human characteristics that make people interesting to read about when they get into difficult situations. He has no regrets, no personal longings, and he never reflects on his life before he was on the island during his decades on the island. I understand that this is just an "adventure novel" but people actually still read this tripe and consider it a classic!
Read
March 5, 2022Reading Robinson Crusoe is like reading a grocery list scribbled in the margins of a postcard from Fiji: "Weather's fine! Wish you could be here! Need fruit, veg, meat..."
August 18, 2021
(Book 987 From 1001 books) - Robinson Crusoe = The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, Daniel Defoe
Robinson Crusoe is a novel by Daniel Defoe, first published on 25 April 1719.
The first edition credited the work's protagonist Robinson Crusoe as its author, leading many readers to believe he was a real person, and the book a travelogue of true incidents.
Epistolary, confessional, and didactic in form, the book is presented as an autobiography of the title character (whose birth name was Robinson Kreutznaer)—a castaway who spends twenty-eight years, on a remote tropical desert island near Trinidad, encountering cannibals, captives, and mutineers, before ultimately being rescued.
The story has since been thought to be based on the life of Alexander Selkirk, a Scottish castaway, who lived for four years on a Pacific island called "Más a Tierra", now part of Chile, which was renamed Robinson Crusoe Island, in 1966.
عنوانهای چاپ شده در ایران: «رابینسون کروز»؛ «رابینسون کروزو»؛ «رابینسون کروزوئه (رابینسون کروسو)»؛ «رابینسون کروزویه»؛ «ربنسن کروزئه»؛ «روبنسن کروزو»؛ «روبن سن کروزو»؛ «زندگی و ماجراهای عجیب و شگفتانگیز رابینسون کروزوئه»؛ «سفرها و ماجراهای رابینسون کروزوئه»؛ «ماجراهای رابینسون کروزویه»؛ «ماجراهای روبنسون کروزئه»؛ نویسنده: دانیل دفو (دوفو)؛ انتشاراتیها (جامی و بسیاری دیگر) ادبیات؛ تاریخ نخستین خوانش: سال 1972میلادی
عنوان: رابینسون کروزوئه؛ اثر: دانیل دفوئه، مترجم محمود مصاحب؛ مشخصات نشر تهران، گلشائی، 1343، در 404ص، فروست: گلشائی 33، موضوع: داستانهای نویسندگان بریتانیا - سده 19م
رابینسون کِروزوئه، یا «رابینسون کروسو»، مشهورترین رمان نویسنده ی بریتانیایی «دانیل دِفو»، نخستین بار در سال 1719میلادی، در «انگلستان» منتشر شد، کتاب خود زندگینامه ی منحصر به فرد خیالی است، که لقب «پدر رمان انگلیسی» را، برای آفرینشگر آن به ارمغان آورده است؛ قهرمان داستان، که نامش بر تارک همین کتاب است، زندگی مرفه خود در «بریتانیا» را، برای مسافرت در دریاها، رها میکند؛ پس از آنکه از یک «کشتی شکستگی»، جان به در میبرد، بیست و هشت سال را، در یک جزیره، به گذران زندگی میپردازد؛ «رابینسون» یک بومی جزیره را نجات میدهد، و نام «جمعه» بر وی مینهد؛ این دو، سرانجام جزیره را، به مقصد «بریتانیا» ترک میگویند؛ «دفو»، شاید بخشی از کتاب را، براساس تجارب واقعی یک ملوان «اسکاتلندی»، به نام «الکساندر سِلکرک» نگاشته باشند، که به سال 1704میلادی، پس از ستیز با ناخدای کشتی، وی را به درخواست خودش، در ساحل جزیره ای خالی از سکنه، رها کردند؛ رمان پس از انتشار نخستین در انگلستان، و دیگر کشورهای اروپایی، با موفقیت روبرو شد، و برای همین، «دفو» رمان دیگرش «ادامه ی ماجراهای کروزوئه» را نوشتند
تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 26/05/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی
Robinson Crusoe is a novel by Daniel Defoe, first published on 25 April 1719.
The first edition credited the work's protagonist Robinson Crusoe as its author, leading many readers to believe he was a real person, and the book a travelogue of true incidents.
Epistolary, confessional, and didactic in form, the book is presented as an autobiography of the title character (whose birth name was Robinson Kreutznaer)—a castaway who spends twenty-eight years, on a remote tropical desert island near Trinidad, encountering cannibals, captives, and mutineers, before ultimately being rescued.
The story has since been thought to be based on the life of Alexander Selkirk, a Scottish castaway, who lived for four years on a Pacific island called "Más a Tierra", now part of Chile, which was renamed Robinson Crusoe Island, in 1966.
عنوانهای چاپ شده در ایران: «رابینسون کروز»؛ «رابینسون کروزو»؛ «رابینسون کروزوئه (رابینسون کروسو)»؛ «رابینسون کروزویه»؛ «ربنسن کروزئه»؛ «روبنسن کروزو»؛ «روبن سن کروزو»؛ «زندگی و ماجراهای عجیب و شگفتانگیز رابینسون کروزوئه»؛ «سفرها و ماجراهای رابینسون کروزوئه»؛ «ماجراهای رابینسون کروزویه»؛ «ماجراهای روبنسون کروزئه»؛ نویسنده: دانیل دفو (دوفو)؛ انتشاراتیها (جامی و بسیاری دیگر) ادبیات؛ تاریخ نخستین خوانش: سال 1972میلادی
عنوان: رابینسون کروزوئه؛ اثر: دانیل دفوئه، مترجم محمود مصاحب؛ مشخصات نشر تهران، گلشائی، 1343، در 404ص، فروست: گلشائی 33، موضوع: داستانهای نویسندگان بریتانیا - سده 19م
رابینسون کِروزوئه، یا «رابینسون کروسو»، مشهورترین رمان نویسنده ی بریتانیایی «دانیل دِفو»، نخستین بار در سال 1719میلادی، در «انگلستان» منتشر شد، کتاب خود زندگینامه ی منحصر به فرد خیالی است، که لقب «پدر رمان انگلیسی» را، برای آفرینشگر آن به ارمغان آورده است؛ قهرمان داستان، که نامش بر تارک همین کتاب است، زندگی مرفه خود در «بریتانیا» را، برای مسافرت در دریاها، رها میکند؛ پس از آنکه از یک «کشتی شکستگی»، جان به در میبرد، بیست و هشت سال را، در یک جزیره، به گذران زندگی میپردازد؛ «رابینسون» یک بومی جزیره را نجات میدهد، و نام «جمعه» بر وی مینهد؛ این دو، سرانجام جزیره را، به مقصد «بریتانیا» ترک میگویند؛ «دفو»، شاید بخشی از کتاب را، براساس تجارب واقعی یک ملوان «اسکاتلندی»، به نام «الکساندر سِلکرک» نگاشته باشند، که به سال 1704میلادی، پس از ستیز با ناخدای کشتی، وی را به درخواست خودش، در ساحل جزیره ای خالی از سکنه، رها کردند؛ رمان پس از انتشار نخستین در انگلستان، و دیگر کشورهای اروپایی، با موفقیت روبرو شد، و برای همین، «دفو» رمان دیگرش «ادامه ی ماجراهای کروزوئه» را نوشتند
تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 26/05/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی
July 19, 2022
A religious, racist, white supremacy, sexist bigot driveling about how great he is while playing Robinson Crusoe
One of the most degenerated, misguided POVs I´ve ever read
That´s more of a narcissistic, egomaniac, even kind of sociopathic, persons´ diary than a novel, and it´s filled with the unreflected, racist, extremely faith-focused, arrogant thoughts of an author who has the amazing gift to write both unilateral and boring.
Compare it with the real stuff from centuries ago and see even more how it sucks
Take Jonathan Swift or greek philosophers or hieroglyphics or cave paintings, or, the best example, Robert Louis Stephensons' Treasure island, all examples of less ego-focused works that have a plot, an arc of suspense, other detailed, credible characters that transport no sick pro slavery mentality or anything that differentiates a novel from a trivial travel report.
Skim and scan, you won´t miss anything substantial, wise, or deep. Or just don´t read it, the best option.
After quite a while I was just scanning anymore, because except for redundancies, lists, and stupid thoughts there was less to find in this novel. The main character is an unlikeable idiot, he doesn´t even have to be smart or fight to survive to get any suspense into the poor telling, because he has all he needs to survive on the island and saved material from the shipwreck, so he has nothing to do than to think of how superior he and his ever so great faith, culture, and sophistication are in contrast to Fridays´ immense primitivity.
Would be a banned troll hater account nowadays
Imagine someone doing it nowadays, no matter if online or in boring meatspace. In any civilized society, the person would be excluded, prosecuted, and flamed or, by friendlier individuals, pitied as the abject individuals that they are. The civilizations, groups, and societies that are still practicing such ideologies and would promote and invite the troll are a few centuries behind sociocultural evolution.
A total not reading suggestion, but I can understand that the society of the 18th century liked this novel because it reflected, celebrated, and confirmed their inhuman and insane mentality.
Tropes show how literature is conceptualized and created and which mixture of elements makes works and genres unique:
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.ph...
One of the most degenerated, misguided POVs I´ve ever read
That´s more of a narcissistic, egomaniac, even kind of sociopathic, persons´ diary than a novel, and it´s filled with the unreflected, racist, extremely faith-focused, arrogant thoughts of an author who has the amazing gift to write both unilateral and boring.
Compare it with the real stuff from centuries ago and see even more how it sucks
Take Jonathan Swift or greek philosophers or hieroglyphics or cave paintings, or, the best example, Robert Louis Stephensons' Treasure island, all examples of less ego-focused works that have a plot, an arc of suspense, other detailed, credible characters that transport no sick pro slavery mentality or anything that differentiates a novel from a trivial travel report.
Skim and scan, you won´t miss anything substantial, wise, or deep. Or just don´t read it, the best option.
After quite a while I was just scanning anymore, because except for redundancies, lists, and stupid thoughts there was less to find in this novel. The main character is an unlikeable idiot, he doesn´t even have to be smart or fight to survive to get any suspense into the poor telling, because he has all he needs to survive on the island and saved material from the shipwreck, so he has nothing to do than to think of how superior he and his ever so great faith, culture, and sophistication are in contrast to Fridays´ immense primitivity.
Would be a banned troll hater account nowadays
Imagine someone doing it nowadays, no matter if online or in boring meatspace. In any civilized society, the person would be excluded, prosecuted, and flamed or, by friendlier individuals, pitied as the abject individuals that they are. The civilizations, groups, and societies that are still practicing such ideologies and would promote and invite the troll are a few centuries behind sociocultural evolution.
A total not reading suggestion, but I can understand that the society of the 18th century liked this novel because it reflected, celebrated, and confirmed their inhuman and insane mentality.
Tropes show how literature is conceptualized and created and which mixture of elements makes works and genres unique:
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.ph...
November 30, 2022
A story of ordeals at the sea of a feisty and valiant character, Robinson Crusoe, the 18-year from England! I proclaim him to be a “Man of Providence” , emerging victorious from all the mayhem, every time!!
Marooned multiple times at various instances, he is saved every time by sheer Providence.
Maybe it is rightly said, fortune favors the brave!
The felicitousness experienced during this adventurous seafaring read embarked my sullen spirit onto a renewed journey of life. Thanks to Daniel Defoe!
Crusoe is persuaded by his father to opt for law as a career, instead to pursue frenetically his passion of being a seafarer. Crusoe’s father like a regular loving father, wants him to seek a modest, secure life for himself. Committed to staying obsequious to his father, he finally succumbs to his temptations and embarks on a ship bound for London along with a friend. The tempestuous storm sets their lives in danger, dissuading the friend from any more sea travel. Crusoe too keeps dilly-dallying in between his father’s advice and his own temptation, and finally sets himself as a merchant on a ship leaving for London. He is fastidious and comes back financially successful, setting on a second voyage, which doesn’t prove as fortunate! The ship is seized by the pirates and he is enslaved and held captive. But he is able to be set free during a fishing expedition, and sail down to the African coast. He meets a kindred Portuguese captain who takes him along to Brazil, where Crusoe establishes himself as a successful plantation owner. Embarking on a slave-gathering expedition to West Africa, he ends up shipwrecked! Being the sole survivor, he seeks food and shelter, keeps a journal documenting his household activities, and logs all his attempts at making candles, and many more exciting daily events, meticulously.
In the June of 1660, he falls sick, and hallucinates of an angel visiting him(I still feel it was for real :P), warning him to repent!
Post recovery, he discovers a pleasant valley abounding in grapes, and constructs a shady retreat, proclaiming himself as its “king”.
“My island was now peopled, and I thought myself very rich in subjects; and it was a merry reflection, which I frequently made, how like a king I looked. First of all, the whole country was my own property, so I had an undoubted right of dominion. Secondly, my people were perfectly subjected - I was absolutely lord and lawgiver - they all owed their lives to me, and were ready to lay down their lives, if there had been an occasion for it, for me.”
The novel is bulky, and is full of a labyrinthine of excitement and thrills!
Robinson Crusoe, throughout the journey, emerged as a grand epic adventurer, worth laudable for previous, present, and future generations. He is astute and dexterous, resourceful and independent. Amidst all difficulties, he never gives up, builds a shelter for himself, manages food, and never disparages anyone or boasts his own strength and luck. Additionally, he is generous and charitable, distributing gifts to his sisters. He does have a tinge of covetousness for possessions, power, and prestige. He addresses himself as a “King of the island”. Though this address seemed more jocund to me!
Robinson Crusoe comes across as an exemplary adventurer and sailor of life, not only of the sea! 😊
He keeps expostulating the regular mundane course of life and allows Providence to sail him through all the adventures of life. 😊
This classic vignette of a seafarer doesn’t deserve anything less than a 5-star!
NB-What appealed to me the most was Crusoe’s intrinsic self-awareness which he banked upon, further whetting it during moments of solace and aloneness, and never letting it abandon him. From not turning into a brute while being marooned on the island, to journaling all alone in his shelter, delineating his wonted spirit-led side! His self-awareness appeared to be his much-wonted accouterment. 😊
Marooned multiple times at various instances, he is saved every time by sheer Providence.
Maybe it is rightly said, fortune favors the brave!
The felicitousness experienced during this adventurous seafaring read embarked my sullen spirit onto a renewed journey of life. Thanks to Daniel Defoe!
Crusoe is persuaded by his father to opt for law as a career, instead to pursue frenetically his passion of being a seafarer. Crusoe’s father like a regular loving father, wants him to seek a modest, secure life for himself. Committed to staying obsequious to his father, he finally succumbs to his temptations and embarks on a ship bound for London along with a friend. The tempestuous storm sets their lives in danger, dissuading the friend from any more sea travel. Crusoe too keeps dilly-dallying in between his father’s advice and his own temptation, and finally sets himself as a merchant on a ship leaving for London. He is fastidious and comes back financially successful, setting on a second voyage, which doesn’t prove as fortunate! The ship is seized by the pirates and he is enslaved and held captive. But he is able to be set free during a fishing expedition, and sail down to the African coast. He meets a kindred Portuguese captain who takes him along to Brazil, where Crusoe establishes himself as a successful plantation owner. Embarking on a slave-gathering expedition to West Africa, he ends up shipwrecked! Being the sole survivor, he seeks food and shelter, keeps a journal documenting his household activities, and logs all his attempts at making candles, and many more exciting daily events, meticulously.
In the June of 1660, he falls sick, and hallucinates of an angel visiting him(I still feel it was for real :P), warning him to repent!
Post recovery, he discovers a pleasant valley abounding in grapes, and constructs a shady retreat, proclaiming himself as its “king”.
“My island was now peopled, and I thought myself very rich in subjects; and it was a merry reflection, which I frequently made, how like a king I looked. First of all, the whole country was my own property, so I had an undoubted right of dominion. Secondly, my people were perfectly subjected - I was absolutely lord and lawgiver - they all owed their lives to me, and were ready to lay down their lives, if there had been an occasion for it, for me.”
The novel is bulky, and is full of a labyrinthine of excitement and thrills!
Robinson Crusoe, throughout the journey, emerged as a grand epic adventurer, worth laudable for previous, present, and future generations. He is astute and dexterous, resourceful and independent. Amidst all difficulties, he never gives up, builds a shelter for himself, manages food, and never disparages anyone or boasts his own strength and luck. Additionally, he is generous and charitable, distributing gifts to his sisters. He does have a tinge of covetousness for possessions, power, and prestige. He addresses himself as a “King of the island”. Though this address seemed more jocund to me!
Robinson Crusoe comes across as an exemplary adventurer and sailor of life, not only of the sea! 😊
He keeps expostulating the regular mundane course of life and allows Providence to sail him through all the adventures of life. 😊
This classic vignette of a seafarer doesn’t deserve anything less than a 5-star!
NB-What appealed to me the most was Crusoe’s intrinsic self-awareness which he banked upon, further whetting it during moments of solace and aloneness, and never letting it abandon him. From not turning into a brute while being marooned on the island, to journaling all alone in his shelter, delineating his wonted spirit-led side! His self-awareness appeared to be his much-wonted accouterment. 😊
July 16, 2022
لقد نجا..و لكن يا لها من نجاة مخيفة..فبعد ان ثار الأزرق الغدار..و ألقى بسفينته محطمة فوق الرمال
يغرق الجميع. .عداه..
ليبقى روبينسون كروزو وحيدا..ليس لديه ما يأكله او يشربه..بلا سلاح..بلا مهارات..ضعيفا ابله..لن يفيده حديثه الفاتن..و لا ذكاؤه الاجتماعي
.هكذا القى دانيال ديفو ببطله بدون شفقة او رحمة..لتبدأ أشهر مغامرة فرديه أدبية ..و لكن هل كان روبينسون او "سكليريك"البطل الأصلي يستحق الرحمة؟
في رأيي. .لا! بل كان يستحق أكثر من 28عام من الوحدة القاسية..
فهو كان من هؤلاء ممن ينثرون الألم و وجع القلب في طريق كل من قابله
لا امانع الوحدة على الاطلاق ..⚪
فهي المرسى و هي المآل لكل منا جزيرته التي يحيا في محيطها مهما كان محاطا بالاهل و الرفاق..و لكنها وحدة مريحة عصرية نتدلل خلالها كثيرا☆☆☆.و سنتاكد من هذا
من خلال الرواية الوصفية المفصلة
..حيث تستغرق المنضدة أسابيع ليكملها كروزو..وتستغرق معنا صفحات.. و قطع الشجرة لصنع🎿 قارب يستغرق..فصول روائية و سنوات عديدة ليكملها
اهم ما تعلمه كروزو في محنته..شكر الله على نجاته و نعمه💡 .لتصبح الرواية من الكلاسيكيات التي تغنيك عن كتبا"كثيرة..
فهي ملخص لكفاح البشر في الحياة ..بدون مواهب فذة ..
او قوة فائقة. او مهارات استثنائية
هو مثل كل واحد فينا. .
قد نتجبر على ما في ايدينا و لكن في المحن نتكيف و لو على الحياة داخل برميل مغلق
يغرق الجميع. .عداه..
ليبقى روبينسون كروزو وحيدا..ليس لديه ما يأكله او يشربه..بلا سلاح..بلا مهارات..ضعيفا ابله..لن يفيده حديثه الفاتن..و لا ذكاؤه الاجتماعي
.هكذا القى دانيال ديفو ببطله بدون شفقة او رحمة..لتبدأ أشهر مغامرة فرديه أدبية ..و لكن هل كان روبينسون او "سكليريك"البطل الأصلي يستحق الرحمة؟
في رأيي. .لا! بل كان يستحق أكثر من 28عام من الوحدة القاسية..
فهو كان من هؤلاء ممن ينثرون الألم و وجع القلب في طريق كل من قابله
لا امانع الوحدة على الاطلاق ..⚪
فهي المرسى و هي المآل لكل منا جزيرته التي يحيا في محيطها مهما كان محاطا بالاهل و الرفاق..و لكنها وحدة مريحة عصرية نتدلل خلالها كثيرا☆☆☆.و سنتاكد من هذا
من خلال الرواية الوصفية المفصلة
..حيث تستغرق المنضدة أسابيع ليكملها كروزو..وتستغرق معنا صفحات.. و قطع الشجرة لصنع🎿 قارب يستغرق..فصول روائية و سنوات عديدة ليكملها
اهم ما تعلمه كروزو في محنته..شكر الله على نجاته و نعمه💡 .لتصبح الرواية من الكلاسيكيات التي تغنيك عن كتبا"كثيرة..
فهي ملخص لكفاح البشر في الحياة ..بدون مواهب فذة ..
او قوة فائقة. او مهارات استثنائية
هو مثل كل واحد فينا. .
قد نتجبر على ما في ايدينا و لكن في المحن نتكيف و لو على الحياة داخل برميل مغلق
March 2, 2022
I know we shouldn't judge the books of yore by today's standards but...I am being tested.
This doesn't just have the bigotry from days past, although yes oh man it has that. We're talking giving native people new names (colonizing even the idea of a first name!), acquiring slaves with the same ease and casualness as I place daily orders on food-delivery apps, racism in every other sentence. We're following a MISSIONARY here, for god's sake.
But not only that: this is the slowest plot of all time.
Imagining an era in which this would have been a guilty pleasure read makes me want to dedicate my life to discovering a time machine so we can bring 18th century people back with us and show them rom coms starring Meg Ryan.
Honestly, my conspiracy theory is that this book is only still around because the first edition said it was BY Robinson Crusoe, so everyone thought it was real. The only excuse for this book's popularity is people thinking it actually happened. Like reading the newspaper, or watching a documentary narrated by a celebrity with a soothing British accent.
But even more boring.
Bottom line: Not for me! Don't really know who it could be for.
--------------
pre-review
i can't wait for two months from now when i can't remember anything about this book.
review to come / 2 stars
--------------
currently-reading updates
well. it's time.
--------------
tbr review
i have never in my life had any interest in reading this book, but i saw a perfect condition used copy of the penguin clothbound edition and bought it immediately.
two things can be true.
This doesn't just have the bigotry from days past, although yes oh man it has that. We're talking giving native people new names (colonizing even the idea of a first name!), acquiring slaves with the same ease and casualness as I place daily orders on food-delivery apps, racism in every other sentence. We're following a MISSIONARY here, for god's sake.
But not only that: this is the slowest plot of all time.
Imagining an era in which this would have been a guilty pleasure read makes me want to dedicate my life to discovering a time machine so we can bring 18th century people back with us and show them rom coms starring Meg Ryan.
Honestly, my conspiracy theory is that this book is only still around because the first edition said it was BY Robinson Crusoe, so everyone thought it was real. The only excuse for this book's popularity is people thinking it actually happened. Like reading the newspaper, or watching a documentary narrated by a celebrity with a soothing British accent.
But even more boring.
Bottom line: Not for me! Don't really know who it could be for.
--------------
pre-review
i can't wait for two months from now when i can't remember anything about this book.
review to come / 2 stars
--------------
currently-reading updates
well. it's time.
--------------
tbr review
i have never in my life had any interest in reading this book, but i saw a perfect condition used copy of the penguin clothbound edition and bought it immediately.
two things can be true.
November 6, 2011
August 1651
Dear Diary,
Woo hoo! Run away to sea at last! Mum and Dad didn't want me to go but honestly, what's the worst that can happen? So far I'm loving life on the ocean wave and have only been a little bit sea sick. Anyway it's Bye bye Hull, hello Honolulu!
Yours, Robinson
January 1653
Dear Diary,
Sorry it's been so long. There was a minor incident with a shipwreck and just when I'd managed to find passage on another boat some pirates turned up and I ended up as a slave. I had to do loads of work for this Moorish guy and while it was all nice and exotic, it's not nice being stripped of all your civil liberties. Anyway I've just escaped with my buddy Xury and we're heading out to sea in order to see if we can flag down a bigger boat, er sorry, ship.
Yours, Robinson
March 1654
Dear Diary,
Just arrived in Brazil - wowee it is hot here. Much hotter than hull at any rate. I'm redder than a snapper on stick and am having a bit of trouble finding my feet. There's some sort of carnival on and I've seen a big hill which would like nice with a big statue of Jesus on it. I've met some nice blokes on the boat and they said they'd help me make my fortune. Someone is predicting that Brazil nuts will be the next big thing come Christmas next year so maybe I'll give that a go.
Yours, Robinson
June 1660
Dear Diary,
Well it's been a while and a lot has happened. I got myself all set up with a nice plantation and enjoyed the good life for a while here but I miss the salty tang of the sea air, the creak of the sails and the gentle rocking of the boat so I've decided to sink my money into slavery and am going to put to sea as soon as I can. I've realised I'm not one for a landlubbers life.
Yours, Robinson
November 1661
Dear Diary,
Well I am literally scuppered. My slaving venture didn't go too well. Guess I should have thought about my own time as a slave with that Moorish guy before I set out in order to profit from other peoples misery but hey, everyone else is doing it and even Bristol are getting in on the trade now by all accounts. Anyway that's all by the by now. We headed for Africa but a devil of storm came and dragged the ship and all the men on down to Davy Jones. I think I'm the only survivor and the sea has spit me up on this miserable sliver of land with only the clothes on my back. A couple of animals survived too. I've called the dog Defoe and the cats are called Swift and Behn. For now I just pet them but if I can't find any food then Defoe is going to make a tidy stir fry. Am off to set up camp now so will write upon my return.
Yours, Robinson
January 1662
Dear Diary,
I've settled in and created a quite minimalist base camp. It's taken a lot of ingenuity to make all the things I need. Wreckage from the ship and flotsam and jetsam have washed ashore and provided me with some raw materials like sails and timber, bits of rope and metal. It's not exactly the Radisson Blue but I'm quite proud of my little house. The cats and rats are multiplying quite ridiculously - I shudder to think what it's doing to the ecosystem. I kill and eat the goats and birds but they're getting wise to my tricks now. I've kept one of the birds as a pet and called him bird brian. I'm having to go further and further afield for food... the other month I fell into a ravine and broke a limb... I thought for certain I was a goner but the lord has been kind to me since I arrived here. I'm not normally one for solitude but the peace and quiet has been educational. I suppose I've become a bit introspective but I don't have much time to mope as staying alive takes up most of my days.
Yours, Robinson
August 1665
Dear Diary,
Visitors! Wish I'd baked something! Turns out they're cannibals though so I guess nice scones and a cup of honest to goodness tea bark probably is not their thing. Was tempted to smite them for being heathenish devils but I'm looking pretty heathenish myself these days and beggars can't be choosers over company at a time like this. One of them chose to stay behind. Can't understand a bloody thing about him and he's not one for chatter. I've called him Friday and he's put up no objections so far. Am looking forward to spending some time with my new friend
Yours, Robinson
March 1672
Dear Diary,
Seven years since I last wrote - well you could have knocked me over with a parrots feather when I realised! Friday and I have become firm friends. Still not a lot of chatter but then a man is glad of companionship without all the additional twittering. He's got a bit of a grip on my lingo now though and has shown an interest in the ways of our Lord. I told him about my big statue idea. He laughed.
Yours, Robinson
April 1685
Dear Diary,
Recently some other cannibals came to the island. They were planning to hot-pot someone but we soon put pay that idea. There was a bit of a to-do and now we have two newly saved captives on our hands. The island is starting to feel quite crowded. One of them is a Spaniard who says his country men are near by and could save us, the other bloke was none other than my man Friday's father. The two of them are off back to the mainland to rustle up a rescue party. I keep thinking about bacon butties.
Yours, Robinson
December 1686
Dear Diary,
Today was my last day on the island. Felt a bit sad to say bye bye. I've grown fond of all its nooks and crannies now, and though admittedly, I would give my eye teeth for a bacon sandwich and a nice cup of tea I suspect that never again shall I experience the resplendent solitude which I experienced on the island. Don't know if I'll ever get used to sleeping in a bed and not a hammock either. I'm thinking of writing about my experiences though. Wonder if this is the sort of thing that people would like to know about? Friday has agreed to come with me which is nice but I'm not sure what he'll think of Hull, after all it's no paradise island.
Yours, Robinson
Dear Diary,
Woo hoo! Run away to sea at last! Mum and Dad didn't want me to go but honestly, what's the worst that can happen? So far I'm loving life on the ocean wave and have only been a little bit sea sick. Anyway it's Bye bye Hull, hello Honolulu!
Yours, Robinson
January 1653
Dear Diary,
Sorry it's been so long. There was a minor incident with a shipwreck and just when I'd managed to find passage on another boat some pirates turned up and I ended up as a slave. I had to do loads of work for this Moorish guy and while it was all nice and exotic, it's not nice being stripped of all your civil liberties. Anyway I've just escaped with my buddy Xury and we're heading out to sea in order to see if we can flag down a bigger boat, er sorry, ship.
Yours, Robinson
March 1654
Dear Diary,
Just arrived in Brazil - wowee it is hot here. Much hotter than hull at any rate. I'm redder than a snapper on stick and am having a bit of trouble finding my feet. There's some sort of carnival on and I've seen a big hill which would like nice with a big statue of Jesus on it. I've met some nice blokes on the boat and they said they'd help me make my fortune. Someone is predicting that Brazil nuts will be the next big thing come Christmas next year so maybe I'll give that a go.
Yours, Robinson
June 1660
Dear Diary,
Well it's been a while and a lot has happened. I got myself all set up with a nice plantation and enjoyed the good life for a while here but I miss the salty tang of the sea air, the creak of the sails and the gentle rocking of the boat so I've decided to sink my money into slavery and am going to put to sea as soon as I can. I've realised I'm not one for a landlubbers life.
Yours, Robinson
November 1661
Dear Diary,
Well I am literally scuppered. My slaving venture didn't go too well. Guess I should have thought about my own time as a slave with that Moorish guy before I set out in order to profit from other peoples misery but hey, everyone else is doing it and even Bristol are getting in on the trade now by all accounts. Anyway that's all by the by now. We headed for Africa but a devil of storm came and dragged the ship and all the men on down to Davy Jones. I think I'm the only survivor and the sea has spit me up on this miserable sliver of land with only the clothes on my back. A couple of animals survived too. I've called the dog Defoe and the cats are called Swift and Behn. For now I just pet them but if I can't find any food then Defoe is going to make a tidy stir fry. Am off to set up camp now so will write upon my return.
Yours, Robinson
January 1662
Dear Diary,
I've settled in and created a quite minimalist base camp. It's taken a lot of ingenuity to make all the things I need. Wreckage from the ship and flotsam and jetsam have washed ashore and provided me with some raw materials like sails and timber, bits of rope and metal. It's not exactly the Radisson Blue but I'm quite proud of my little house. The cats and rats are multiplying quite ridiculously - I shudder to think what it's doing to the ecosystem. I kill and eat the goats and birds but they're getting wise to my tricks now. I've kept one of the birds as a pet and called him bird brian. I'm having to go further and further afield for food... the other month I fell into a ravine and broke a limb... I thought for certain I was a goner but the lord has been kind to me since I arrived here. I'm not normally one for solitude but the peace and quiet has been educational. I suppose I've become a bit introspective but I don't have much time to mope as staying alive takes up most of my days.
Yours, Robinson
August 1665
Dear Diary,
Visitors! Wish I'd baked something! Turns out they're cannibals though so I guess nice scones and a cup of honest to goodness tea bark probably is not their thing. Was tempted to smite them for being heathenish devils but I'm looking pretty heathenish myself these days and beggars can't be choosers over company at a time like this. One of them chose to stay behind. Can't understand a bloody thing about him and he's not one for chatter. I've called him Friday and he's put up no objections so far. Am looking forward to spending some time with my new friend
Yours, Robinson
March 1672
Dear Diary,
Seven years since I last wrote - well you could have knocked me over with a parrots feather when I realised! Friday and I have become firm friends. Still not a lot of chatter but then a man is glad of companionship without all the additional twittering. He's got a bit of a grip on my lingo now though and has shown an interest in the ways of our Lord. I told him about my big statue idea. He laughed.
Yours, Robinson
April 1685
Dear Diary,
Recently some other cannibals came to the island. They were planning to hot-pot someone but we soon put pay that idea. There was a bit of a to-do and now we have two newly saved captives on our hands. The island is starting to feel quite crowded. One of them is a Spaniard who says his country men are near by and could save us, the other bloke was none other than my man Friday's father. The two of them are off back to the mainland to rustle up a rescue party. I keep thinking about bacon butties.
Yours, Robinson
December 1686
Dear Diary,
Today was my last day on the island. Felt a bit sad to say bye bye. I've grown fond of all its nooks and crannies now, and though admittedly, I would give my eye teeth for a bacon sandwich and a nice cup of tea I suspect that never again shall I experience the resplendent solitude which I experienced on the island. Don't know if I'll ever get used to sleeping in a bed and not a hammock either. I'm thinking of writing about my experiences though. Wonder if this is the sort of thing that people would like to know about? Friday has agreed to come with me which is nice but I'm not sure what he'll think of Hull, after all it's no paradise island.
Yours, Robinson
October 6, 2021
As a novel Robinson Crusoe is not the easiest to read, three hundred years separate us, their world and ours will never connect too much has passed for that, however we are the same species with faults and all human.The well known story shows survival is the ultimate prize for the vast majority of creatures called people of the Earth. A lone and lonely man shipwrecked by an intense storm in a hostile foreign environment, far away from his own land in fearful existence as any normal being would be, living from day to day escaping and hiding from cannibals.. A nearby island they come, feasting on captured rival tribes these natives of the Caribbean Sea of the late 1600's never could imagine what will occur in the future here while eating in their banquet and devouring the victims , the creamy-white sands don't stay that color . Today millions of tourists travel to the gorgeous beaches as the Sun's bright rays shine on these happy men and women from cold places seeking relaxation. On the other hand Mr. Crusoe complains of being soaked by the rains...Until Friday shows up his parrot with a limited vocabulary and spicy dialogue I'm sure, being a gentleman the narrator fails to bring to light and you can't consider his other pets the cats , dogs and especially the numerous goats they communicate very little except for dinner (let me be very clear on this they eat, not Mr.Robinson...mostly). Some of the best action scenes are not on the isle but off the island either a long distant from shore or the Atlantic, Arabs of North Africa kidnap the sailor making him a slave but ships sink, pirates are greedy, and while digging for useful items on his beach still the tide flows in, hanging to a piece of wood which was once a ship, yet finding rum has its compensations ...this because our friend ignored his father's warning, leaves anyway the comfortable home at 18 for adventure and suffers for his mistakes...The battle with hungry wolves in the mountains of northern Spain is the best... the frozen ground saturated with blood and angry desperate beasts kill or die their only option. Dislike or enjoy ...a book which changed literature and for the second time shadows of the Earth arose and I touched.
March 6, 2013
Spoiler alert...Robinson Crusoe was a total douchebag. If anyone deserved to get stuck on an island for 28 years, it was this guy. His story begins with his dying father pleading with him to stay at home, but the teenage Crusoe won't have it. He wants to be a sailor, he swears that he's meant to be a sailor, he totally loves the sea - even though he's never been on a boat. So, against his family's wishes he runs off to a buddy's ship. And guess what? He hates it. He's sick all the time, the boat is super rocky, there are too many waves - then, they crash. It's the worst. Somehow, he survives. Once on land he gets drunk with some of his friends and is all like, maybe I was wrong about the sea, maybe it's actually great. So, after a night of binge drinking with the sailors, Crusoe forgets that he hated the sea and vowed never to go to sea again. So, like the idiot that he is, he gets on another boat.
The minute he's on this other boat he's captured by pirates and he's forced to become a slave. Once again, asking for it. So, after a few years of slavery he escapes on a tiny boat. You'd think that once you're MADE INTO A SLAVE, you'd have some pity for other slaves but NO. Not this guy. He escapes on this tiny boat with a guy who is now HIS slave and after making HIS slave kill some huge, dangerous lions - so Crusoe could have a blanket to lay on (what's the slave sleeping on? nothing)- they finally meet some other sailors. Crusoe sells his slave to them and ends up in Brazil. He starts a farm and is doing pretty well, on land, mind you. Of course, old dickish Crusoe forgets how lucky he's been to make it this far, and decides it's time for another voyage. Why? Because he's a lazy prick and wants some free slaves to run his farm. So, he sets off for Africa, and gets what's coming to him. If only it ended there.
After about 24 years on this island he saves this kid, who he names Friday, from being cannibalized. This is the first person he has spoken to in 24 years. And what does he do with him? Makes him into a SLAVE. Why? Because he can't be bothered with making corn and wheat, because he's too busy - being STRANDED ON A DESERTED ISLAND. All he has is time! What do you need a slave for? After a mess of shit, involving more cannibals, some Spaniards and some mutineers - Crusoe and poor Friday make it to civilization. His time off the island is summed up in this paragraph, "In the meantime, I in part settled myself here; for, first of all, I married, and that not either to my disadvantage or dissatisfaction, and had three children, two sons and one daughter; but my wife dying, and my nephew coming home with good success from a voyage to Spain, my inclination to go abroad, and his importunity, prevailed, and engaged me to go in his ship as a private trader to the East Indies; this was in the year 1694." Meaning, the dick is back. He gets married, has some kids and when the wife starts to die he decides it's time to leave! Ring any bells? Dad is dying, time to be a sailor. Same deal. Asshole.
If all that isn't proof enough this guy was a total douche, he drowns a TON of kittens on HIS island, so many he lost count.
The minute he's on this other boat he's captured by pirates and he's forced to become a slave. Once again, asking for it. So, after a few years of slavery he escapes on a tiny boat. You'd think that once you're MADE INTO A SLAVE, you'd have some pity for other slaves but NO. Not this guy. He escapes on this tiny boat with a guy who is now HIS slave and after making HIS slave kill some huge, dangerous lions - so Crusoe could have a blanket to lay on (what's the slave sleeping on? nothing)- they finally meet some other sailors. Crusoe sells his slave to them and ends up in Brazil. He starts a farm and is doing pretty well, on land, mind you. Of course, old dickish Crusoe forgets how lucky he's been to make it this far, and decides it's time for another voyage. Why? Because he's a lazy prick and wants some free slaves to run his farm. So, he sets off for Africa, and gets what's coming to him. If only it ended there.
After about 24 years on this island he saves this kid, who he names Friday, from being cannibalized. This is the first person he has spoken to in 24 years. And what does he do with him? Makes him into a SLAVE. Why? Because he can't be bothered with making corn and wheat, because he's too busy - being STRANDED ON A DESERTED ISLAND. All he has is time! What do you need a slave for? After a mess of shit, involving more cannibals, some Spaniards and some mutineers - Crusoe and poor Friday make it to civilization. His time off the island is summed up in this paragraph, "In the meantime, I in part settled myself here; for, first of all, I married, and that not either to my disadvantage or dissatisfaction, and had three children, two sons and one daughter; but my wife dying, and my nephew coming home with good success from a voyage to Spain, my inclination to go abroad, and his importunity, prevailed, and engaged me to go in his ship as a private trader to the East Indies; this was in the year 1694." Meaning, the dick is back. He gets married, has some kids and when the wife starts to die he decides it's time to leave! Ring any bells? Dad is dying, time to be a sailor. Same deal. Asshole.
If all that isn't proof enough this guy was a total douche, he drowns a TON of kittens on HIS island, so many he lost count.
December 6, 2020
Around the year 1704, Alexander Selkirk, a 28 years old Scottish privateer was marooned, at his request, on a desert island off the coast of Chile. He managed to survive there for about five years until he was rescued and brought back to England. The young man died a few years later on a voyage to Africa, but his story as a castaway became a legend. At the time of Selkirk’s death, Daniel Defoe, an English businessman and journalist, had just published a book inspired by his adventure, taking some liberties, particularly with the setting and timing: Robinson’s ship runs aground off the coasts of Brazil, and he survives there for some thirty years, no less!
Supposedly, Robinson Crusoe is one of the first modern novels written in English. To be sure, this book soon became a significant landmark in English literature, translated into almost as many languages as the Harry Potter series. It’s also considered a classic adventure tale for young readers; a claim that isn’t completely clear to me, given the archaisms and relative difficulty of the text itself.
The story is told in the form of a journal, but with considerable after-the-fact knowledge of the events and with many tangents along the way. The first few (the Salee pirates) and last few chapters (the crossing of the Pyrenees) are a bit off-topic. I was especially struck by the sheer amount of religious considerations, to the point that this book most strongly reminded me of Saint Augustine’s Confessions: in Robinson, as in Augustine’s book, a mature gentleman recalls his youthful mistakes and, as a new prodigal son, expresses his gratitude toward God for eventually redeeming him.
In the meantime, of course, we are instructed in all the uneventful particulars of the protagonist’s existence on the island: how he managed to build himself a shelter, how he learned to grow crop and make his bread, how he used his gun for hunting and later implemented livestock farming around his “castle”… In short, how, through intelligence and industry, 18th-century Europeans could truly become “comme maîtres et possesseurs de la nature.” (Descartes, Discourse on Method). When Robinson finally meets Friday, the noble savage, he also realises that, although casual cannibals are an abomination before the Lord, a man in the state of nature is genuinely good and has an innate intuition of Christian theology. In that sense, Defoe’s book is a harbinger of 18th and 19th-century Western imperialism, and truly epitomises the optimistic views of the Enlightenment.
Edit: In hindsight, there are three particularly memorable moments in Robinson’s adventure that come back to mind and are, each time, a bewildering epiphany to the protagonist and the reader: the discovery of the corn sprouts rescued from the shipwreck, which will allow the hero to survive; the finding of the first human footprint on the sand, after many years of solitude; the sickening revelation of the mass grave, just after the landing of the cannibals, which leads to the adventurous epilogue of the novel.
If Robinson is at the same time a new Adam, a new Ulysses, a new Sindbad or even a modern Prospero, it is practically impossible to make a list of all the later works that were directly or indirectly influenced by Dafoe’s novel: Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels, Edgar Poe's Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym, Herman Melville's Moby-Dick, L. Frank Baum's Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Robert Stevenson’s Treasure Island, Jules Verne’s Mysterious Island, H. G. Wells’ Island of Dr. Moreau, Michel Tournier's Friday, or, The Other Island, J. M. G. Le Clézio’s Le chercheur d'or, Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild, Cormac McCarthy's The Road, Andy Weir's The Martian, RKO’s King Kong, Tom Hanks’ Cast Away, J. J. Abrams’ Lost, just to name a few. Indeed, Robinson, on his own, has been fruitful and has multiplied!
Supposedly, Robinson Crusoe is one of the first modern novels written in English. To be sure, this book soon became a significant landmark in English literature, translated into almost as many languages as the Harry Potter series. It’s also considered a classic adventure tale for young readers; a claim that isn’t completely clear to me, given the archaisms and relative difficulty of the text itself.
The story is told in the form of a journal, but with considerable after-the-fact knowledge of the events and with many tangents along the way. The first few (the Salee pirates) and last few chapters (the crossing of the Pyrenees) are a bit off-topic. I was especially struck by the sheer amount of religious considerations, to the point that this book most strongly reminded me of Saint Augustine’s Confessions: in Robinson, as in Augustine’s book, a mature gentleman recalls his youthful mistakes and, as a new prodigal son, expresses his gratitude toward God for eventually redeeming him.
In the meantime, of course, we are instructed in all the uneventful particulars of the protagonist’s existence on the island: how he managed to build himself a shelter, how he learned to grow crop and make his bread, how he used his gun for hunting and later implemented livestock farming around his “castle”… In short, how, through intelligence and industry, 18th-century Europeans could truly become “comme maîtres et possesseurs de la nature.” (Descartes, Discourse on Method). When Robinson finally meets Friday, the noble savage, he also realises that, although casual cannibals are an abomination before the Lord, a man in the state of nature is genuinely good and has an innate intuition of Christian theology. In that sense, Defoe’s book is a harbinger of 18th and 19th-century Western imperialism, and truly epitomises the optimistic views of the Enlightenment.
Edit: In hindsight, there are three particularly memorable moments in Robinson’s adventure that come back to mind and are, each time, a bewildering epiphany to the protagonist and the reader: the discovery of the corn sprouts rescued from the shipwreck, which will allow the hero to survive; the finding of the first human footprint on the sand, after many years of solitude; the sickening revelation of the mass grave, just after the landing of the cannibals, which leads to the adventurous epilogue of the novel.
If Robinson is at the same time a new Adam, a new Ulysses, a new Sindbad or even a modern Prospero, it is practically impossible to make a list of all the later works that were directly or indirectly influenced by Dafoe’s novel: Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels, Edgar Poe's Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym, Herman Melville's Moby-Dick, L. Frank Baum's Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Robert Stevenson’s Treasure Island, Jules Verne’s Mysterious Island, H. G. Wells’ Island of Dr. Moreau, Michel Tournier's Friday, or, The Other Island, J. M. G. Le Clézio’s Le chercheur d'or, Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild, Cormac McCarthy's The Road, Andy Weir's The Martian, RKO’s King Kong, Tom Hanks’ Cast Away, J. J. Abrams’ Lost, just to name a few. Indeed, Robinson, on his own, has been fruitful and has multiplied!
August 9, 2017
Robinson Crusoe was the first book I had read by myself – I was absolutely entranced, I had no smallest idea that books could be so hypnotizing. Strange may it seem but most of all I enjoyed reading the lists of the items Robinson was salvaging from the wrecked ship.
“My next care was for some ammunition and arms. There were two very good fowling-pieces in the great cabin, and two pistols. These I secured first, with some powder-horns and a small bag of shot, and two old rusty swords. I knew there were three barrels of powder in the ship, but knew not where our gunner had stowed them; but with much search I found them, two of them dry and good, the third had taken water. Those two I got to my raft with the arms.”
I dreamt to be shipwrecked and to have all that stuff for myself and to live on some desert tropical isle where there’s no winter and coconuts just lie underfoot. And I followed Robinson step by step participating in all his adventures and misadventures.
But somehow after Robinson Crusoe had found his man Friday the charms started dissipating… His solitude and lonely existence in the wilderness were much more enchanting.
Robinson Crusoe is a book one should read in one’s childhood otherwise the greater part of its romantic charms would be lost. And although I was literally stunned by this novel I never had a desire to reread it.
Robinson Crusoe is a timeless memorial to the human willpower and invincible will to live.
“My next care was for some ammunition and arms. There were two very good fowling-pieces in the great cabin, and two pistols. These I secured first, with some powder-horns and a small bag of shot, and two old rusty swords. I knew there were three barrels of powder in the ship, but knew not where our gunner had stowed them; but with much search I found them, two of them dry and good, the third had taken water. Those two I got to my raft with the arms.”
I dreamt to be shipwrecked and to have all that stuff for myself and to live on some desert tropical isle where there’s no winter and coconuts just lie underfoot. And I followed Robinson step by step participating in all his adventures and misadventures.
But somehow after Robinson Crusoe had found his man Friday the charms started dissipating… His solitude and lonely existence in the wilderness were much more enchanting.
Robinson Crusoe is a book one should read in one’s childhood otherwise the greater part of its romantic charms would be lost. And although I was literally stunned by this novel I never had a desire to reread it.
Robinson Crusoe is a timeless memorial to the human willpower and invincible will to live.
December 29, 2008
Hoo-boy!
I'm surprised and amazed and dismayed by the ex post facto muy-contempo correct-nosity readings below...shouldn't be, I guess, but am.
Gee whillikers, kids, uhm, here's one of the great social and, perhaps even more, spiritual documents of Western Civ, and it's a ripping read that declared ongoing archetypes, and it's getting dissed for...for being a bit blind to its own time. Which of us won't end up wishing for at least that when our tombstone gets knocked over?
'sides which, how many first novelists can say they wrote the actual first novel? Hmmm?
I'm surprised and amazed and dismayed by the ex post facto muy-contempo correct-nosity readings below...shouldn't be, I guess, but am.
Gee whillikers, kids, uhm, here's one of the great social and, perhaps even more, spiritual documents of Western Civ, and it's a ripping read that declared ongoing archetypes, and it's getting dissed for...for being a bit blind to its own time. Which of us won't end up wishing for at least that when our tombstone gets knocked over?
'sides which, how many first novelists can say they wrote the actual first novel? Hmmm?
April 17, 2019
"El mundo se me aparecía como algo remoto, que en nada me concernía y del que nada debía esperar o desear. En una palabra, me hallaba del todo aislado… me habitué a considerarlo en la forma en que acaso lo hacemos cuando ya no estamos en él… y bien podía decir como el patriarca Abraham al hombre rico: “Entre tú y yo hay un abismo."
Si hay algo que tengo que reconocerle a “Robinson Crusoe” es que según mi opinión dista mucho de considerarse como un libro de literatura juvenil, más allá de las constantes aventuras a las que es sometido el personaje principal. No es “La Isla del Tesoro” ni “Las aventuras de Huckleberry Finn” "Los viajes de Gulliver" o cualquiera de las pintorescas novelas de Julio Verne. Daniel Defoe le imprimió otra dinámica al relato, le rodeó de circunstancias que llevan a Crusoe a ciertos extremos que ponen en juego su nivel de cordura, cuando recién naufraga en esa isla desierta. Hizo de este personaje un hombre que se sobrepone a todo, gracias a su temple, su personalidad y destrezas y que no cejará hasta volver a Inglaterra.
Es importante remarcar las coincidencias entre Defoe y Crusoe. Ambos son hábiles comerciantes. En el caso de Defoe con vino y tabaco y en el de Crusoe con sus plantaciones en el Brasil y en ambos casos también, el tema de la trata de esclavos. Cabe recordar que en pleno siglo XVII era una actividad perfectamente normal; de hecho Crusoe naufraga en un barco que realizaba este tipo de tareas.
El caso de Robinson Crusoe ha sido analizado profundamente por los especialistas en lo psicológico, dado que lo que narra Defoe a partir de su estadía en la isla está relacionado a la soledad y la alienación del ser humano. Algunas frases son realmente profundas y nos hacen reflexionar a partir del punto de pensar en cómo reaccionaríamos nosotros mismos en una situación similar a la del célebre náufrago.
Cuando Defoe vislumbra que un navío ha encallado cerca de su isla pero todos perecen hace sentir su clamor: "Tal era mi ferviente deseo de que tan solo un hombre se hubiese salvado: ¡Oh, si tan solo uno se hubiese salvado! Repetía una y mil veces: ¡Oh, si tan solo uno se hubiese salvado!, pero sigue adelante con su solitaria vida. Sólo le queda confiar en Dios, de quien no rehúye ni reniega nunca" y de su Biblia, tal vez, un libro (y no cualquier libro) que Defoe inteligentemente le deja a su personaje para asirse a él como tabla de salvación.
Sus ruegos son escuchados y cuando desembarcan caníbales en la isla trayendo prisioneros, logra rescatar a un negro, a quien bautiza Viernes y que será su fiel compañero. Una recompensa de Dios luego de veintitantos años de soledad absoluta. Y Viernes no lo defraudará.
Un querido amigo mío que es escritor siempre me comenta que la gran mayoría de los personajes más importantes necesitan indefectiblemente (por más solos que se encuentren) un compañero a su lado. En esta famosa lista de compañeros nombro algunos como Sancho Panza en "Don Quijote" (para mí, el compañero ideal), o el Doctor John H. Watson en las novelas de Sherlock Holmes, Queequeg en "Moby Dick", Mephistófeles en "Fausto", Virgilio en "La Divina Comedia", Stephen Dédalus en "Ulises" y muchos más.
Claro, que en el caso de Robinson Crusoe, este debe esperar veinticuatro años hasta la aparición del fiel Viernes. ¡Estamos hablando de un cuarto de vida! ¿Qué ser humano puede mantener coherente su mente y espíritu con una estadía de soledad tan abrumadora y absoluta? Pues Robinson Crusoe, quien luego de entender su situación, con el correr de los años aprenderá en forma autodidáctica a sembrar y cosechar, ser carpintero, construir un dos refugios a los que denomina "mi castillo", hacer sus propias prendas, criar cabras, ordeñarlas, hacer pan, pasas de uvas, camastros y rudimentarios muebles. En fin, tiene toda una vida por delante mientras nadie venga a rescatarlo, con lo cual potencia el desarrollo de tantas habilidades.
Los biógrafos de Defoe dicen que el escritor se inspiró en el caso del naufrago Alexander Selkirk, un bucanero que después de pelarse con su capitán, pide que lo dejen en una isla a 560 kilómetros de Chile y donde permanece sólo por cuatro años.
Pero Robinson Crusoe deja su isla luego de permanecer más de veintiocho años, ya entrado en años, curtido y aún más experimentado ante la vida, una vida a la que no le reprocha nada sino que utiliza como parte del aprendizaje que fogueará su personalidad única.
Vendrían después otros famosos náufragos de la literatura como Arthur Gordon Pym de Edgar Allan Poe, el caso verídico de Alejandro Velazco, quien fuera llevado a la literatura por Gabriel García Márquez en "Relato de un náufrago" e incluso una deliciosa novela llamada "El caballero que cayó al mar", de H.C. Lewis, el respetable gentleman Henry Person Standish, quien se cae accidentalmente del Arabella y que este desconocido autor retrata notablemente a partir de su caída al mar. Pero Robinson Crusoe es el primero y el más famoso.
Tal vez, esta frase que aparece en la contratapa de la edición de Penguin Clásicos que leí y que afortunadamente está traducida por el genial Julio Cortázar define perfectamente a esta genial novela: "La verdadera grandeza de una vida consiste en llegar a ser dueño de uno mismo."
Desde su isla desierta, Robinson Crusoe nos da una lección de vida.
Si hay algo que tengo que reconocerle a “Robinson Crusoe” es que según mi opinión dista mucho de considerarse como un libro de literatura juvenil, más allá de las constantes aventuras a las que es sometido el personaje principal. No es “La Isla del Tesoro” ni “Las aventuras de Huckleberry Finn” "Los viajes de Gulliver" o cualquiera de las pintorescas novelas de Julio Verne. Daniel Defoe le imprimió otra dinámica al relato, le rodeó de circunstancias que llevan a Crusoe a ciertos extremos que ponen en juego su nivel de cordura, cuando recién naufraga en esa isla desierta. Hizo de este personaje un hombre que se sobrepone a todo, gracias a su temple, su personalidad y destrezas y que no cejará hasta volver a Inglaterra.
Es importante remarcar las coincidencias entre Defoe y Crusoe. Ambos son hábiles comerciantes. En el caso de Defoe con vino y tabaco y en el de Crusoe con sus plantaciones en el Brasil y en ambos casos también, el tema de la trata de esclavos. Cabe recordar que en pleno siglo XVII era una actividad perfectamente normal; de hecho Crusoe naufraga en un barco que realizaba este tipo de tareas.
El caso de Robinson Crusoe ha sido analizado profundamente por los especialistas en lo psicológico, dado que lo que narra Defoe a partir de su estadía en la isla está relacionado a la soledad y la alienación del ser humano. Algunas frases son realmente profundas y nos hacen reflexionar a partir del punto de pensar en cómo reaccionaríamos nosotros mismos en una situación similar a la del célebre náufrago.
Cuando Defoe vislumbra que un navío ha encallado cerca de su isla pero todos perecen hace sentir su clamor: "Tal era mi ferviente deseo de que tan solo un hombre se hubiese salvado: ¡Oh, si tan solo uno se hubiese salvado! Repetía una y mil veces: ¡Oh, si tan solo uno se hubiese salvado!, pero sigue adelante con su solitaria vida. Sólo le queda confiar en Dios, de quien no rehúye ni reniega nunca" y de su Biblia, tal vez, un libro (y no cualquier libro) que Defoe inteligentemente le deja a su personaje para asirse a él como tabla de salvación.
Sus ruegos son escuchados y cuando desembarcan caníbales en la isla trayendo prisioneros, logra rescatar a un negro, a quien bautiza Viernes y que será su fiel compañero. Una recompensa de Dios luego de veintitantos años de soledad absoluta. Y Viernes no lo defraudará.
Un querido amigo mío que es escritor siempre me comenta que la gran mayoría de los personajes más importantes necesitan indefectiblemente (por más solos que se encuentren) un compañero a su lado. En esta famosa lista de compañeros nombro algunos como Sancho Panza en "Don Quijote" (para mí, el compañero ideal), o el Doctor John H. Watson en las novelas de Sherlock Holmes, Queequeg en "Moby Dick", Mephistófeles en "Fausto", Virgilio en "La Divina Comedia", Stephen Dédalus en "Ulises" y muchos más.
Claro, que en el caso de Robinson Crusoe, este debe esperar veinticuatro años hasta la aparición del fiel Viernes. ¡Estamos hablando de un cuarto de vida! ¿Qué ser humano puede mantener coherente su mente y espíritu con una estadía de soledad tan abrumadora y absoluta? Pues Robinson Crusoe, quien luego de entender su situación, con el correr de los años aprenderá en forma autodidáctica a sembrar y cosechar, ser carpintero, construir un dos refugios a los que denomina "mi castillo", hacer sus propias prendas, criar cabras, ordeñarlas, hacer pan, pasas de uvas, camastros y rudimentarios muebles. En fin, tiene toda una vida por delante mientras nadie venga a rescatarlo, con lo cual potencia el desarrollo de tantas habilidades.
Los biógrafos de Defoe dicen que el escritor se inspiró en el caso del naufrago Alexander Selkirk, un bucanero que después de pelarse con su capitán, pide que lo dejen en una isla a 560 kilómetros de Chile y donde permanece sólo por cuatro años.
Pero Robinson Crusoe deja su isla luego de permanecer más de veintiocho años, ya entrado en años, curtido y aún más experimentado ante la vida, una vida a la que no le reprocha nada sino que utiliza como parte del aprendizaje que fogueará su personalidad única.
Vendrían después otros famosos náufragos de la literatura como Arthur Gordon Pym de Edgar Allan Poe, el caso verídico de Alejandro Velazco, quien fuera llevado a la literatura por Gabriel García Márquez en "Relato de un náufrago" e incluso una deliciosa novela llamada "El caballero que cayó al mar", de H.C. Lewis, el respetable gentleman Henry Person Standish, quien se cae accidentalmente del Arabella y que este desconocido autor retrata notablemente a partir de su caída al mar. Pero Robinson Crusoe es el primero y el más famoso.
Tal vez, esta frase que aparece en la contratapa de la edición de Penguin Clásicos que leí y que afortunadamente está traducida por el genial Julio Cortázar define perfectamente a esta genial novela: "La verdadera grandeza de una vida consiste en llegar a ser dueño de uno mismo."
Desde su isla desierta, Robinson Crusoe nos da una lección de vida.
July 15, 2017
Many consider this the first English novel. It was published in 1719, and the setting was around 1650. But the amazing thing about this novel is that it's timeless. Being stranded on a deserted island would be much the same today as it was 350 years ago. It's a great tale though, one I grew up with, along with Treasure Island and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. The 18th century writing style is a negative for most kids today I would think.
March 7, 2017
It is hard to estimate the literary (and cultural) impact of Robinson Crusoe.
First published in 1719, this is certainly the benchmark upon which most all castaway stories have been judged since. Though I had to consider that Shakespeare’s The Tempest was published in 1610. No magicians or witches here, and no Calaban lurking in the shadows, this is all about everyman Robin taking care of business on an island that may have been present day Tobago.
Having never read the novel before, I still felt like I knew the story, simply because of all the references to it that exist in various media. What is not generally known is the quality and style of writing and the very illuminating before and after chapters, particularly his dangerous travails in seventeenth century France, that had more than its share of wild trails and snarling beasts.
This is also an introspective work, with a loner of more than twenty years having plenty of time on his hands to consider social, economic, political, philosophical and theological mysteries.
A book everyone should read.
First published in 1719, this is certainly the benchmark upon which most all castaway stories have been judged since. Though I had to consider that Shakespeare’s The Tempest was published in 1610. No magicians or witches here, and no Calaban lurking in the shadows, this is all about everyman Robin taking care of business on an island that may have been present day Tobago.
Having never read the novel before, I still felt like I knew the story, simply because of all the references to it that exist in various media. What is not generally known is the quality and style of writing and the very illuminating before and after chapters, particularly his dangerous travails in seventeenth century France, that had more than its share of wild trails and snarling beasts.
This is also an introspective work, with a loner of more than twenty years having plenty of time on his hands to consider social, economic, political, philosophical and theological mysteries.
A book everyone should read.
March 8, 2018
I'm so happy this nightmare is over! I only trudged through to the end because it's a classic.
Look at me, yes me, I'm Robinson Crusoe and I'm stuck here on this Island and I'm going to tell you all about it, down to the minutest detail... oh and I'm going to do this more than once and... if that's not good enough, I'm going to tell you how I found Providence - that's right - because there is a reason I survived the sunk ship, so I'm going to thank Providence over and over and over and, just when you thought I was humble enough, I'm going to show you how human I am and how things go wrong when I forget to thank Providence, so I'll do it all over again and again and again. Since I'm on this Island all by myself for 200 pages long, you'll have to put up with every wisp of internal monolog too, that's right. And I'm going to be scared and worried until I figure out each obstacle - even though you'll hope for tension and excitement about the state of my imagined dangers, there's really nothing to worry about. I'm a genius, yes, because even though I was stuck here at a young age all by myself, and even though I hardly knew a thing about the world beforehand, I'm going to figure out farming, goat herding, carpentry, sewing, weaponry, tool making, boat building and so many other skills, and I'm going to be an expert in each one of them. Ok ok, you've put up with all of this right? Now I'm going to reward you with a bit of action here and there for the last 100 pages, but mind you, I'm never in real danger and I'll always be the victor and supreme ruler of my Island, AND I'll thank Providence after each victory. Basically, I'm blessed and everyone I'm in touch with will have good fortune and will give me in return nothing but good fortune, no one will ever cheat me, lie to me, betray me, hurt me or do any evil unto me. There you are, everything works out, smooth sailing all the way, the end.
Look at me, yes me, I'm Robinson Crusoe and I'm stuck here on this Island and I'm going to tell you all about it, down to the minutest detail... oh and I'm going to do this more than once and... if that's not good enough, I'm going to tell you how I found Providence - that's right - because there is a reason I survived the sunk ship, so I'm going to thank Providence over and over and over and, just when you thought I was humble enough, I'm going to show you how human I am and how things go wrong when I forget to thank Providence, so I'll do it all over again and again and again. Since I'm on this Island all by myself for 200 pages long, you'll have to put up with every wisp of internal monolog too, that's right. And I'm going to be scared and worried until I figure out each obstacle - even though you'll hope for tension and excitement about the state of my imagined dangers, there's really nothing to worry about. I'm a genius, yes, because even though I was stuck here at a young age all by myself, and even though I hardly knew a thing about the world beforehand, I'm going to figure out farming, goat herding, carpentry, sewing, weaponry, tool making, boat building and so many other skills, and I'm going to be an expert in each one of them. Ok ok, you've put up with all of this right? Now I'm going to reward you with a bit of action here and there for the last 100 pages, but mind you, I'm never in real danger and I'll always be the victor and supreme ruler of my Island, AND I'll thank Providence after each victory. Basically, I'm blessed and everyone I'm in touch with will have good fortune and will give me in return nothing but good fortune, no one will ever cheat me, lie to me, betray me, hurt me or do any evil unto me. There you are, everything works out, smooth sailing all the way, the end.
September 1, 2013
Alright, well I am going to respond to those who think that the only way you could not enjoy this book is if you are looking back from a privileged 21st century point of view and judging the actions of our less socially conscious ancestors.
I read this book as a part of my 18th century literature class, so I have been reading a lot of novels written around the same time and with a number of the same themes. I have been able to enjoy many of them despite some uncomfortable and shocking moments of racism and superior Christian colonialist sentiment, though the religious rhetoric in Robinson Crusoe was admittedly far beyond that of any of the other books I've read in this course and very difficult to swallow as a result.
The reason I did not enjoy Robinson Crusoe is that nothing in this novel made me care for or invest in any element of it. The main character is psychologically flat and completely lacking in complexity, seeming to suffer absolutely no ill effects from being completely alone for 25 years or so. The drama is contrived and not suspenseful. As I don't really care for the main character, I don't really care if he were to be eaten by pagan cannibals. The over detail, while perhaps a comment on the plodding, relentlessly boring life of an isolated islander, could be eliminated entirely. I do not need to know how much bread someone ate on a particular day or how to make clay pots. The plot left absolute GAPING holes in it's wake, which I do realize is a symptom of lack of editing and the cost of paper at the time, but it still made it difficult to enjoy parts of the novel.
Those are some of the reasons that I personally did not enjoy this novel. I do not disagree with it's status as a classic because it was an important novel in it's time and obviously provides an excellent commentary on British attitudes of the 18th century. I simply did not enjoy it, but that does not diminish it's importance. I think that to accuse people of not enjoying the novel because of a lack of understanding of the time in which this was written is an oversimplification and I will remind you that many people writing these reviews, such as myself, enjoy other novels written in the same period despite their cringeworthy racist or zealous moments.
I read this book as a part of my 18th century literature class, so I have been reading a lot of novels written around the same time and with a number of the same themes. I have been able to enjoy many of them despite some uncomfortable and shocking moments of racism and superior Christian colonialist sentiment, though the religious rhetoric in Robinson Crusoe was admittedly far beyond that of any of the other books I've read in this course and very difficult to swallow as a result.
The reason I did not enjoy Robinson Crusoe is that nothing in this novel made me care for or invest in any element of it. The main character is psychologically flat and completely lacking in complexity, seeming to suffer absolutely no ill effects from being completely alone for 25 years or so. The drama is contrived and not suspenseful. As I don't really care for the main character, I don't really care if he were to be eaten by pagan cannibals. The over detail, while perhaps a comment on the plodding, relentlessly boring life of an isolated islander, could be eliminated entirely. I do not need to know how much bread someone ate on a particular day or how to make clay pots. The plot left absolute GAPING holes in it's wake, which I do realize is a symptom of lack of editing and the cost of paper at the time, but it still made it difficult to enjoy parts of the novel.
Those are some of the reasons that I personally did not enjoy this novel. I do not disagree with it's status as a classic because it was an important novel in it's time and obviously provides an excellent commentary on British attitudes of the 18th century. I simply did not enjoy it, but that does not diminish it's importance. I think that to accuse people of not enjoying the novel because of a lack of understanding of the time in which this was written is an oversimplification and I will remind you that many people writing these reviews, such as myself, enjoy other novels written in the same period despite their cringeworthy racist or zealous moments.
March 19, 2018
2 1/2 stars. There are two main ways I could view Robinson Crusoe - firstly, as a reader who reads for enjoyment and entertainment, and secondly, as someone offering a more critical analysis of historical attitudes. To be honest, though, the book doesn't fare too well under either microscope.
As a novel for enjoyment, it's about the titular character being shipwrecked on an island many believe to be based on Tobago, near Trinidad. There's a whole lot of survival skills going on (but a modern reader will likely have read more compelling accounts of survival) and Crusoe finds himself facing native cannibals and captives. The style is distant and emotionless, only marginally more readable than Swift's Gulliver's Travels, but that is largely due to the more simplistic narrative.
The parts where Crusoe turns to his knowledge of European agriculture to survive are particularly tedious for any reader not interested in production theory, trade and economics.
Looking at this book through the eyes of history, it's something of an advocate for colonialism and European superiority. Crusoe arrives on this island and quickly attempts to adjust it to his own expectations of civilization, even to the point of wanting the prisoners as slaves. It should also be pointed out that Crusoe is shipwrecked during a voyage to acquire African slaves. He survives by using his European knowledge, adapting very little, killing off natives, and embracing Christianity.
Crusoe is the intelligent European and the natives, including his one friend - Friday, are savages. He becomes a "king" figure of this "colony" and the conclusion appears to be that he brings civilization to these backward peoples. Perhaps interesting as a view of European mentality in the 18th century, but frankly quite nauseating to sit through today.
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As a novel for enjoyment, it's about the titular character being shipwrecked on an island many believe to be based on Tobago, near Trinidad. There's a whole lot of survival skills going on (but a modern reader will likely have read more compelling accounts of survival) and Crusoe finds himself facing native cannibals and captives. The style is distant and emotionless, only marginally more readable than Swift's Gulliver's Travels, but that is largely due to the more simplistic narrative.
The parts where Crusoe turns to his knowledge of European agriculture to survive are particularly tedious for any reader not interested in production theory, trade and economics.
Looking at this book through the eyes of history, it's something of an advocate for colonialism and European superiority. Crusoe arrives on this island and quickly attempts to adjust it to his own expectations of civilization, even to the point of wanting the prisoners as slaves. It should also be pointed out that Crusoe is shipwrecked during a voyage to acquire African slaves. He survives by using his European knowledge, adapting very little, killing off natives, and embracing Christianity.
Crusoe is the intelligent European and the natives, including his one friend - Friday, are savages. He becomes a "king" figure of this "colony" and the conclusion appears to be that he brings civilization to these backward peoples. Perhaps interesting as a view of European mentality in the 18th century, but frankly quite nauseating to sit through today.
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March 8, 2022
Those people cannot enjoy comfortably what God has given them because they see and covet what He has not given them. All of our discontents for what we want appear to me to spring from want of thankfulness for what we have.Robinson Crusoe is, of course, a classic novel written 300 years ago. It is surprisingly inventive, with such detail about trying to survive after being shipwrecked on a deserted island that one would expect the author had survived such a situation. And it may be the first book ever to end by teasing a sequel (which he apparently did write later).
Alas, large parts of Robinson Crusoe just don’t hold up today. At least half the book is an overly detailed account of scavenging, farming, building things, and random encounters with animals. The action picks up when the character Friday comes onto the scene—two-thirds of the way through the story—but so does the casual racism. It’s the ending, though, that is the biggest disappointment. 28 years stranded on the island, and when Robinson Crusoe finally gets back to England, it’s all minutiae about his land holdings and money and amazingly—inconceivably—a return trip to the island. There are no reunions or reconciliations, no passages reflecting on his experience, no emotion to any of it. It might have worked as storytelling 300 years ago, but Robinson Crusoe lacks what the modern reader wants and expects.
July 20, 2014
Now and then it's good to go back and read a book written three hundred years or so ago. The mind-shift necessary you need to make to enjoy the book keeps your brain limber, cleans the mental attic of the literary clutter that has accumulated- that a book needs to be fast-paced, that the dialogue needs to be witty and revealing, that long descriptions are boring. So you read a book that doesn't meet any of the standards someone has told you a good book should meet and you still enjoy it because somehow you allowed yourself to enter and accept the author's and the book's world. I say this because I think Robinson Crusoe is a book that doesn't quite transcend its time, like say Don Quixote, a book that is both of its time but also magically contemporary. Robinson Crusoe's world is the world of 18th century England, a world where a person's highest achievement is the use of reason to make life more comfortable. Crusoe's challenge is twofold. Externally, he needs to use his reason to survive. Internally, he must use his reason to conquer fear and despair. This account of Robinson Crusoe's internal journey was an unexpected pleasure. It is a journey that we can all identify with - the journey from anger at our hardship to resignation and acceptance to tranquillity and peace to end finally in gratitude for life itself, despite the hardship, which is as good a way as any to define joy. Crusoe is aided in this journey by the Bible he rescued and by prayer, but really the mental transformation is more the result of reason, of the ability of Crusoe to direct his thoughts, through constant practice, in one particular direction and away from another. Defoe's gods are, when all is said and done, reason and will. There were a lot of things about this book that I would "fix" if I were an editor and this came across my desk in 2014. I would throw in some kind of sexual desire or sexual fantasies of some kind of which there are unrealistically none in this book. I would have Defoe admire trees and plants and animals a little more for their beauty and less for their potential use as shelter or food. Of course Friday would be treated as an equal to Crusoe and not as a servant. But this book was written in 1719 and not 2014. It belongs there so when you read it let yourself go, surrender yourself to that time and those thoughts and enjoy and take simply what the book gives.
December 28, 2021
Best book I read in March 2021
“Nací en el año de 1632 en la ciudad de York, en una buena familia aunque no originaria del país, pues mi padre era un extranjero de Bremen que se había instalado en Hull.”
Así da inicio Robinson Crusoe y así termino una de las mejores experiencias lectoras que he tenido en mucho tiempo.
Creo que todo el mundo conoce la historia de Robinson Crusoe, el náufrago más famoso de la literatura, haya o no haya leído la obra, y es que se me hace muy curioso que cuando salió publicada por primera vez, en el año de 1719, esta incluía un subtítulo muy largo, casi como un párrafo mediano, donde revelaba la trama, puntos claves de la historia y algunos momentos emotivos que suceden a lo largo de la misma.
Lo anterior me hace pensar que lo que importa en esta obra —una obra maestra está de más añadir— es el ‘cómo’ lo cuenta Daniel Defoe, antes del ‘qué’ es lo que cuenta. En otras palabras, la narrativa y el sinnúmero de reflexiones y monólogos que uno se puede encontrar en este libro si bien no opaca a la trama, sí llega a sobresalir y a ser de los puntos fuertes de la misma; además, ha superado con creces las expectativas que en un principio me había planteado encontrar mientras la leía.
Esta novela lo tiene todo: un buen argumento, un buen estilo narrativo, unos personajes tan bien construidos y únicos, en especial y claro está: Robinson Crusoe y Viernes, y un final redondo, que por cierto, aún no puedo superar. En resumen, una extraordinaria lectura.
P.S. Debo hacer una mención honorífica a esta edición que leí de la editorial Sexto Piso, ya que para mi sorpresa, contiene más de 50 ilustraciones (no pensé que serían tantas) ubicadas al final del libro, como si se tratara de un registro de viajes o exploración, además de una traducción actualizada que considero está bastante bien.
La recomiendo mucho por si se animan con ella.
“Nací en el año de 1632 en la ciudad de York, en una buena familia aunque no originaria del país, pues mi padre era un extranjero de Bremen que se había instalado en Hull.”
Así da inicio Robinson Crusoe y así termino una de las mejores experiencias lectoras que he tenido en mucho tiempo.
Creo que todo el mundo conoce la historia de Robinson Crusoe, el náufrago más famoso de la literatura, haya o no haya leído la obra, y es que se me hace muy curioso que cuando salió publicada por primera vez, en el año de 1719, esta incluía un subtítulo muy largo, casi como un párrafo mediano, donde revelaba la trama, puntos claves de la historia y algunos momentos emotivos que suceden a lo largo de la misma.
Lo anterior me hace pensar que lo que importa en esta obra —una obra maestra está de más añadir— es el ‘cómo’ lo cuenta Daniel Defoe, antes del ‘qué’ es lo que cuenta. En otras palabras, la narrativa y el sinnúmero de reflexiones y monólogos que uno se puede encontrar en este libro si bien no opaca a la trama, sí llega a sobresalir y a ser de los puntos fuertes de la misma; además, ha superado con creces las expectativas que en un principio me había planteado encontrar mientras la leía.
Esta novela lo tiene todo: un buen argumento, un buen estilo narrativo, unos personajes tan bien construidos y únicos, en especial y claro está: Robinson Crusoe y Viernes, y un final redondo, que por cierto, aún no puedo superar. En resumen, una extraordinaria lectura.
P.S. Debo hacer una mención honorífica a esta edición que leí de la editorial Sexto Piso, ya que para mi sorpresa, contiene más de 50 ilustraciones (no pensé que serían tantas) ubicadas al final del libro, como si se tratara de un registro de viajes o exploración, además de una traducción actualizada que considero está bastante bien.
La recomiendo mucho por si se animan con ella.
February 11, 2023
full review laterNow I know why this is considdered. It is very well written and a page turner. It concerns a young man who goes out sailing with his mates from Englan, and becomes ship wrecked and alone on an island off the coast off South America. The book goes in to depth on how he survives, how he meets a friend, and how he eventually escapes.
I highly recommend this book.
I highly recommend this book.
December 7, 2018
دوستانِ گرانقدر، نویسنده با نبوغ و استعدادِ بسیار، در قالبِ داستان، نشان داده است که زندگیِ دستجمعی و اجتماعِ انسانی، تا چه اندازه میتواند برایِ ما مفید و بایسته باشد... انسانها باید به طورِ جمعی زندگی کنند تا بتوانند به زندگیِ خویش ادامه دهند
عزیزانم، این داستانِ مشهور، در موردِ مردیست به نامِ <رابینسون کروزوئه> که اخلاقِ تندی دارد و انسانِ نا آرامی است... این مردِ خشن به دلیل همین رفتاری که دارد، شغلِ دریانوردی را برگزیده است
کردار و گفتارِ بد و ایجادِ شورش و اغتشاش در کشتی سبب میشود تا ناخدا او را به جزیره ای دور افتاده ببرد که هیچکس در آن زندگی نمیکند، و همانجا رهایش کند
رابینسون در آن جزیره تنها و بی کس مانده و برایِ نجاتِ جانش تلاش میکند تا احتیاجاتش را برطرف سازد، ولی در این جزیره به او بسیار سخت میگذرد
رابینسون مردِ ناآرامی بود، در جامعه اغتشاش ایجاد میکرد، ولی زندگی در تمدن و اجتماع، سبب شده بود که او بداند چگونه از طبیعت در جهتِ تولیدِ لوازم موردِ نیازش استفاده کند... از چوب و سنگ، ابزارِ گوناگون جهتِ شکار و کشاورزی و غیره میسازد و به هر روشی که میتواند، روز به روز بیشتر خودش را با شرایطِ حاکم بر جزیره و دشواری هایِ آن، سازگار میکند... درست است که رابینسون، جامعه را ترک کرده بود، ولی تجربیاتِ اجتماعی و جامعه، او را ترک نکرده و برایِ نجات جانش به کمکش آمده است.. بنابراین رابینسون، این مردِ تنها و سرکش، دیگر در جزیره تنها نیست، بلکه تجربیاتِ میلیون ها انسانِ دیگر، همراه او میباشد
سالهایِ سال میگذرد و دوری از انسانها و تنهایی سبب میشود تا رابینسون، تبدیل به جانوری وحشی و درنده گردد
دوستانِ خردگرا، جامعه تنها یک مجموعه ای از انسانها نیست، بلکه در هرکجا که مردم دسته جمعی زندگی میکنند، روابطی بینِ آنها برقرار میشود که آن روابط است که جامعه را به وجود می آورد و ما دقیقاً به عنوانِ انسان، به همان روابطِ اجتماعی نیازمندیم و باید با آن روابط و اعضایِ آن هم راستا و هم سو باشیم، چراکه بدونِ آنها به سرنوشتِ <رابینسون کروزوئه> دچار میشویم
---------------------------------------------
امیدوارم این ریویو در جهتِ آشنایی با این کتاب مفید بوده باشه و از خواندنِ این داستان لذت ببرید
<پیروز باشید و ایرانی>
عزیزانم، این داستانِ مشهور، در موردِ مردیست به نامِ <رابینسون کروزوئه> که اخلاقِ تندی دارد و انسانِ نا آرامی است... این مردِ خشن به دلیل همین رفتاری که دارد، شغلِ دریانوردی را برگزیده است
کردار و گفتارِ بد و ایجادِ شورش و اغتشاش در کشتی سبب میشود تا ناخدا او را به جزیره ای دور افتاده ببرد که هیچکس در آن زندگی نمیکند، و همانجا رهایش کند
رابینسون در آن جزیره تنها و بی کس مانده و برایِ نجاتِ جانش تلاش میکند تا احتیاجاتش را برطرف سازد، ولی در این جزیره به او بسیار سخت میگذرد
رابینسون مردِ ناآرامی بود، در جامعه اغتشاش ایجاد میکرد، ولی زندگی در تمدن و اجتماع، سبب شده بود که او بداند چگونه از طبیعت در جهتِ تولیدِ لوازم موردِ نیازش استفاده کند... از چوب و سنگ، ابزارِ گوناگون جهتِ شکار و کشاورزی و غیره میسازد و به هر روشی که میتواند، روز به روز بیشتر خودش را با شرایطِ حاکم بر جزیره و دشواری هایِ آن، سازگار میکند... درست است که رابینسون، جامعه را ترک کرده بود، ولی تجربیاتِ اجتماعی و جامعه، او را ترک نکرده و برایِ نجات جانش به کمکش آمده است.. بنابراین رابینسون، این مردِ تنها و سرکش، دیگر در جزیره تنها نیست، بلکه تجربیاتِ میلیون ها انسانِ دیگر، همراه او میباشد
سالهایِ سال میگذرد و دوری از انسانها و تنهایی سبب میشود تا رابینسون، تبدیل به جانوری وحشی و درنده گردد
دوستانِ خردگرا، جامعه تنها یک مجموعه ای از انسانها نیست، بلکه در هرکجا که مردم دسته جمعی زندگی میکنند، روابطی بینِ آنها برقرار میشود که آن روابط است که جامعه را به وجود می آورد و ما دقیقاً به عنوانِ انسان، به همان روابطِ اجتماعی نیازمندیم و باید با آن روابط و اعضایِ آن هم راستا و هم سو باشیم، چراکه بدونِ آنها به سرنوشتِ <رابینسون کروزوئه> دچار میشویم
---------------------------------------------
امیدوارم این ریویو در جهتِ آشنایی با این کتاب مفید بوده باشه و از خواندنِ این داستان لذت ببرید
<پیروز باشید و ایرانی>
April 14, 2019
اولین رمانی که خوندم این رمان بود. کلاس پنجم دبستان، درست در روزهای پیش از برگزاری آزمون مدارس راهنمایی نمونه. سرِ خوندن این کتاب و کتاب دور دنیا در هشتاد روز، راهنمایی نمونه قبول نشدم. اتفاقی که بعدها در مراحل بعدی زندگیم چند بار دیگه هم تکرار شد.
April 5, 2022
Step right up folks and see the English-speaking world's first published novel! Nevermind that it's a bit crap and a bunch racist, it was first!
Mostly read these days as a historical oddity, if nothing else Robinson Crusoe is a reminder of how far we've come, writing-wise, as a culture. I'd give it 2 stars, maybe 2 and a half on a generous day.
This is a good tool for building discipline and patience, because if you can sit still a while and follow along R.C. will just out of nowhere hit you with some Enlightened-level comment that cuts to the core and makes you rethink your whole being, or at least your present circumstances. But then he goes right back to listing how many goatskins he cured in the sun or how long it took him to whittle a canoe out of an entire tree or whatever. So because the content isn't always what we'd call finger-quotes arresting, the goal for me became to experience reading this as an action itself and seek the value in a bit of basic reflection, i.e. how's my posture right now? what's different about reading out in the sun vs. under the covers? have I become distracted? what's the last thing I remember before my mind began wandering? It was like reading as meditation, in that way.
So, did I like the book? Nope. But I don't like exercising either, and there's a similar sense of accomplishment in both activities.
Mostly read these days as a historical oddity, if nothing else Robinson Crusoe is a reminder of how far we've come, writing-wise, as a culture. I'd give it 2 stars, maybe 2 and a half on a generous day.
This is a good tool for building discipline and patience, because if you can sit still a while and follow along R.C. will just out of nowhere hit you with some Enlightened-level comment that cuts to the core and makes you rethink your whole being, or at least your present circumstances. But then he goes right back to listing how many goatskins he cured in the sun or how long it took him to whittle a canoe out of an entire tree or whatever. So because the content isn't always what we'd call finger-quotes arresting, the goal for me became to experience reading this as an action itself and seek the value in a bit of basic reflection, i.e. how's my posture right now? what's different about reading out in the sun vs. under the covers? have I become distracted? what's the last thing I remember before my mind began wandering? It was like reading as meditation, in that way.
So, did I like the book? Nope. But I don't like exercising either, and there's a similar sense of accomplishment in both activities.
September 9, 2007
I know, I know... Robinson Crusoe is a book full of cultural relativism and unconscious cruelty. He's an imperialist bastard. I know.
But it is exactly these elements, plus the fact that it is one hell of an adventure story, that made me really like this book. Yes, it is absolutely provoking. But it also thinks deeply on religion, economy, and self. And it's an adventure. So while in some ways, the story/viewpoint/author are extremely distasteful, it is a very satisfying read.
But it is exactly these elements, plus the fact that it is one hell of an adventure story, that made me really like this book. Yes, it is absolutely provoking. But it also thinks deeply on religion, economy, and self. And it's an adventure. So while in some ways, the story/viewpoint/author are extremely distasteful, it is a very satisfying read.
May 5, 2017
بعضی از کتاب ها، بیشتر به خاطر فضایی که در اون خونده شدن، توی ذهن می مونن. برای من، رابینسون کروزو، قطعاً از این دسته است. بذارید توصیف کنم: ده دوازده سالم بود. پدر بزرگ مادری ام، یه خونه ی قدیمی داشت، توی قزوین که بسیار بسیار زیبا بود و پر بود از گل و گیاه و پیچک و دار و درخت. هم توی حیاطش، هم توی خود خونه، یه گلخونه ی مفصل داشتن.
من رابینسون کوروزو رو توی خونه ی پدربزرگم خوندم (از کتابخونه ی پدربزرگم کش رفتم و خوندم) و توی عوالم بچگی، حیاط پر از درخت پدربزرگم رو، جزیره ی متروکه تصور میکردم که من توش گرفتار شدم. یه جورایی، هم میخوندم و هم بازی میکردمش. یادم نمیره لذت اون روزی که مثلاً زیر بارون گیر افتاده بودم (واقعاً بارون میومد) و زیر درخت مخفی شدم که خیس نشم، چون سر پناه دیگه ای نداشتم. مادرم وقتی من رو خیس آب دید، حسابی دعوام کرد.
من رابینسون کوروزو رو توی خونه ی پدربزرگم خوندم (از کتابخونه ی پدربزرگم کش رفتم و خوندم) و توی عوالم بچگی، حیاط پر از درخت پدربزرگم رو، جزیره ی متروکه تصور میکردم که من توش گرفتار شدم. یه جورایی، هم میخوندم و هم بازی میکردمش. یادم نمیره لذت اون روزی که مثلاً زیر بارون گیر افتاده بودم (واقعاً بارون میومد) و زیر درخت مخفی شدم که خیس نشم، چون سر پناه دیگه ای نداشتم. مادرم وقتی من رو خیس آب دید، حسابی دعوام کرد.
July 22, 2021
THE TWO CRUSOES
“I want to be a sailor sailing out to sea.
I want to be a bandit
don't you understand it?" ~~Sinbad the Sailor
***Will contain spoilers. I suggest reading the book first.
What an exciting story that I would give ten stars if I could. I love survival/true adventure/adventure books but prefer them to be non-fiction. So, when the introduction to this book stated that Defoe wished to stay as close to the true story, it felt like this book would be more non-fiction than fiction. Ah, but after reading about the real Robinson Crusoe (Alexander Selkirk) in another book, I saw what liberties Defoe had taken. I was glad that I had read this book first.
For one thing, Alexander didn’t run into any cannibals, so Defoe added it to make the story more exciting. And Crusoe was a much nicer man, for which I am glad. Alexander was evil tempered, physically abusive, and quarrelsome. He had a wife and kids, and he also married another woman, making him a bigamist. He probably beat this s… out of her too. When he had a physical fight with his father, the elders(?) of his church asked him to come to talk with them, but since he wished to sail the seas, he didn’t go to meet the church members but left on a ship. The captain died and another man, one that Alexander could not get along with, became captain. After a terrible fight, Alexander asked to be dropped off at one of the three Juan Fernandez Islands, 400 miles off the coast of Chile. (This island’s name was Masa Tierra but was changed to Robinson Crusoe Island in the 1960s.) The captain obliged Alexander, giving him some supplies for survival. Then when Alexander realized that he would be left alone there, that some of the men went back to the ship, he changed his mind, but the captain ignored him. They returned for him 4 years and 4 months later. (Crusoe’s life on the island lasted 28 years.) Then, Alexander went on plundering other ships and towns and taking aboard slaves as usual. There is no mention of what happened to women that he had met along the way. He died of either Typhoid or Cholera in later years. I will add that Crusoe did the same in that he plundered and brought slaves aboard the ship to sell.)
What I loved best about this book was how he survived, and Defoe stayed very close to that story line. Crusoe, though, was of better temper and was shipwrecked upon this same island. He alone survived along with a dog and two cats that he took ashore with him. Then before the ship sunk, he took items from it for survival of it. Why I loved this part of the book and how he used these items for his own survival I do not know. But if you ever need a needle to sew up your torn clothing after a disaster, you can use a nail by pounding it down with a rock. This will take a long time depending. How you add a hole to it, I don’t know. Also, as I saw once when I went to a survival class when my niece was in the Camp Fire Girls, you can kill a deer and chew its tendons to make string. I do not know what the man teaching the class used for a needle, but for string, Crusoe, and Alexander as well, used their socks by unraveling them. Just a pleasant thought.
Cats were already on the island when Alexander arrived. He tamed them and slept with them to keep rats from chewing his toes and fingers at night. If you don’t like cats, well, now you can see what good they are. Plus, they eat mice and rats. I had a friend that hated them because they ate birds. Mankind has done more harm to them that all the cats in the world. Well, maybe. As for the dog, Crusoe barely mentioned him after they were ashore. He lived; he died. What happened to: “A dog is man’s best friend?” That was probably a very new saying, like maybe in the 1900s. Alexander taught his cats to dance, and he taught his tamed goats as well. May be this was due to boredom. Maybe he wasn’t quarrelsome with them either. Although, he ate his goats, one by one. Dance to your death. I did not like the killing of animals in this book, but you can find just so many grapes and other foods on a small island. And I am a meat eater; I just don’t kill them myself.
So, now we come to the Bible that both men carried off the ship. Alexander read his daily. Crusoe was repentant, but we never learn while he felt so sinful unless that is just a Christian thing to feel. (Well, I know it is.) Alexander had a lot to repent, but he didn’t write about it.
Then came along Friday. While I liked him, I felt that Crusoe should have told him that he was not his slave. (He was not part of Alexander’s story.) Still, he was an okay addition to this book, and Crusoe did not fight with him; instead, he taught him all about God and the forgiveness of sins, and he told him to stop being a cannibal. He even taught him English, then how to use a gun. Together they killed the cannibals that Defoe dreamed up.
And all too soon the book had ended, and I went on to read about the real Robinson Crusoe and will perhaps review it although much is now in this review. (The book: “The Real Robinson Crusoe, The True Story of Alexander Selkirk” by Fred Watson)
“I want to be a sailor sailing out to sea.
I want to be a bandit
don't you understand it?" ~~Sinbad the Sailor
***Will contain spoilers. I suggest reading the book first.
What an exciting story that I would give ten stars if I could. I love survival/true adventure/adventure books but prefer them to be non-fiction. So, when the introduction to this book stated that Defoe wished to stay as close to the true story, it felt like this book would be more non-fiction than fiction. Ah, but after reading about the real Robinson Crusoe (Alexander Selkirk) in another book, I saw what liberties Defoe had taken. I was glad that I had read this book first.
For one thing, Alexander didn’t run into any cannibals, so Defoe added it to make the story more exciting. And Crusoe was a much nicer man, for which I am glad. Alexander was evil tempered, physically abusive, and quarrelsome. He had a wife and kids, and he also married another woman, making him a bigamist. He probably beat this s… out of her too. When he had a physical fight with his father, the elders(?) of his church asked him to come to talk with them, but since he wished to sail the seas, he didn’t go to meet the church members but left on a ship. The captain died and another man, one that Alexander could not get along with, became captain. After a terrible fight, Alexander asked to be dropped off at one of the three Juan Fernandez Islands, 400 miles off the coast of Chile. (This island’s name was Masa Tierra but was changed to Robinson Crusoe Island in the 1960s.) The captain obliged Alexander, giving him some supplies for survival. Then when Alexander realized that he would be left alone there, that some of the men went back to the ship, he changed his mind, but the captain ignored him. They returned for him 4 years and 4 months later. (Crusoe’s life on the island lasted 28 years.) Then, Alexander went on plundering other ships and towns and taking aboard slaves as usual. There is no mention of what happened to women that he had met along the way. He died of either Typhoid or Cholera in later years. I will add that Crusoe did the same in that he plundered and brought slaves aboard the ship to sell.)
What I loved best about this book was how he survived, and Defoe stayed very close to that story line. Crusoe, though, was of better temper and was shipwrecked upon this same island. He alone survived along with a dog and two cats that he took ashore with him. Then before the ship sunk, he took items from it for survival of it. Why I loved this part of the book and how he used these items for his own survival I do not know. But if you ever need a needle to sew up your torn clothing after a disaster, you can use a nail by pounding it down with a rock. This will take a long time depending. How you add a hole to it, I don’t know. Also, as I saw once when I went to a survival class when my niece was in the Camp Fire Girls, you can kill a deer and chew its tendons to make string. I do not know what the man teaching the class used for a needle, but for string, Crusoe, and Alexander as well, used their socks by unraveling them. Just a pleasant thought.
Cats were already on the island when Alexander arrived. He tamed them and slept with them to keep rats from chewing his toes and fingers at night. If you don’t like cats, well, now you can see what good they are. Plus, they eat mice and rats. I had a friend that hated them because they ate birds. Mankind has done more harm to them that all the cats in the world. Well, maybe. As for the dog, Crusoe barely mentioned him after they were ashore. He lived; he died. What happened to: “A dog is man’s best friend?” That was probably a very new saying, like maybe in the 1900s. Alexander taught his cats to dance, and he taught his tamed goats as well. May be this was due to boredom. Maybe he wasn’t quarrelsome with them either. Although, he ate his goats, one by one. Dance to your death. I did not like the killing of animals in this book, but you can find just so many grapes and other foods on a small island. And I am a meat eater; I just don’t kill them myself.
So, now we come to the Bible that both men carried off the ship. Alexander read his daily. Crusoe was repentant, but we never learn while he felt so sinful unless that is just a Christian thing to feel. (Well, I know it is.) Alexander had a lot to repent, but he didn’t write about it.
Then came along Friday. While I liked him, I felt that Crusoe should have told him that he was not his slave. (He was not part of Alexander’s story.) Still, he was an okay addition to this book, and Crusoe did not fight with him; instead, he taught him all about God and the forgiveness of sins, and he told him to stop being a cannibal. He even taught him English, then how to use a gun. Together they killed the cannibals that Defoe dreamed up.
And all too soon the book had ended, and I went on to read about the real Robinson Crusoe and will perhaps review it although much is now in this review. (The book: “The Real Robinson Crusoe, The True Story of Alexander Selkirk” by Fred Watson)
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