Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe is an amazing and riveting story about a man named Robinson Crusoe who isn’t satisfied with his current station in life and seeks wealth and riches. Robinson Crusoe decides to go on his first voyage, and it is disastrous, leading to him praying to God hoping that the storm will stop. Soon after, the storm stops but Crusoe is so relieved he forgets all about his promises. On his only successful voyage, his second one, he manages to get on a ship and trade his forty pounds worth of luggage into three hundred pounds worth of gold dust, and befriends the captain. After the captain dies, Robinson Crusoe goes on another voyage, leaving some of his money with the captain’s widow. He is captured and treated as a personal slave. He is quite a good fisherman, and when they are fishing, he throws a guard off the boat and gets a man named Xury to swear loyalty. He reaches Brazil and becomes incredibly wealthy, but when he is going to buy slaves, disaster strikes once more and he is stranded on an island, forced to survive alone. Eventually, he finds some savages that eat human flesh, and befriends one of their meals by killing the savages. After saving a few more people, he eventually manages to leave the island and finally return after thirty-five years. Robinson Crusoe is a book that explores themes of religion, individuality and socialization.
Religion is a way for people to help acknowledge themselves in life, allowing them to accept things the way they are as a part of God’s plan. Life can be very unpredictable, and it can be horrible believing that there is no reason behind it all, so religion helps allow religious people to get through life easier and more enjoyably. In Robinson Crusoe, Crusoe prayed to God for the massive storm to stop, but after it stopped, he “entirely forgot the Vows and Promises that I made in my Distress”. However, while he was on the island alone with his thoughts, he became more religious and thought about his current situation in life, believing it was a punishment for all his sins, but God started sending him blessings. He also learned more after teaching “Friday” about God and the Bible, and after “Friday” started questioning him, asking “If God, much strong, much might as Devil, why God no kill Devil, so make him no more do wicked?”, he learned more and understood more. Religion allows us to learn and helps us understand the ways of life better and makes us more able to live and have fun while still enjoying life. Religion is beneficial to many because it allows them to believe that everything that happens happens for a good reason because it is God’s will.
We are all special and unique, but sometimes we end up trying to blend into the crowd instead of making use of our own gifts, which is why it’s important to establish ourselves as an individual. By taking time for ourselves, we can unlock our creativity and our talents and help contribute to the world rather than simply following what most other people do. Inside of Robinson Crusoe, Robinson Crusoe had to be stranded on an island alone to finally make himself useful, crafting useful tools and harvesting plants, learning how to do many things by himself. The text reads, “All of our discontents for what we want appear to me to spring from want of thankfulness for what we have.” He became less greedy as he was harvesting for himself and there was no one else that he could benefit from, and he had complete control and freedom in his own island. The text tells us that “ I had nothing to covet; for I had all that I was now capable of enjoying.” When he had gotten Xury to swear loyalty, it shows that he values his freedom but yet still does not respect the freedom of others. Our individuality is incredibly important as it allows us to improve and show that we are special and we bring something unique to the table. We have to try and stay separate from society as it will help us establish our individuality and allow us to demonstrate our abilities and strengths.
Our innate human nature wants us to be included in many things, to seek companionship, and to avoid being alone and instead being involved, which can help create ambition. Frankenstein, though he was created from many human corpses, still had this urge, showing how strong it is. However, his appearance led everyone to cast him out, and “I desire the company of a man who could sympathize with me”. Inside of Robinson Crusoe, Robinson Crusoe was never satisfied in his current life, which led him to become ambitious and take many voyages seeking wealth. He wanted to get a higher class easier, and this caused him to be reckless and go on voyages without thinking about the risk. Despite how he had a comfortable life in the middle class, and in Brazil a life as a wealthy plantation owner, he still wanted more, leading to finally being stranded on an island. Our urge to try and gain more is linked with our desire for inclusion, because having a high status allows us to have clout and more connections. We need to remember to be ambitious yet making sure not to make any reckless mistakes or be greedy and desire too much.
Robinson Crusoe is a fantastic classic story that teaches many illustrious themes and educates about religion and how it benefits those that believe in it, how our individuality can be compromised by our desires to be part of the crowd and society, and finally how wanting to be accepted can lead to ambitious desires. Religion is a method people use to help acknowledge themselves in life, allowing them to accept things the way they are as a part of God’s plan so that they may be happier. Our individuality makes us special and unique, allowing us to contribute and bring something to the table that others can’t. Finally, we always have an urge to seek companionship and company, but this can also cause us to be ambitious and try to find others by increasing our social status. Robinson Crusoe is an amazing story that teaches many incredible themes while utilizing the staples of a good story to help entertain us.
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