Something of Robinson Crusoe

This is a novel by the English author Daniel Defoe, published in 1719. It is one of the most popular adventure novels in all literature. It is the story of Bobinson Crusoe, an Englishman who is shipwrecked in a lonely tropical island. He builds himself a hut, grows his own food, and becomes self-sufficient. After 23 years he meets with a group of cannibals and rescues one of their prisoners, a young native whome he calls Friday. Crusoe and his“man”Friday become close friends, and when they are finally rescued four years later, both return to England.

This novel is famous for its lovely details and its expression of belief in man's ability when left alone in nature.

the author and the novel

Daniel Defoe (1659/1661 [?] – April 24 [?], 1731) was an English writer,

journalist, and spy, who has been well known as the writer of Robinson Crusoe among readers of different generations all over the world.Defoe is notable for being one of the earliest practitioners of the novel and helped popularize the genre in Britain .As a prolific and versatile writer, he wrote more than five hundred books ,pamphlets, and journals on various topics (including politics, crime, region, marriage, psychology and the supernatural). He was also a pioneer of economic journalism.

This novel has often been taken as an adventure story by common readers, while critics usually emphasize its portrayal of the capitalist ambition during the beginning stage of the development of capitalism. Both groups of readers tend to overlook its religious, spiritual and moral aspects, which take up a large proportion of the novel. This thesis seeks to explore the conflicts and also the possibility of reconciliation between two important sides of human existence as expressed in Robinson Crusoe: man as an economic being and man as a spiritual being, and concludes that, only under proper spiritual guidance can man achieve due material civilization with economic prosperity, while retaining a wholesome individuality. Therefore, through his adventures Robinson is also undergoing a pilgrim’s spiritual progress.

The background

This novel was based on a real story of Alexander Selkirk , which gave Defoe great inspiration .In September,1704, a Scottish sailor, Alexander Selkirk defected on the sea. So his captain left him in an island near Chili. 4 years later, he was saved by a voyager and returned to his country. But he forgot the human language and became a savage completely .He didn’t have great

creation or heroic on that waste island ,however, Robinson Crusoe was a new character in the novel. The author put his own experience, true feelings and ideas into the character. He gave his fancy full scope to have artistic treatment . Robinson Crusoe became a hero in the petty bourgeoisie. He also has adventure of the bourgeoisie and enlightenment Consciousness. The author gave Robinson obvious characteristics of this period.

The brief introduction

Crusoe leaves England on a sea voyage in September, 1651 against the wishes of his parents. The ship is taken over by Salè pirates and Crusoe becomes the slave of a Moor. He manages to escape with a boat and is

befriended by the Captain of a Portuguese ship off the western coast of Africa. There with the help of the Captain, Crusoe becomes owner of a plantation. He joins an expedition to bring slaves from Africa, but he is shipwrecked in a storm about forty miles out to sea on an island near the mouth of the Orinoco river on September 30, 1659. His companions all die; he manages to fetch arms, tools and other supplies from the ship before it breaks apart and sinks. He proceeds to build a fenced-in habitation and cave, keeps a calendar by making marks in a piece of wood. He hunts, grows corn, learns to make

pottery, raises goats, etc. He reads the Bible and suddenly becomes religious, thanking God for his fate in which nothing is missing but society.

He discovers native cannibals occasionally visit the island to kill and eat

prisoners. At first he plans to kill the savages for their abomination, but then he realizes that he has no right to do so as the cannibals have not attacked him and do not knowingly commit a crime. He dreams of capturing one or two servants by freeing some prisoners, and indeed, when a prisoner manages to escape, Crusoe helps him, naming his new companion "Friday" after the day of the week he appeared, and teaches him English and converts him to Christianity.

Many years later, an English ship appears; mutineers have taken control of the ship and intend to maroon their former captain on the island. The captain and Crusoe manage to retake the ship. They leave for England, leaving behind three of the mutineers to fend for themselves and inform the Spaniards what happened. Crusoe leaves the island on December 19, 1686. From Portugal, he travels overland to England, to avoid mishaps at sea, via Spain and France; during winter in the Pyrenees, he and his companions have to fend off an

attack by vicious wolves. Back in England, he decides to sell his plantation, as returning to Brazil would entail converting to Catholicism. Later in life, after marrying, having three children and becoming widowed, he returns to his island for a last time. The book ends with a hint about a sequel that would detail his return to the island, which had been discovered.

The thoughts

I suppose one of the main themes is survival. Robinson Crusoe was

shipwrecked and had to survive life on a remote tropical island near Venezuela for 28 years until he was rescued.

However, there are a lot of other important themes in the book. Robinson Crusoe says that he is writing his account to instruct others in God's wisdom and to know the importance of repenting one's sins. Crusoe had gone to sea against his father's wishes and he sees his isolation on the island partly as God's punishment and he feels a great need to repent of his sin. He also sees it being important to convert his servant Friday to Christianity (he believes that God will be pleased if he converts the heathens or just one heathen in Crusoe's case since there is only one other person on the island). So religion is an important theme in the book.

 

第二篇：鲁滨孙漂流记读后感(英文)

Reading summary of Robinson Crusoe

I once read a book named Robinson Crusoe. It is really a great book and it touches me a lot.

Once upon a time there was a man named Robinson. He is an Englishman. He loved sailing and taking risks. He visited a great number of places around the world, and met many risks.

He once went to South America by sea. At that time, he was caught in a strong wind. The wind was so strong that it blew down the mast. The ship turned over and Robinson’s friends all died. Only Robinson was alive and he swam to an island where nobody lived. He was cold and hungry. But he never gave up and he found many things in the ship that can help him. Then he lived in the island.

After 26 years, Robinson rescued a wild man called Friday. Because of Friday’s help, Robinson finally took a ship back to England after 28 years.

Robinson was really excellent. He had no food, no water, no guns, and nothing that could help him. Most of people would give up at that time, but Robinson didn’t. Luckily, the ship sailed to the coast and Robinson found food, water, guns and many other things. He lived in a difficult life that others could not believe. He met a lot of difficulties. But he was always very calm. He used his hands to build a lot of things. Although he was very lonely, he was still very hopeful. He never gave up so he finally succeeded.

Now, we live in a wonderful life. We have big houses, beautiful rooms, plenty of delicious foods, expensive cars, computers, televisions, and a great number of things that can make us happy. But Robinson didn’t have these. He lived in a lone island, slept in a small cave, ate lambs that he killed by himself. We travel to many other places those are quite beautiful. But Robinson lived in a same island for 28 years. We always complain that the life is so dark, that we cannot live. But Robinson didn’t complain, he was always very hopeful. Now, everyone is very friendly to us, we are very safe. But Robinson must face the wild people. They were very dangerous because they ate people. But Robinson won. He killed the wild man and got a big ship. He never gave up that he thought he would go back to his home one day. And he did it. Compare with Robinson, the difficulties in our life is much smaller than Robinson’s. So we shouldn’t complain about the difficulties. We should be brave and find the way to solve the problems. Although there are many difficulties, we should keep our mind cool and never feel bitter about the difficulties.

Robinson Crusoe was written by Daniel Defoe. He was an Englishman. He lived in the period that England was developed. At that time, many people worked a lot to let the country run. This story tells us we should confront the difficulties and be hopeful. We should never give up. When we meet big problems, we should try to solve them. And when you always persist to work, you will be successful in the end.