Robinson

Robinson Crusoe is the title character of Daniel Defoe’s 1719 novel, Robinson Crusoe (published under a much longer title, and in its first edition attributed to the fictional Crusoe himself). An instant hit, the book has been translated into all manner of media and remains a popular, iconic work to this day. Robinson is a young man of good family who opts to go to sea against his parents’ wishes. Multiple disasters on his various journeys do not dissuade him from the life he has chosen, and ultimately he is shipwrecked on a distant Caribbean island. Robinson’s natural flair for making-do comes to the fore, and he sets about creating a natural habitat that affords him every comfort except human company. This dilemma, too, is solved, when he rescues a prisoner from a neighboring band of cannibals and puts him to work as “my man Friday”. Robinson spends 28 fruitful years on his island, sharpening his survival skills and fostering his growing belief in an all-good and gracious deity. Finally, he is rescued by visiting pirates, with whom he bargains, and goes off to reclaim his fortune from an earlier business venture, taking the ever faithful Friday with him. Robinson Crusoe has provided a role model for youngsters for centuries now, and shows no signs of a decrease in popularity. In the comfortable world we inhabit, he represents the apex of self-reliance and ingenuity – virtues which seem to have lost some of their luster lately, and which deserve a full-scale comeback.