Spiritual Insights in Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe

772 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The main central theme of Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe

Crusoe’s Spiritual Insights

Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe is considered to be the first novel of incident. Before I read the novel I knew something about poor Robinson Crusoe--shipwrecked on a desert island, lived on the island for a lot of years, and acquired a friend by the name of Friday. As I began to read, I had the preconceived notion that Robinson Crusoe was just an adventure book. However, I read no more than a few pages before my mind was greatly enlightened. Robinson Crusoe does not suffer just one shipwreck, but two of them. He is captured by Moorish pirates, escapes, and goes to Brazil to become a planter. After his second shipwreck, Crusoe gives details about his techniques for survival. Also, the ending of the novel is quite surprising with a setting that is quite a contrast to the desert island. Arguably, one of the funniest scenes in all of literature is recorded in the final chapters.

If the book is not holding the reader's attention because of the suspense, then it is held by the profound spiritual insight that Defoe includes within the pages of his work. This was the biggest surprise to me of all. For example, in chapter 12, Robinson Crusoe states: "From this moment I began to conclude in my mind that it is possible for me to be more happy in this forsaken solitary condition, that it was probable I should ever have been in any other particular state in the world, and with this thought I was going to give thanks to God for bringing me to this place." Crusoe was convinced that the reason for all of his calamities was the result of his disobeying the counsel of his father. The theological discussions with Friday are wonderful. Indeed, every Christian can relate to Crusoe's wrestling with faith and fear. I finished the book with the conclusion that this book should be standard reading for every Christian, particularly preachers. Preachers will find a wealth of sermon illustrations in Robinson Crusoe.

So, why is Robinson Crusoe so sadly neglected among Christians when it is obvious that the book is a Christian classic? No doubt, abridged versions of the novel removes the incentive for readers to read the actual work. Many people have read a children's version of the novel or worst yet, they "have seen the movie.

Show More
Related

  • What Refrigeration Cycle is Composed of and How it Works

    802 Words  | 2 Pages

    The metering device of a refrigeration unit regulates the flow of refrigerant to the evaporator and divides the high from the low pressure side of the system. Capillary tube usually consists of a predetermined length of tubing having a small inside diameter. A thermostatic expansion valve meters the refrigerant based on different temperatures and pressure. The type that operates in response to the evaporator pressure is called an automatic expansion valve. The refrigerant lines carry the refrigerant liquid and vapor between the system components.

    Read More

  • The Escape from Sobibor

    711 Words  | 2 Pages

    Sobibor was a death camp located in Poland which took part in the systematic obliteration of Jews during the Holocaust. Around 250,000 Jews were murdered at Sobibor between its construction in 1941 and its liquidation in 1943. But there was a select few brave occupants that decided they would not go down without a fight. They composed a revolt that would inspire people worldwide to never give up hope even in the darkest times in history. Lead by Jewish occupant, Leon Fendhendler, and Soviet prisoner of war Alexander (Sascha) Perchersky, the revolt “Proved that the Nazi death machine was an imperfect and beatable force.” (Ryan Picarrillo) Considering only 50 Sobibor escapees lived to see the end of the war, the significance of the uprising could be questioned, but it was effective. It ignited a flame in the Jewish population that would motivate them to fight back.

    Read More

  • World War II: General Dwight D. Eisenhower's Invasion

    235 Words  | 1 Pages

    “The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty loving people everywhere march with you.” This was General Dwight D. Eisenhower’s message to the United States’ troops before undergoing the invasion. D-Day or Operation Overlord took place on the coast of Normandy, France. It involved more than 160,000 Allied troops fighting in the largest amphibious assault in the history of mankind under the leadership of General Eisenhower. Many say that this invasion was the greatest and most prepared attack of all time. Furthermore, D-Day was the impetus of taking back Europe from Nazi Germany.

    Read More

  • Flippo Brunelleschi Research Paper

    818 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...ples of linear perspective but had been forgotten about during the middle ages. This rediscovery influence many artists.

    Read More

  • D-Day's Fight For Victory

    938 Words  | 2 Pages

    D-Day happened June 6, 1944 and the main purpose was to end the dreadful hold the Germans had on France and other countries as well. The U.S. and many other countries teamed up and became the Allied forces. It took months of preparation to come up with Operation Overlord. They stormed the beaches of Normandy and many had lost their lives. The battle ended with victory and the Germans liberating France. This played a huge role in ending World War II. D-Day is still considered to this day to be the largest amphibious invasion in history. D-Day is celebrated around the world, especially in France. The day is celebrated with parades, singing, dancing, and there’s even museums. Our lives and many others could’ve been

    Read More

  • Through The Eyes Of Albert

    598 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...fe and family of his own. Albert and Howard keep in touch and are still very close friends. “He warns us to be cautious, as hate can bring with it many things for which we are wholly unprepared. He says, “The Holocaust is a story that needs to be told. I imagine my grandmother, and I imagine her in a place where they killed 10,000. They would have wanted their story known” (Forlarn). Albert is remembered for many things, and still lives on as an inspiration and example of hope in many people’s hearts and minds.

    Read More

  • Robinson Crusoe

    1015 Words  | 3 Pages

    From the beginning of some life, people make many choices that affect their personal growth and livelihood, choices like what they should wear and/or what they should do. Even the littlest choices that they make could make a big difference in their lives. In the book, Robinson Crusoe retold by Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe, while on the island, made many choices, big and small, that affected his personal growth and contributed to why he survived for so long. On the island he made a lot of smart decisions of what to do in order to stay a live. On his second day he made a choice to go back to the ship to explore what was there. He spent a lot of time building his home when he could have done something more important. He also took a risk and helped out a person that he did not know. These were some of many choices that Robinson Crusoe made throughout his many years on the island.

    Read More

  • How Reading Emerges

    803 Words  | 2 Pages

    Children should be able to participate during story time. You should encourage children to l...

    Read More

  • Servantship in Robinson Crusoe and The Tempest

    1664 Words  | 4 Pages

    Moore, John Robert. The Tempest and Robinson Crusoe. The Review of English Studies January 1945, 21(81): 52-56. Print.

    Read More

  • Self-interest and Greed in Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe

    1032 Words  | 3 Pages

    We can be defined by our actions and they have a way of revealing our true character. Robinson Crusoe, the main character in Daniel Defoe’s novel Robinson Crusoe, gets himself into many troubles because of his decisions based on self-interest and greed. Robinson Crusoe thinks very highly of himself and is very conceited which plays a big roll with getting him into many misadventures. There are many instances throughout the novel where it is very apparent that Robinson Crusoe only thinks about himself and not others. Throughout the novel along with only thinking about what is best for him, there are many instances where he only turns to God when he needs something. Every time that Crusoe makes one of his infamous decisions, based solely on greed, not long after he almost always regrets it.

    Read More

  • Comparing Daniel Defoe and Robinson Crusoe

    891 Words  | 2 Pages

    In conclusion, there were many ways Daniel Defoe expressed his own life experiences in Robinson Crusoe, but the comparisons that showed the most were their income, their living conditions, their troubles and even their writing. There were other similarities, but these were the most broad and comparable. The book Robinson Crusoe is like Daniel Defoe writing about himself but in another life as another person. All of the events may not have been exactly the same, but the message behind them remained the same. All in all, Robinson Crusoe and Daniel Defoe were very different people, with similar lives. You can always tell a lot about a person by what and the way they write. Sometimes, you just have to read between the lines.

    Read More

  • The Son of Sirion

    2381 Words  | 5 Pages

    These beings had no tails or fins protruding from their humanoid anatomy, save for the one large dorsal fin emerging from their lower back. Their gray flesh glistened from the moistures that secreted from their pores. Each had two legs that throbbed with masculinity, as well as two arms. Their necks housed veins thicker than a hose, and cozily supported a "Delphin's" head. They sported heavy armors of soulless ebony.

    Read More

  • Visions of Utopia in Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe

    1901 Words  | 4 Pages

    "Daniel Defoe achieved literary immortality when, in April 1719, he published Robinson Crusoe" (Stockton 2321). It dared to challenge the political, social, and economic status quo of his time. By depicting the utopian environment in which was created in the absence of society, Defoe criticizes the political and economic aspect of England's society, but is also able to show the narrator's relationship with nature in a vivid account of the personal growth and development that took place while stranded in solitude. Crusoe becomes "the universal representative, the person, for whom every reader could substitute himself" (Coleridge 2318). "Thus, Defoe persuades us to see remote islands and the solitude of the human soul. By believing fixedly in the solidity of the plot and its earthiness, he has subdued every other element to his design and has roped a whole universe into harmony" (Woolf 2303).

    Read More

  • Defoe, Richardson, Fielding and the English Novel

    3394 Words  | 7 Pages

    The roots of the novel extend as far back as the beginning of communication and language because the novel is a compilation of various elements that have evolved over the centuries.  The birth of the English novel, however, can be centered on the work of three writers of the 18th century: Daniel Defoe (1660-1731), Samuel Richardson (1689-1761) and Henry Fielding (1707-1754).  Various critics have deemed both Defoe and Richardson the father of the English novel, and Fielding is never discussed without comparison to Richardson.  The choice of these three authors is not arbitrary; it is based on central elements of the novel that these authors contributed which brought the novel itself into place.  Of course, Defoe, Richardson and Fielding added onto styles of the past and writing styles of the period, including moralistic instruction and picaresque stories.  Using writing of the time and the literary tradition of the past, Defoe first crafted the English novel while Richardson and Fielding completed its inception.

    Read More

  • Realism In Robinson Crusoe

    1590 Words  | 4 Pages

    Daniel Defoe has frequently been considered the father of realism in regards to his novel, Robinson Crusoe. In the preface of the novel, the events are described as being “just history of fact” (Defoe and Richetti ). This sets the tone for the story to be presented as factual, while it is in of itself truly fiction. This is the first time that a narrative fictional novel has been written in a way that the story is represented as the truth. Realistic elements and precise details are presented unprecedented; the events that unfold in the novel resonate with readers of the middle-class in such a way that it seems as if the stories could be written about themselves. Defoe did not write his novel for the learned, he wrote it for the large public of tradesmen, apprentices and shopkeepers (Häusermann 439-456).

    Read More

More about Spiritual Insights in Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe

Open Document