Theme Of Overcoming Adversity In Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe

1143 Words3 Pages

of self-reliance and the idea that one can achieve greatness through perseverance and determination. Defoe's Robinson Crusoe demonstrates that by taking risks and following one's own path, one can overcome adversity and achieve success. Crusoe's journey from a mundane life to becoming a plantation owner and eventually a "Governour" of the island highlights the importance of individualism and the pursuit of one's own dreams. The novel serves as a reminder that sometimes the greatest achievements come from taking risks and charting one's own course.
He left his family after being warned about the dangers of a life at sea, which he had encountered multiple times. He traded Xury to the Captain of the Portuguese ship, and only felt he had "done wrong in parting with … Xury" (31) when he realized Xury would have been helpful on the plantation Crusoe owned in Brazil. When he rescued Friday, Crusoe taught him to call him "Master" (174) instead of his name. Crusoe refers to Friday's father and the Spaniard as "subjects" (204) rather than as companions. All these moments of interaction with others show that Crusoe wants to have control over these people. A reader might believe that Crusoe would want friends after being isolated for so long, but that is not the case. He has built a potentially better life for himself on the island that he would have never been able to achieve in York. Crusoe has chosen to have servants, or subjects, rather than friends. Crusoe sent Friday to tell his father "the news of his being delivered" (200). He also makes it clear to the Englishmen who arrived on the island when there had been a mutiny on their ship that he is in control by saying, "... my conditions are but two. 1. That while you stay on this island with me, you will not pretend to any authority here …" island. He frequently refers to the home he built for himself as his "Castle" (140) and intends to attack the Savages for coming onto his island and threatening his sense of security. However, Crusoe decides against it. When the Savages return, he again questions attacking them, asking, "What necessity was I in to go and dip my hands in blood, to attack people who had neither done nor intended me any wrong?" (195). Earlier in the novel, Crusoe's reasoning was that since God had left them to continue living like this, he had no "authority...to pretend to be Judge and Executioner upon these Men as Criminals" (144). When the Savages returned to the island with the Spaniard, whom Friday had assured Crusoe was living amongst the Savages peacefully, Crusoe decides to take action and attack them. This attack represents Crusoe making a decision a ruler would make in a time of war when his people were under attack. Crusoe saw the Spaniard as one of his own because they were both European and felt that if the Spaniard, who was supposedly in cohabitation with the Savages, was brought here to be eaten, the same could possibly happen to Crusoe if he went to that island with Friday. The Captain of an English ship whose crew had mutinied refers to Crusoe as "Governor," and the island as an English colony. This is the final title of power Crusoe is given before finally leaving his island.

Open Document