Robinson Crusoe (the family name corrupted from the German name "Kreutznaer") sets sail from the Queen's Dock in Hull on a sea voyage in August 1651, against the wishes of his parents, who want him to pursue a career, possibly in law. After a tumultuous journey where his ship is wrecked in a storm, his lust for the sea remains so strong that he sets out to sea again. This journey, too, ends in disaster as the ship is taken over by Salé pirates (the Salé Rovers) and Crusoe is enslaved by a Moor. Two years later, he escapes in a boat with a boy named Xury; a Captain of a Portuguese ship off the west coast of Africa rescues him. The ship is en route to Brazil. Crusoe sells Xury to the captain. With the captain's help, Crusoe brings a plantation.
Years later, Crusoe joins an expedition to bring slaves from Africa but he is shipwrecked in a storm about forty miles out to sea on an island (which he calls the Island of Despair) near the mouth of the Orinoco River on 30 September 1659. (The date was left blank in the first edition. The years added up after 1651, or, his total of years reckoned backwards from 1686 yield 1658 so the 1659 is an error. The story claims that he swam ashore on his 26th birthday.) The details of Crusoe's island were probably based on the Caribbean island of Tobago, since that island lies a short distance north of the Venezuelan coast near the mouth of the Orinoco River, in sight of Trinidad. He observes the latitude as 9 degrees and 22 minutes north. He sees Penguins and seals on his island. (However, there are no seals and penguins living together in the Northern Hemisphere, only around the Galapagos Islands.) As for his arrival there, only he and three animals, the captain's dog and two cats, survive the shipwreck. Overcoming his despair, he fetches arms, tools, and other supplies from the ship before it breaks apart and sinks. He builds a fenced-in habitat near a cave which he excavates. By making marks in a wooden cross, he creates a calendar. By using tools salvaged from the ship, and some he makes himself from "ironwood", he hunts, grows barley and rice, dries grapes to make raisins, learns to make pottery, and raises goats. He also adopts a small parrot. He reads the Bible and becomes religious, thanking God for his fate in which nothing is missing but human society.
More years pass and Crusoe discovers native Cannibals, who occasionally visit the island to kill and eat prisoners. At first he plans to kill them for committing an abomination but later realizes he has no right to do so, as the cannibals do not knowingly commit a crime. His dreams of obtaining one or two servants by freeing some prisoners; when a prisoner escapes, Crusoe helps him, naming his new companion "Friday" after the day of the week he appeared. Crusoe then teaches him English and converts him to Christianity. After more natives arrive to partake in a cannibal feast, Crusoe and Friday kill most of the natives and save two prisoners. One is Friday's father and the other is a Spaniard, who informs Crusoe about other Spaniards shipwrecked on the mainland. A plan is devised wherein the Spaniard would return to the mainland with Friday's father and bring back the others, build a ship, and sail to a Spanish port.
Before the Spaniards return, an English ship appears; mutineers have commandeered the vessel and intend to maroon their captain on the island. Crusoe and the ship's captain strike a deal in which Crusoe helps the captain and the loyal sailors retake the ship and leave the worst mutineers on the island. Before embarking for England, Crusoe shows the mutineers how he survived on the island and states that there will be more men coming. Crusoe leaves the island 19 December 1686 and arrives in England on 11 June 1687. He learns that his family believed him dead; as a result, he was left nothing in his father's will. Crusoe departs for Lisbon to reclaim the profits of his estate in Brazil, which has granted him much wealth. In conclusion, he transports his wealth overland to England to avoid travelling by sea. Friday accompanies him and, en route, they endure one last adventure together as they fight off famished wolves while crossing the Pyrenees.
What is the man’s role in the natural world?. That is the question of Defoe’s novel “Robinson Crusoe” wants to ask our self. In the novel, Crusoe believes himself to be at the head of the social order. When he looks at the natural world, he sees its utility and its value. He gave more stress to the production value of nature. He also very much believes in the in the concept of private property.
Crusoe’s relationship with wilderness crops up several times throughout the novel. Crusoe adapts to the natural habitat of the island, learning that he is a part of the island, and must respect nature if he is going to coexist with so many wild things around him. Crusoe also learns he can’t control the habitat of the island, but merely coexist with it, which leads him to a deeper understanding of humanity and faith.
Nature, as personified by the deserted island, is not seen as a separate character in the novel but instead as a pure setting. As a setting, nature does not present much of obstacles to Crusoe, as the island is fertile, populated by many animals and contains different kinds of plants such as Wheat, Barley and Corn. In this fashion, Crusoe is not so much carving his place in the wild; instead he is simply utilizing the advantages of the existing benefits.
The main impact of nature is its solitude and it’s effects on Crusoe. While he spends most of his time working on survival, he does wish for a companion and barely mentions his animals, which do not provide much companionship. His appreciation of nature comes more from his eventual realization that he has been immensely lucky; without the animals and plants life on the island, his survival would have been far harder.
For survival, he makes a good relationship with nature. As time passed, he become a skilled craftsman, able to construct many useful things, and thus furnished himself with diverse comforts. He learned to make pottery. He also learned about farming, as a result, some seeds which he brought with him. He grows some food crops such as Wheat, Barley and Corn for his food. An illness prompted some prophetic dreams, and Crusoe began to reappraise his duty to God. Crusoe explored his island and discovered another part of the island, which is much richer and more fertile and he built a summer home there.
The relationship between the humans and the natural world of the sea in “Robinson Crusoe” is a mixed relationship. In “Robinson Crusoe”, the protagonist Robinson Crusoe loves the island, its beauty and vastness, where he get his food and a shelter. At the same time he recognizes the danger inherent in that island. He feels a kind of relationship with the animals of the island. He grows sheeps for getting his livelihood. In “Robinson Crusoe”, Crusoe was also recognizes his dependence upon the vast island for his food. He also understands that he made a good relationship with nature for his survival and his livelihood.
Crusoe was unique in his relationship with nature. He addresses the island as the symbol of his destiny, the birds, the sheeps, the cat and the dog as his friends and the cannibals as his personal enemies. He also examines his relationship with the sheep, the cat and dog.
In “Robinson Crusoe”, the island plays a major role. The island is like a mother for Crusoe, where he gets his food. And the island is the symbol of his fate. In “Robinson Crusoe”, there is the island which an embodiment of destiny. The relationship of Crusoe with animals is also like a friendship. We can see that in the novel, he grows sheeps, cat and dog. Crusoe believes that the animals are his friends; no one come to talk with him. We can see that in the novel, Crusoe releases a prisoner from the cannibals; he teaches him his language and gave a name. This shows that the prisoner is like a fellow sufferer to Crusoe.
Robinson Crusoe totally depends on the nature, because it provides his livelihood. From this point of view nature can be called a living donor. There is of course not only this positive image of nature. It can be destructive and hostile as well. The nature that seems to be so peaceful at first sight also sometimes likes an enemy. In “Robinson Crusoe”, there is the sea brings misfortune to Crusoe. The turbulent sea may cause for the wrecking of Crusoe’s ship. His companions are died in the sea. So we can say that the sea brings misfortune.
Destruction and creation are closely connected to each other and both are a part of this nature. In “Robinson Crusoe”, there is the nature takes away what it gives. Here the sea represents the destructive force of nature. Crusoe’s ship was wrecked in the turbulent sea. All his companions were died in the sea. The sea takes away all his companions and leaving him alone in the remote island. In “Robinson Crusoe”, we can see that he is an unlucky person, because he defied his parents and went out to sea. The destiny of Crusoe is closely connected with his adventurous voyages. His hairs and bears are grown and he become like an ancient man. His whole body shows the signs of the cruelty of nature.
Another aspect of nature as it is described in “Robinson Crusoe” is its changelessness. In “Robinson Crusoe”, changelessness is described through the life of Crusoe. When Crusoe was thrown up on the lonely island, he realizes that farming is the only way for his survival. As a part of it he makes immediate plants for food and he learned how to farm, how to produce food crops. Through it, we can assume that Crusoe become an experienced farmer.
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