Many of us in childhood read D. Defoe ’s novel about the adventures of a sailor who found himself on a desert island. Characteristics of Robinson Crusoe tells us that the hero was a courageous and strong man. Despite all the trials, he was able to maintain his human dignity and will. We will talk about the famous character in this article.
Why did the author choose such a plot?
First of all, it is worth noting that Robinson had his own prototypes. In those centuries, England actively led the colonial conquest of new lands. Many ships departed from their native harbors to foreign countries, some of them fell into shipwrecks in the stormy waters of the oceans. It happened that some of the sailors survived and found themselves in perfect isolation on uninhabited islands scattered in the seas.
Thus, the cases described in the novel were not uncommon. However, the author used this plot to tell his readers a very instructive story, in which he devoted a lot of space to such a topic as the characterization of Robinson Crusoe, his personality and destiny. What is this story? Let's try to briefly answer this question.
Protestant Ethics and Defoe Novel
According to literary scholars, Defoe’s novel is riddled with motifs related to Protestant ethics. According to this religious teaching, a person on earth must go through many trials in order to earn his own entrance to the Kingdom of Heaven. However, he should not complain about God. After all, what the Almighty does is beneficial for him. Let's look at the plot of the novel. At the beginning of the story, we see a young man, very extravagant, stubborn. Contrary to the will of his parents, he becomes a sailor and embarks on a journey.
Moreover, God seemed to warn him at first: the description of Robinson Crusoe begins with the fact that the author describes his first shipwreck and miraculous salvation. But the young man did not heed what fate taught him. He sets sail again. The man falls into a crash again and one of the entire team escapes. The hero finds himself on an uninhabited island, where he is forced to spend more than 28 years of his life.
Hero transformation
A brief description of Robinson Crusoe will allow us to see the development of the personality of the protagonist in its dynamics. First, we have before us a very carefree and wayward young man. However, in a difficult life situation, he did not give up, but began to do everything in order to survive. The author scrupulously describes the daily work of his hero: Robinson saves things from the ship that help him survive, he takes animals with him, builds his own home. In addition, the man hunts wild goats, begins to tame them, then he makes himself butter and cheese from the milk received. Robinson observes the surrounding nature, begins to keep a peculiar diary of the change of the rainy season and the seasons of relative heat. The hero accidentally sows a few centimeters of wheat, then fights for the crop, etc.
The characterization of Robinson Crusoe will be incomplete if we do not pay attention to another feature. The most important thing in the novel is not just the character’s work, but his inner spiritual transformation. Far from people, the hero begins to reflect on why fate had cast him on a desert island. He reads the Bible, thinks of the Divine Providence, and resigns himself to his fate. And he does not grumble that he remained in complete solitude. As a result, the hero gains peace of mind. He learns to rely on his strength and trust in the mercy of the Most High.
Characteristics of Robinson Crusoe: what kind of person he is before and after the shipwreck
As a result, after 28 years, the character is completely transformed. He changes internally, acquires life experience. Robinson believes that everything that happened to him is fair. Now the hero himself can act as a teacher. He begins to be friends with the local aborigine, whom he calls Friday. And transfers to him all the knowledge that he owns. And only after all this, in the life of the former sailor, Europeans appear who accidentally stumbled upon an island. They take him to his distant and beloved homeland.
The novel itself is built in a confessional form. The first-person author tells readers about what the character survived for many years of loneliness and work. He experienced a lot in his life on the island of Robinson Crusoe. The characterization of the hero given by us in the article fully confirms the fact that he returned home as a completely different person.