SUMMARY OF ROBINSON CRUSOE

Robinson Crusoe is a young man that lives with his parents, they advise him to choose a suitable life, but Robinson is attracted by a different kind of life, a sea life. On 1 September 1651, Hull,a Robinson's friend invites him for a trip on a ship going to London. A big storm caught them, and Robinson is so scared that he promises himself to give up his dreams and obey his parents. Once the storm is over and they reached the coast, Robinson soon forgets everything and decides to set sail to Guinea. Robinson also goes on a second voyage to Guinea, but this time he is captured by Moorish pirates and sold as a slave in North Africa. After sometime, providing himself with a gun and some provisions, Robinson escapes in a little boat with Xury, another slave. In their adventure sailing with no direction, Robinson is aware of the threats of the unknown West African coast, inhabited by wild animals and savage tribes. Fortunately, a Portuguese ship heading to Brazil rescues Robinson and Xury. Once in Brazil, Robinson takes up a sugar cane plantation, but manpower is needed to work the plantation. Then Robinson embarks on a ship to Guinea in order to get slaves for the plantation. Suddenly, a violent storm lashes the ship near the Caribbean Islands. The ship is driven out of its course and it finally sank. Robinson manages reach the coast of a desert island; he is the only survivor. After an initial examination of the land, Robinson is able to rescue some provisions from the shipwrecked: muskets, pistols, gunpowder, food, clothes, ink, paper, tools, bibles, two cats and a dog. He builds a hut incrusted in a rock to protect himself from the tropical climate and to store safely all his provisions. He sets a calendar and writes a journal with his experiences, and teaches a parrot some words. Initially, Robinson hunts goats and turtles to feed himself. Later, he explores deeply the island and found rich grapes. He set traps to get goats alive to get them domesticated in order to assure him meat provision during the seasons of bad weather. He also sows wheat and he makes pottery and baskets. One day, Robinson sees land on the horizon and he is determined to build a canoe with big trunk. It took long time to finish the canoe, however it is too heavy to be carried to the sea on his own. Then, he builds a smaller canoe and heads himself into the open sea, but a sea tide nearly makes him to drown. After twelve years of solitude in the island, Robinson discovers footprints on the shore. Then he finds out rests of human bones. The idea of cannibals obsessed him enormously and he fears the cannibal's rituals taking place periodically in the island.

A couple of years later, a Spanish ship sinks near the island. There are no survivors, but this supplies Robinson with new and fresh provisions. One night, Robinson dreams that he saves a savage from death in a cannibal ritual, and like a premonition it happens later. The savage is named Friday and becomes his servant. Robinson teaches him English language, Christian religion principles and civi lised habits. Friday reveals Robinson that the cannibals have Spanish prisoners. The cannibals revisit again the island. Among their victims there is a Spaniard and Friday's father. Robinson and Friday plan to rescue the victims shooting the cannibals. The Spaniard tells Robinson that his compatriots live with Friday's tribe. A plan to rescue them is set up with the condition of accepting Robinson's leadership. In the mean time, English mutineers arrived to the island dropping the captain of the ship and two of the crewmembers. Robinson meets them, and together they make a strategic plan to persuade the mutineers and recover the ship. Eventually, after twenty years living on the desert island, Robinson returns to England with Friday. Robinson is a rich man, his wealth proceeds from the Brazilian plantation and from the shipwrecked. Robinson goes to Portugal crossing Spain and France, and passing the Pyrenees, his convoy is attacked by wolfs and a wild bear, which is killed by Friday with amazing skill. In his latest days, his adventurous spirit makes him to travel to the East Indies as a tradesman. Robinson also revisits his solitude island. He also travels to China, where he is involved in a real battle against looters. Finally, he returns to England.

THEMES AND CHARACTERS IN ROBINSON CRUSOE

The central themes in the novel are the inter-racial relationship, moralism, religion, philosophical and social beliefs. Another interesting subject is the strong spirit of survival through the anxious solitude and struggle of a shipwrecked man who has to face a new life and domain nature. All through the book a moral sense is constantly kept. It starts when Robinson defies his father's advise, gets in trouble, enslaved, shipwrecked, and in every occasion, he gets and learns the best of it. In fact, Crusoe feels a real sinner; he was never able to see the signs God sent him, however, he receives the grace of God all the time.

As a Puritan soul testing a solitary ordeal, Robinson realises that internal matters in life prevail on external. From this moment onwards, and without feeling homesick or missing his civilised society, basically the protagonist desires to be relieved from his past sins. The isolation and solitude experienced by Robinson points out the idea of finding a new sense to life through the exploration and exploitation of nature and the creation of a new world. It also has a strange economic sense. The 18th century belief that God, morality and economics are all somehow one. Robinson Crusoe embodies the conquest of North American people, the domination of nature, the transformation of wilderness into culture, and eventually, the victory. The rescue of Friday, a "wild creature", supposes to undertake a religious conversion and to educate him into civilised habits. However, Puritans thought that the inhabitants of the New World were to be ignored, killed, or used as servants, as it happens indeed with Friday's father, the cannibals and Friday himself. Contrary to that, the Catholic principle was to convert the savages and to incorporate them into the Christian community, as the only way to spread the Christianism. The trading bourgeoisie, the expansion of London into the commercial centre of Europe and the further establishment of the British colonial empire shapes the idea of colonisation. The novel is a vivid representation of the Western colonisation that undoubtedly overcomes wilderness, nature and the uncivilised world.When the shipwreck occurred, Robinson is plunged into a survival act. That implies that Robinson's main task is to transform the wild island into a civilised place, a really hard work as he lacks of tools to do it properly. The story also contains a tribute to work. The majority of the story describes the protagonist efforts at mundane tasks undertaken in the island. The weapons and tools Robinson rescues from the shipwrecks help the protagonist to carry out many of his activities to survive - hunting, fishing, agriculture, and craftsmanship. The main idea is that God places human beings on earth to work. Definitely, their efforts contribute to reach anything desired. Besides that the important idea of colonisation is mainly articulated when Friday is rescued from the cannibals. From this moment, a complex relationship is developed through Robinson's interaction and Friday response. Robinson wishes many times to have a companionship, but a companionship under his dominance, as he thinks to kill Friday if he does subject to his will. Finally, violence is not needed because Friday submits to Robinson's orders in gratitude for having being rescued. Friday voluntarily accepts a lifelong servitude under a mutual verbal agreement. Indeed, Robinson exercises total authority on Friday; who must obey and be useful to his master. Furthermore, a kind of intimacy between these opposite men is developed, a feeling of brotherhood that exceeds Robinson's colonising position. When Robinson says: "I was greatly delighted with him, and made it my business to teach him everything that was proper to make him useful, handy, and helpful; but especially to make him speak, and understand me when I spoke....", indeed it reveals Robinson's

objective of teaching the savage English language, Western habits, and the new name of Friday with which the savage is rebirthed are obvious attempts for suppressing the savage's culture and wild nature. Language is the powerful element that allow communication between Robinson and Frisay, but the use of the English language, the civilised language, reveals authority and dominion over under races.