Discuss realism in Defoe’s “Robinson Crusoe”.
Defoe in his preface to the novel Robinson
Crusoe described the book as “a just history of fact “ , . However, one thing
can’t be denied : Robinson Crusoe was based upon the actual experiences of a
real man called Alexander Selkirk who had spent four years alone , on the uninhabited
island of Juan Fernandez. But , we shall keep in
mind that Defoe’s story of Crusoe’s experiences and doings is largely factious
and fantastic ; yet, while we are going through it we never pause to question
the narrator’s credentials . Defoe’s technique of telling the story is such
that we fall completely under its spell and go on reading it eagerly, and even breathlessly,
without doubting its veracity. In short, Defoe is a realistic novelist. In
Robison Crusoe , he gave his readers all kinds of minute details. Such details
to be seen in Crusoe’s digging the cave, building the fence, collecting his
crops of barely and wheat, hunting the animals , fighting the cannibals and the
like.
Defoe, on the other hand, has used different techniques to bring realism into the novel. In the first place , he has used the circumstantial method : One of Crusoe’s most successful projects is the raising of the crops of barely and rice on the island. Another circumstantial method is that the presence of the wrecked ship near the sea shore which enabled Crusoe to bring the equipment and the material he needed to survive.
