1. Robinson Crusoe:
Discourse on Individualism
Or,
2. Robinson Crusoe:
The universal Representative, the person for whom every reader could substitute
himself.
Or,
3. Robinson Crusoe invests
every moment of life on the island with interest?
Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe has
made a profound impression on readers as well as on whole cultures. Samuel
Johnson, a demanding critic gave it a highest praise, “was there ever yet any thing written by mere man that was wished
longer by its readers, excepting Don Quixote, Robinson Crusoe and the Pilgrim’s
Progress?”Crusoe in Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe is not an ordinary individual
who follows the average, rather he goes beyond the average acting independently
choosing what he wishes and it is this distinctive individualism which appeals
to the reader’s mind and focuses on the importance of individualism in the
novel. Readers in love with him, admires him for his hair-raising adventures
and sympathizes with him for his affliction. (Thus, the idea of individualism
gets a powerful focus mainly through the portrayal of odd like character Crusoe
in the end.) 1
(Coleridge acknowledges Crusoe
as a universal figure, one who represents, “humanity in general; neither his intellectual nor his moral qualities
set him above the middle degree of mankind...” He is “the universal
representative, the person for whom every reader could substitute himself. But
now nothing is done, thought, or suffered or desired, but what every man can
imagine himself doing, thinking, feeling, or whishing for.”
James Beattie’s comment is also
similar to Coleridge laying stress on universality of Crusoe’s character.
According to Beattie, “Robinson Crusoe,
though there is nothing of love in it, is one of the most interesting
narratives that ever was written; at least in all that part which related to
the desert island being founded on a passion still more prevalent than love,
the desire of self- preservation; and therefore likely to engage the curiosity
of every class of readers, both old and young, both learned and unlearned.”)2
(Crusoe is almost in every page
of the book and the book is nothing but the life and experience of its protagonist.
Crusoe is the center round which all the actions revolve and Defoe has invested
“every moment of life on the island with
interest” in the characterization of Crusoe.)3
Robinson Crusoe deals with the
life of an individual character who earns to work his way up from the common
middle position of life to a high one. Being not satisfied with the quiet
middle station of life, Robinson seeks self- realization, so he refuses to lead
a stable life or to remain inactive for any length of time, and as a result, he
rejects his father’s advice to accept the middle position of life. His desire
to go to the sea pushes him to leave home and go on voyages.
Robinson goes on a voyage bound
for London against his father’s will. During the voyage, a storm overtakes the ship;
he feels regretful and decides to return back from his voyage if God saves his
life. After he is saved, he refuses to turn home. Now he goes on a voyage bound
to Africa as a trader. He succeeds in making some money there and thereafter
decides to become a merchant. This time, his ship is attacked by pirates and he
is held as a slave.
