Robinson Crusoe Essay, Research Paper

The young Robinson Crusoe has a great desire to go to sea. His

desire is so strong that it overrides all his other feelings. Neither

his father’s refusal nor the disapproval of friends influences him

against a life on the sea. At his first opportunity, Crusoe runs away

to pursue a life of adventure. He joins with a friend whose father

owns a ship and soon sets sail. The trip proves to be a disaster.

The young Crusoe displays a vacillating nature. When danger or

disaster is near, he is repentant for his rebelliousness, but the

minute the situation improves, he goes back to his old ways. He is

given repeated chances to live his life differently, but he is not yet

spiritually strong enough to resist temptation. His first profitable

trading voyage makes him into a greedy man. As punishment for

his greed, he is captured and made a slave in Sallee. When he

escapes, he goes to Brazil, where he settles down and prospers;

Crusoe, however, is still not satisfied. He seizes he first

opportunity he gets to make more money, even though it is through

the immoral occupation of slave trading. As punishment for this

greed, he becomes the lone survivor of a shipwreck and is

marooned on a deserted island.

On the island, Crusoe is transformed. At first, he constantly wavers

between despair and hope and then settles down to an everyday

existence on the island. He tries to make up for his past sins with

hard work and enterprise. However, industry and productivity can

never take the place of genuine repentance. Finally, during his

illness, when he is totally helpless for the first time in his life, he

reaches out to God and begs for help and forgiveness. As always,

God hears his prayer and will, in His own time, save Crusoe.

After recovering from his illness, Crusoe begins to progress

morally. He begins to depend on God and read the Bible. His life

on the island becomes the triumph of the human spirit. Often,

when disaster strikes, his old nature temporarily surfaces, but the

change in him is too profound for his old self to pose a real threat.

When he saves Friday, his life on the island changes dramatically.

He welcomes a companion, even a savage, and quickly converts

this native culturally — dressing him in proper clothes, feeding him

cooked meat, naming him with a British name, and teaching him

English. He also converts him to Christianity, and in the process

strengthens his own faith.

Crusoe further shows he is a changed man when he refuses to

judge the savages, acknowledging that only God can judge. Crusoe

also deals justly with the Englishmen he later encounters on the

island, sparing the lives of all that he can. When he realizes his

deliverance is at hand, he gives the credit of his survival and rescue

to God, humbly refusing to take credit for himself. When he

returns to England and learns how rich he is, he shares with both

family and friends. Crusoe has truly matured into a wise, humble,

kind, and generous man.