Robinson Crusoe Study Guide

Robinson Crusoe Study Guide

Author:
Original title:
The Life and Strange Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe of York, Mariner
Published:
June 12th 2001 by Modern Library (first published April 25th 1719)
Setting:
small island on mouth of Orinoco river
ISBN 0375757325 (ISBN13: 9780375757327)

One of the many things that Daniel Defoe’s novel entitled “Robinson Crusoe” did was instilling in everyone the thirst for adventure and admiration for traveling. Published in 1719, the book is a major piece of catastrophe writing that glorified the ability to survive under any circumstances. 

The events of the book are presented from its main narrator and protagonist, Robinson Kreutznaer. Born in a middle-class family, he is encouraged by his family to study law and follow a bureaucratic career. But the character rejects such options and a new life starts for him when he decides to take a voyage far from his native country. 

With a couple of successful and not so successful trips, Robinson ends up on a Trinidad island after a wreck. Luckily for him, the remains of the ship give Robinson enough supplies to establish a new life, a new order and finally a new thinking paradigm.

The intense adventures of the book are balanced by its simple language and easy style. One might say that contrast and transformation are the dominant themes of the text. It’s full of allusions, hints, political tendencies, economic theories, and social models. 

Even today thinking of spending long 28 years on a desert island provokes mixed feelings. That’s exactly the curiosity and experience that draws more and more people to reading and rereading this work of classic. There are also lots of Protestant ideas and facts that make the book a subject to real research and analysis.

It is a manual on how to bring up values in people, it tries to evoke your personal reading patterns and emerge you into a world of discoveries. So whether you want a practical example of how to make calculated choices or are looking for something to entertain your imagination – “Robinson Crusoe” is a good fit for you!

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