Daniel Defoe (1660-1731) Defoe’s Life • He was born Daniel Foe in London in 1660, son OF a merchant Daniel added De to his name in 1695. • Defoe studied in London in preparation for a career in the Presbyterian ministry but he plunged into politics and trade travelling around Europe. • He tried to start a career in the business field without success and he became bankrupt. • In 1684 he married Mary Tuffley and together they had 5 sons and two daughters. Defoe’s Life • Around 1700 they came back to London and Defoe started to work as a journalist and became interested in politics. For this reason he started to write pamphlets and essays on politics. • In 1704 Defoe founded the periodical The Review. • In 1719 he was almost sixty and started to publish novels. The one which made him famous was Robinson Crusoe. • Defoe died in 1731. Main works • Robinson Crusoe (1719) • Moll Flanders (1722) • A Journal of the Plague Year (1722) • Roxana (1724) Robinson Crusoe: The Plot • It is regarded as the first modern novel, a true story. Defoe based the novel on the true story of the Scottish seaman Alexander Selkirk and tried to make the story realistic introducing details concerning time, setting (ambientazione), the characters and their actions. • Robinson Crusoe is a middle class young man who decides to leave his family and life in York to try his fortune at sea and to travel around the world. Although his father tries to stop him, Robinson sails away and after many adventures and misadventures he lands in Brazil where he becomes a successful plantation owner. Robinson Crusoe: The Plot • As he needed slaves for his plantation he sets off for Africa, but there is a terrible storm and Robinson is shipwrecked on an island near Trinidad where he will remain for 28 years. He discovers that he is the only survivor of the wreck. • Most of the plot of this second part centres around his life on the island and is written in the form of a journal. He builds a shelter, raises goats for food and sets up a cross bearing the date of his arrival 1 September 1659. • Some times later some cannibals land on the island. Crusoe at first is scared but later on when one of their captives escapes and runs towards Crusoe’s dwelling, Crusoe saves him, shoots at his persecutors and force them to leave. Robinson Crusoe: The Plot • The man he has saved promises to serve Crusoe and he calls him Friday after the day on which they met. He teaches Friday some English words and elements of Christianity. • After some time the cannibals return to Crusoe’s island and Crusoe attacks them in order to save their two prisoners: one is a Spaniard and the other one is Friday’s father. Robinson Crusoe: The Plot • A week later a ship is sighted, Crusoe and Friday board the ship and return to England. On his way home he discovers that his plantation has been very successful which makes him very rich. He settles in England, marries and has three children. When his wife dies some years later, he decides to go back to sea. The legendary figure of Robinson Crusoe • Robinson Crusoe is a legendary figure: he works hard, is determined and has creative skills. • He becomes a hunter, a builder, a shepherd and battles to survive. He manages to organize his daily life perfectly. Robinson Crusoe -An expression of European colonial aspirations • In Robinson Crusoe colonialism is clearly apparent. • The story was published in 1719 and England was enjoying the prosperity of the American colonies. • After colonizing the island on which he lands Robinson behaves as a colonist even with the native Friday that he treats as a servant. • Their relationship can be read as a metaphor for the process of colonization: in fact Robinson the “master”/ colonizer gives him a name, teaches him his language and tries to convince him to embrace his religion without respecting his diversity. Robinson Crusoe: the economic man • Born into the English middle class, Daniel Defoe expressed the economic and political aspirations of his class; he was active and industrious. • Although he has a modest and secure life in England he leaves in order to improve his financial situation and seek adventure. • After being shipwrecked on the deserted island he becomes the symbol of the “economic man” replicating all the basic production processes of western civilization in his little land. Robinson Crusoe: the economic man • For him the island becomes a property and even Friday will become part. This shows that Defoe invested his novel with a didactic moral purpose, as he demonstrates the power of divine providence in saving a castaway, who has sinned by abandoning his family and forgetting his religious teaching. The success of Robinson Crusoe • It is an adventurous story with an exotic setting: it satisfies the tastes of the people of the time • It is easy to read because it is written in a simple clear style • The protagonist Robinson was a character with whom the reader could identify. In fact the novel is narrated using the first -person narrator to make the reader feel close to the protagonist. • The novel contains different references to the Bible which is seen as a weapon against loneliness and desperation. These references give the novel a ”moral“ tone.
