“Robinson and Friday”
(1667197)
by Daniel Defoe
LANGUAGE THROUGH LITERATURE
1. Consider the first excerpt:
a.
Highlight in green the parts belonging to man’s face and write them down.
Hair (l. 7), forehead (l.8), eyes (l.9), nose (l.14), mouth (l.14), lips (l.15), teeth (l15).
b.
Highlight in blue the adjectives Robinson uses to describe Friday’s face, then write down the
opposite of what he says.
0 Hair
long (l.7)
short
black (l.7)
blond
not curled (l. 7)
not straight;
1. Forehead high (l.8)
low
large (l. 8)
narrow;
2. Eyes
vivacious (l. 8) lifeless
sparkling (l. 8) dull;
3. Face
round (l. 13)
long
plump (l.14) lean (= thin);
4. Nose
small (l. 14)
big
not flat
not pointed
5. Mouth
good (l. 14)
bad;
6. Lips
thin (l. 15)
fleshy;
7. Teeth
well set (l. 15) crooked; White as ivory (l.15) dirty;
8. Skin
not quite black ( l.9) not quite white; very tawny (l. 10)
very pale.
2. Robinson’s description of Friday is well detailed. What might Friday be like?
Decide whether these statements are true or false
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
He is old and lame
His skin is smooth and white
He has got long black hair
He looks like a Brazilian native
He has got beautiful teeth
False
False
True
False
True
LANGUAGE THROUGH LITERATURE
3. So to conclude , in a word Friday must have been a _______________ man.
Choose your answer from: stout skinny brawny
fat
well-proportioned
monster-like
4. Now consider the second excerpt. Read the text below and decide which answer (A, B, C or D)
best fits each gap (l.1-9)
In the second part of the passage (0) _B_ explains how he (1) _____ to instruct his friend in the
Christian religion. The narrator, who is a (2) _____ person one, tells about an (3) _____ God, a
good and (4) _____ one who (5) _____ His Son to (6) _____ us. The God is completely different
from (7) _____ ‘s: he lives in heaven, and not in the great (8) _____ , and can hear the people’s
prayers on the earth. The narrator also observes the existence of (9) _____ even among the
savages and he is glad to see how his friend has gradually turned to the new religion.
0
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
A Friday
A will manage
A first
A anxious
A generous
A has been sent
A recover
A Robinson
A mountains
A nuns
B Robinson
B has managed
B second
B obsessive
B divine
B has been sending
B redeem
B our
B desert
B priests
C the reader
C managed
C third
C almighty
C manly
C has sented
C rescue
C Friday
C hut
C monks
D God
D manages
D zero
D eager
D weak
D sent
D pardon
D everyman
D city
D churches
GUIDED ANALYSIS
1. Read the first excerpt
a. Describe Friday’s physical appearance
• “a comely (=attractive) handsome fellow, perfectly well-made, with straight long limbs (ll.12); “tall and well-shaped” (l.2); “about twenty six years of age” (l.3); “very good
countenance” (ll.3-4); “something very manly in his face” (.5); “all the sweetness and softness
of an European in his countenance” (l.5-6); “his hair was long and black” (l.7); “forehead very
high and large, and a great vivacity and sparkling sharpness in his eyes (ll. 8-9); “skin ... Of a
bright kind of a dun (= greysh-brown) olive colour ... Very agreeable” (ll. 9-13); “his face was
round and plumb (= straight) ”, his nose small “ (ll, 13-14); “a very good mouth, thin lips, and
his fine teeth well set, and white as ivory” (ll. 14-15).
b. Friday is described also thanks to some “negative details”: how are negative details used?
• “limbs not too large” (l. 2); “not a fierce and surly (impolite) aspect” (l. 4), “hair .... not curled
like wool” (l.7); “skin ... not quite black, but very tawny (= light yellowish-brown), and yet not
of an ugly yellow nauseous tawny” (ll. 9-10); “ nose ... Not flat like the negroes” (l. 14). The
negative details are certainly limited in number compared to the positive ones and they
are just a means to enhance Friday’s physical beauty.
c. Analyse the positive and the negative features separately: what can we deduce from them
about Defoe’s attitude to the Indians?
• That in stressing Friday’s good-looking aspect, Robinson praises him for not looking too much
like a typical savage. What makes him handsome are his European features.
GUIDED ANALYSIS
2. Read the second excerpt.
a. How does Robinson teach Friday the principles of Christianity?
•
b.
•
c.
•
d.
•
3.
•
He tells him about “the great Maker ... pointing up towards heaven” (ll. 17-18) and
explains His omnipotence and providence to him
What is Friday’s attitude towards religion?
Friday seems favourably disposed towards the Christian religion and he seems to
consider Robinson’s teaching with high respect.
How does the excerpt end ?
With Robinson’s comment on the similarities between the two religions and how
religious practices are often mysterious in order to increase people’s veneration of
priests.
What can we guess of Defoe’s religious creed?
As a Puritan he is highly critical towards the Roman Church (ll. 34-37).
Focus on characterization.
After reading the two excerpts can we say that Robinson embodies the
characteristics of the British colonizer?
Yes, we can. In fact Friday is certainly described as inferior to Robinson who
considers him as his servant. Moreover, it is Friday who has to adapt and learn
the language of the colonizer and is even meant to embrace his religion.
GUIDED ANALYSIS
4. Focus on the narrative technique.
a. How can we describe Defoe’s style and language ?
• Defoe’s style and language is simple but precise, factual, didactic, and the story is written
in the way of a fictitious autobiography.
b. What kind of narrator tells the story?
• A first person narrator tells the story.
5. Explain how Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe can be regarded as the celebration of the English
mercantile spirit and of colonialism. (maximum 150 words).
• On the one hand, the novel celebrates the English mercantile spirit of adventure in faraway
countries. Robinson is armed only with his own strength and intelligence and with the firm
Puritan conviction that he has God on his side; on the other hand, the relation between
Robinson and Friday is that of a colonist towards an enslaved native, a master towards his
servant. Robinson’s only interest in the native is to submit him to his own culture and rules,
giving him a new name, a new language and a new religion. However, he does not teach him
to use the new scientific and technical devices so as to maintain his superiority. Robinson’s
education of Friday in “Robinson Crusoe” recalls the processes of modern colonialism (124
words).