Robinson Crusoe-opis Likova

8/17/2019 Robinson Crusoe-opis Likova

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list orm, or eample. His insistence on dating events makessense to a point, but it ultimately ends up seeming obsessive andirrelevant when he tells us the date on which he grinds his toolsbut neglects to tell us the date o a very important event like

meeting /riday. 0erhaps his impulse to record acts careully is nota survival skill, but an irritating sign o his neurosis.

/inally, while not boasting o heroism, Crusoe is nonetheless veryinterested in possessions, power, and prestige. When he +rst callshimsel king o the island it seems &ocund, but when he describesthe !paniard as his sub&ect we must take his royal delusionseriously, since it seems he really does consider himsel king. Histeaching /riday to call him 1*aster,2 even beore teaching himthe words or 1yes2 or 1no,2 seems obnoious even under the

racist standards o the day, as i Crusoe needs to hear the ego#boosting word spoken as soon as possible. 3verall, Crusoe%svirtues tend to be private' his industry, resourceulness, andsolitary courage make him an eemplary individual. (ut his vicesare social, and his urge to sub&ugate others is highlyob&ectionable. 4n bringing both sides together into one complecharacter, 5eoe gives us a ascinating glimpse into thesuccesses, ailures, and contradictions o modern man.

Friday

0robably the +rst nonwhite character to be given a realistic,individuali)ed, and humane portrayal in the 6nglish novel, /ridayhas a huge literary and cultural importance. 4 Crusoe representsthe +rst colonial mind in +ction, then /riday represents not &ust aCaribbean tribesman, but all the natives o America, Asia, andArica who would later be oppressed in the age o 6uropeanimperialism. At the moment when Crusoe teaches /riday to callhim 1*aster2 /riday becomes an enduring political symbol o

racial in&ustice in a modern world critical o imperialist epansion.Recent rewritings o the Crusoe story, like ". *. Coet)ee%s Foe and*ichel ournier%s Friday, emphasi)e the sad conse$uences o Crusoe%s ailure to understand /riday and suggest how the talemight be told very dierently rom the native%s perspective.


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Aside rom his importance to our culture, /riday is a key +gurewithin the contet o the novel. 4n many ways he is the mostvibrant character in Robinson Crusoe, much more charismatic andcolorul than his master. 4ndeed, 5eoe at times underscores the

contrast between Crusoe%s and /riday%s personalities, as when/riday, in his &oyul reunion with his ather, ehibits ar moreemotion toward his amily than Crusoe. Whereas Crusoe nevermentions missing his amily or dreams about the happiness o seeing them again, /riday &umps and sings or &oy when he meetshis ather, and this emotional display makes us see what ismissing rom Crusoe%s stodgy heart. /riday%s epression o loyaltyin asking Crusoe to kill him rather than leave him is more hearteltthan anything Crusoe ever says or does. /riday%s sincere$uestions to Crusoe about the devil, which Crusoe answers only

indirectly and hesitantly, leave us wondering whether Crusoe%sknowledge o Christianity is super+cial and sketchy in contrast to/riday%s ull understanding o his own god (enamuckee. 4n short,/riday%s euberance and emotional directness oten point out thewooden conventionality o Crusoe%s personality.

5espite /riday%s sub&ugation, however, Crusoe appreciates /ridaymuch more than he would a mere servant. Crusoe does not seemto value intimacy with humans much, but he does say that he

loves /riday, which is a remarkable disclosure. 4t is the only timeCrusoe makes such an admission in the novel, since he neverepresses love or his parents, brothers, sisters, or even his wie.

he mere act that an 6nglishman conesses more love or anilliterate Caribbean e#cannibal than or his own amily suggeststhe appeal o /riday%s personality. Crusoe may bring /ridayChristianity and clothing, but /riday brings Crusoe emotionalwarmth and a vitality o spirit that Crusoe%s own 6uropean heartlacks.

The Portuguese Captain

he 0ortuguese captain is presented more ully than any other6uropean in the novel besides Crusoe, more vividly portrayedthan Crusoe%s widow riend or his amily members. He appears inthe narrative at two very important &unctures in Crusoe%s lie./irst, it is the 0ortuguese captain who picks up Crusoe ater the


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escape rom the *oors and takes him to (ra)il, where Crusoeestablishes himsel as a plantation owner. wenty#eight yearslater, it is again the 0ortuguese captain who inorms Crusoe thathis (ra)ilian investments are secure, and who arranges the sale o

the plantation and the orwarding o the proceeds to Crusoe. 4nboth cases, the 0ortuguese captain is the agent o Crusoe%setreme good ortune. 4n this sense, he represents the bene+ts o social connections. 4 the captain had not been located in 7isbon,Crusoe never would have cashed in on his (ra)ilian holdings. hisassistance rom social contacts contradicts the theme o solitaryenterprise that the novel seems to endorse. 5espite Crusoe%shard individual labor on the island, it is actually another humanbeing—and not his own resourceulness-that makes Crusoewealthy in the end. 8et it is doubtul whether this insight occurs to

Crusoe, despite his obvious gratitude toward the captain.

*oreover, the 0ortuguese captain is associated with a wide arrayo virtues. He is honest, inorming Crusoe o the money he hasborrowed against Crusoe%s investments, and repaying a part o itimmediately even though it is +nancially di9cult or him to do so.He is loyal, honoring his duties toward Crusoe even ater twenty#eight years. /inally, he is etremely generous, paying Crusoemore than market value or the animal skins and slave boy ater

picking Crusoe up at sea, and giving Crusoe handsome gits whenleaving (ra)il. All these virtues make the captain a paragon o human ecellence, and they make us wonder why 5eoe includessuch a character in the novel. 4n some ways, the captain%sgoodness makes him the moral counterpart o /riday, since the6uropean seaman and the Caribbean cannibal mirror each otherin benevolence and devotion to Crusoe. he captain%s goodnessthus makes it impossible or us to make oversimpli+ed oppositionsbetween a morally bankrupt 6urope on the one hand, andinnocent noble savages on the other.

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Robinson Crusoe-opis Likova