Jan 6, 2010

Robinson Crusoe | Overview

Robinson Crusoe is a story of adventure and ingenuity, and also a travel narrative in which the hero journeys to Africa, Brazil, China, and Siberia, and then is shipwrecked on a deserted island. But to view the novel as simply a fascinating travelogue is to ignore much of what makes it valuable and interesting to modern readers.

Throughout the narrative, Defoe details an individual's struggle to survive in basically hostile surroundings. As part of his day-to-day existence, Robinson Crusoe faces starvation, illness, pain, possible insanity, even danger from cannibals, but...