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These are the points I've come up with:

-shipwrecked

-slave under Turkish captain

-no companion

Please elaborate on those points and add more if there are any.

Thanks in advance.

Here are a few more points for you:

-not only is he alone, he fears his life because of the potential danger from the natives he discovers

-he has to build and rebuild, build and rebuild all the work of his hands which took him months to accomplish, only to vanish away right in front of him

-the rest of the world thinks that he's dead

Out of curiosity, what other characters might be in the running for most sympathetic?  There are reasons to sympathize with Crusoe, but there are other reasons to find him less than sympathetic.  For one thing, he is an imperialist/racist --- which makes Friday look more sympathetic in some ways.  He has this strange on/off relationship with God ... he reduces God to just another tool in his life that can be used for his own purposes. His treatment of Xury also leaves something to be desired.

On the other hand, he is generous, spreading out his money admirably after his return to civilization.

None of this is to say that I don't "like" Crusoe; I just find him a complex character with some good points and some other points.

In reply to #2:

Thanks 4 the great points!!