illustration of a man standing on an island and looking out at the ocean with the title Robison Crusoe written in the sky

Robinson Crusoe

by Daniel Defoe

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Robinson Crusoe Questions and Answers

Robinson Crusoe

Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe cannot be strictly classified as a picaresque novel, though it shares some elements with the genre. Picaresque novels typically feature roguish protagonists who...

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Robinson Crusoe

Both Robinson Crusoe and Gulliver's Travels feature protagonists who embark on extraordinary voyages, but their experiences and character development differ significantly. Robinson Crusoe is a tale...

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Robinson Crusoe

The moral of the story of Robinson Crusoe is that a person can succeed against all odds with the right combination of hard work, planning, thrift, resourcefulness, and religious faith.

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Robinson Crusoe

At the end of Robinson Crusoe, Crusoe and Friday are saved. They sail back to Europe on an English ship. Crusoe discovers that his investments have made him wealthy. He marries, has three children,...

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Robinson Crusoe

Some of the primary symbols in Robinson Crusoe are money, the sea, the cross, the footprint, and the bower.

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Robinson Crusoe

The title page of Robinson Crusoe is significant because it presents the story as a personal autobiography written by Crusoe himself. It also provides a summary of the plot, revealing the...

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Robinson Crusoe

In Robinson Crusoe, Enlightenment ideas are illustrated through the protagonist's emphasis on reason, individualism, and self-reliance. Crusoe's practical problem-solving skills, his focus on...

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Robinson Crusoe

The expression "dreadful deliverance" is an oxymoron that concisely sums up Crusoe's predicament. A storm has left him the lone survivor of a shipwreck. This is a deliverance, because he is still...

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Robinson Crusoe

Yes, Robinson Crusoe is a middle-class hero. He embodies middle-class virtues such as thrift, hard work, ingenuity, and self-sufficiency. Unlike the aristocracy, who lived off inherited wealth,...

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Robinson Crusoe

In Robinson Crusoe, during a severe illness, Crusoe experiences a fever-induced dream that marks the start of his spiritual awakening. In this vision, a fearsome man descends from dark clouds,...

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Robinson Crusoe

Robinson Crusoe follows the trajectory of a classic bildungsroman by showing Crusoe mature through adversity from a self-centered youth who wants to get rich quickly to a wiser person who understands...

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Robinson Crusoe

In Robinson Crusoe, Crusoe's character evolves significantly through his isolation and struggles on a deserted island. Initially driven by greed and indifferent to morality, engaging in the slave...

5 educator answers

Robinson Crusoe

Defoe uses irony in Robinson Crusoe in several instances, many of which involve his being shipwrecked, undeterred by each former disaster. A particular example of Defoe's use of irony can be seen in...

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Robinson Crusoe

Robinson Crusoe is a novel, a genre defined as a long imaginative work of literature written in prose. It is a type of travel fiction, set in an exotic locale, and is realistic, depicting plausible...

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Robinson Crusoe

In Robinson Crusoe, Xury and Man Friday are alike in their loyalty and usefulness to Crusoe. Both accept a subordinate position to him. However, although Friday is a man and Xury is a boy, Crusoe...

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Robinson Crusoe

Daniel Defoe achieves verisimilitude in Robinson Crusoe through detailed, realistic descriptions that create a semblance of reality. The novel's title and structure mimic a historical account,...

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Robinson Crusoe

Robinson Crusoe exhibits admirable traits such as resourcefulness, resilience, and ingenuity, which help him survive on a deserted island. However, he also displays unlikable traits, including...

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Robinson Crusoe

Opinions on Robinson Crusoe highlight its compelling plot and detailed realism, but criticize the colonialist attitudes and clunky storytelling. Crusoe's resourcefulness and resilience are admired,...

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Robinson Crusoe

An introduction to Robinson Crusoe should highlight its significance as a precursor to the novel genre, emphasizing its pioneering contribution to realism. This realism is evident in its detailed...

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Robinson Crusoe

Yes, Robinson Crusoe does get off the island. After twenty-eight years, an English ship arrives. He and Friday return to Europe. Crusoe settles in England and marries, then leaves to wander again...

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Robinson Crusoe

Robinson Crusoe and Treasure Island share several similarities. Both novels are first-person narratives focused on adventure and survival, placing readers in the protagonists' shoes. The narrators...

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Robinson Crusoe

Crusoe's illness is a fever with a severe headache. He reacts to his illness by turning to God. For the first time, Crusoe prays seriously to his Maker.

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Robinson Crusoe

Xury is a non-white slave boy with whom Crusoe escapes captivity. Crusoe escapes from the clutches of the pirates with two slaves, one of whom is Xury. While he forces one to swim ashore, he keeps...

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Robinson Crusoe

Robinson Crusoe and Oroonoko both embody aspects of Enlightenment ideals, but in different ways. Crusoe exemplifies Enlightenment values through his independence and self-reliance, as he chooses his...

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Robinson Crusoe

Friday's original name in "Robinson Crusoe" is never revealed. He is named after the day Crusoe saved him from cannibals. His character has become an archetype for the "noble savage," and the term...

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Robinson Crusoe

Robinson Crusoe is more than an adventure story in that is one of the first novels in English and therefore deeply influenced the novel form. The novel is also a striking reflection of European...

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Robinson Crusoe

There are no woman characters in Robinson Crusoe because the author of the novel thought that would stretch credibility too far. Click here to return to the search form.

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Robinson Crusoe

Robinson Crusoe is important because it is one of the earliest examples of a wholly realistic novel, laying the groundwork for the development of the realist novel as we know it today.

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Robinson Crusoe

During his first voyage, Robinson Crusoe experiences intense fear, seasickness, and regret for disobeying his parents. Initially, he mistakes mild turbulence for a deadly storm, prays to God, and...

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Robinson Crusoe

Robinson Crusoe escapes from slavery by escaping in a boat when his owner had sent him out to sea to fish. Prior to this, Crusoe had been enslaved after his ship was attacked by pirates.

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Robinson Crusoe

The relationship between Crusoe and his parents in Robinson Crusoe isn't elaborated on because Defoe wants to highlight the fact that Crusoe is very much his own man, a rugged individualist...

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Robinson Crusoe

Friday arrives on the island as a captive of cannibals who visit for their rituals. He escapes when one victim is killed, and runs towards Crusoe's fortress. Crusoe, who had foreseen this event in a...

1 educator answer

Robinson Crusoe

Robinson Crusoe ran away because he had long wished to be a sailor and escape the quiet life his parents led in England. When an opportunity comes for him to sail to London, he seizes it without...

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Robinson Crusoe

Crusoe is kind and generous to the women in his life in the latter part of the novel, but he does not call any of them by name or seem to have much sense of them as full-fleshed human beings....

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Robinson Crusoe

Crusoe acquires barley by discovering it growing in a shaded spot on the island where he had previously discarded corn husks. He is astonished to find barley, particularly an English variety, in a...

1 educator answer

Robinson Crusoe

Robinson Crusoe's quest for adventure is primarily motivated by a desire for excitement and variety, contrasting with his secure upbringing. His father's opposition, advocating for a stable life in...

1 educator answer

Robinson Crusoe

Robinson Crusoe is a novel written with Puritan values to present the work ethic, reason and religious faith by using the character of Robinson Crusoe.

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Robinson Crusoe

When he is stranded on the island, Robinson Crusoe keeps goats as a source of food.

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Robinson Crusoe

No, Robinson Crusoe is not a true story. It is a work of fiction. However, the book was presented as if it were a true story, was based on the popular travel narrative genre, and was so realistic...

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Robinson Crusoe

Robinson Crusoe teaches Friday to call him "master." This establishes an unequal hierarchy between the two men from the start.

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Robinson Crusoe

Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe exemplifies formal realism through its detailed portrayal of Crusoe's experiences and the use of a first-person narrative that mimics a diary or autobiography. This...

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Robinson Crusoe

No, Friday does not die in Robinson Crusoe, because Crusoe saves him from being eaten by cannibals.

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Robinson Crusoe

Robinson Crusoe's initial dwelling serves a defensive purpose, providing protection against potential threats like wild animals or hostile humans. It is built quickly beneath a mountain, which later...

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Robinson Crusoe

Robinson Crusoe is the narrator, recounting his own adventures and experiences in an autobiographical style. Born in York in 1632, with a father from Bremen, Germany, Crusoe tells of his decision to...

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Robinson Crusoe

Robinson Crusoe's attitude to reality is one of acceptance. Despite some moments of despair, he plays the hand he is given and makes the best of whatever situation he finds himself in.

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Robinson Crusoe

Robinson Crusoe acquires guns and gunpowder by retrieving them from a shipwreck. After surviving a storm, he swims to the grounded ship and finds its quarters dry and filled with provisions. Crusoe...

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Robinson Crusoe

Xury's character in Robinson Crusoe advances the plot by aiding Crusoe's escape from captivity and providing companionship during his early adventures. His presence highlights themes of loyalty and...

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Robinson Crusoe

The first chapter of Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe contains few simple sentences, reflecting the complex writing style of the 18th century. Simple sentences have one clause and can include a dual...

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Robinson Crusoe

Robinson Crusoe meets the native man he calls Friday when he saves him from cannibals who occasionally come to the island. Friday becomes his servant. Up until the end, when an English ship comes to...

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Robinson Crusoe

The Bible and gun are crucial to Crusoe's survival as they provide both physical and spiritual sustenance. The gun enables him to hunt and protect himself from threats, asserting control over the...

1 educator answer