At the end of Robinson Crusoe, Crusoe and Friday are rescued. An English ship arrives, and Crusoe helps save its captain from mutineers. He leaves a group of mutineer sailors behind, armed with guns and instructions to maintain the animals and crops he has cultivated on the island over the decades. We can only hope these men have his same prudence and foresight.
Crusoe has been on the island for twenty-eight years and two months at the point that he and Friday sail back to Europe. Friday marvels at the strangeness of Europe and his first experience of snow. The continent feels very strange to Crusoe as well after his long absence. However, he finds out that his Brazilian investments have yielded him five thousand pounds sterling over the course of his absence, a huge fortune for that time period.
Not having to worry about money, Crusoe and Friday...
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have some adventures, and Crusoe makes a financially advantageous marriage. He has three children—two boys and a girl. Later, after his wife dies, his wanderlust kicks in and he sets out to sea once again. He travels, to the East Indies and then to Brazil. He promises to tell about more of his adventures in another volume.
What is the climax of Robinson Crusoe?
The climax in a narrative is characterized by a confrontation that becomes a turning point and enables the resolution of the conflicts that have driven the story to that point.
In the case of Robinson Crusoe, the titular character is marooned on what he calls the Island of Despair for over twenty-eight years. His conflicts are many but can be distilled down to a struggle to survive, if not thrive. He must feed himself and protect himself from the elements and the hostilities of those who come to the island. Until the arrival of Friday, he must cope with isolation.
When Crusoe sees an English ship approach, it is not immediately obvious that it will lead to the novel's climax. He hides himself to survey the situation and soon encounters a passenger, captain, and first mate bound together and learns that there has been a mutiny. The English captain and Crusoe conspire to regain control of the ship with the help of the sailors loyal to the captain. Crusoe secures the understanding that he and Friday will be able to sail to England. The rapidly unfolding events of the retaking of the ship comprise the novel's climax, and Crusoe is finally able to leave the island. After a six-moth journey, he arrives in England for the first time in more than three decades.