Realism And Colonialism In Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe

【Abstract】Daniel Defoe， regarded as a pioneer novelist of England， uses the idea and techniques of Realism in Robinson Crusoe， besides， he glorifies Colonialism in this masterpiece.

【Key words】Defoe； glorifies； Realism； Colonialism

Daniel Defoe is known as a pioneer novelist of England， and also a prolific writer of books and pamphlets on a great variety of subjects. From the beginning of his writing period to his death in 1731，Defoe produced many important works such as Hymn to the Pillory， Captain Singleton， Moll Flanders， Colonel Jack， Roxanna， and Robinson Crusoe. Influenced by Spanish picaresque novel， his works always show a person with lowly birth gets success by his own resourcefulness and years of hard work. First published in 1719，Robinson Crusoe， has the appearance of a picaresque novel， showing a lowly person’s wanderings over the world. However， Robinson Crusoe is in fact a new species of writing， which inhabits the picaresque frame with a story in the shape of a journal and has a story flavor of journalistic truth. Therefore， it is regarded as a pioneering work of realism which glorifies England’s colonialism.

In Robinson Crusoe， Defoe sings the praises of labor， presenting it as the source of human pride and happiness as well as a means to change man’s living conditions from desperation to prosperity. At the same time， through Crusoe’s activities of setting up colonies overseas as well as the relationship between the two key characters Robinson and Friday， Defoe glorifies colonialism.” Robinson Crusoe is an expression of the bourgeois qualities of individualism and private enterprise”（Fan， 103）. Meanwhile， it is an embodiment of the spirit of individual enterprise and colonial expansion of the rising bourgeoisie.

Robinson Crusoe is not only the product of the times the writer lived in， but also the result of his own experiences. Daniel Defoe， like his hero Robinson Crusoe， is a self-made man. Defoe （originally Foe； he added the honorific “De” when he was over forty years old） was born in London of a middle-class family of nonconformist. It is assume that as the son of a Dissenter much of his time was spent in religious observances. It is likely that this spurred the fervent belief in Divine Providence that is so evident in his writings. At about the age of fourteen， he was enrolled in the Dissenting academy in Newington Green. Newington’s headmaster， Rev.Charles Morton， a plain-spoken Puritan， was a progressive educator. He gave his students a thorough grounding in England as well as the customary Greek and Latin.“Morton is seen as a major influence on Defoe’s writing style； the other influence was the Bible”（Margaret， 106） Having Puritan background， Defoe had close relationship with the government of William3 and worked hard for him. During his early years as a businessman， Defoe traveled widely on the Continent. He had an active mind and showed extraordinary energy， taking interests in a great many things. His early involvement in trade led to his life-long devotion to regulating English trade methods and principles. By the time he took up his pen to write Robinson Crusoe at about the age of fifty-eight， Defoe had a broad range of experiences behind him.

Maybe because he is a dissenter and unconformity， Defoe is apt to make something new. Greatly influenced by Spanish picaresque novel， Defoe himself set up a new species of writing， and is significant as the first realist English writer. Accordingly， a look into Realism may help readers better understand Robinson Crusoe.

A well-known person Sir P.Harvey’s original definition of Realism goes like that： “a loosely used term meaning truth to the observed facts of life（especially when they are gloomy）”（Margaret， 813） It insists on accurate documentation， sociological insight， an accumulation of the details of material fact， an avoidance of poetic diction， idealization， exaggeration， monodrama， etc. Subjects are to be taken from everyday life. Besides， it focuses on reality， especially the evil of the society， the poverty and misery of lower class. Moreover， the common people are portrayed as the protagonist class.

From the description of Realism， we can say Defoe is a moderate realist. The most attractive quality in Robinson Crusoe is its sense of reality. And Defoe tries

his best to convince the readers that all his writing are about real life.

Robinson Crusoe is based on a true adventure which can be traced back to 1704.Alexander Selkirk， son of a shoemaker of Largo， ran away to sea and joined a privatizing expedition. At his own request， Alexander was put ashore on an uninhabited island. In 1709，he was rescued by another ship （Drabble，801）.It was likely that Defoe took the suggestion for the story and then drew details from various travel books of his own time and of earlier generations wrote the novel in the first person voice as if the story had been told by some sailor-adventurer himself.

The life of Robinson Crusoe on the unknown island is depicted in a realistic way. Surviving on an uninhabited island， Robinson built himself a house， domesticated goats and made a boat with the help of a few stores and utensils found in the wrenched ship and his own ingenuity. He worried about the cannibal savages visited his island. He rescued a poor savage Friday from death and made him his servant. At last， Robinson was rescues twenty-eight years later. The long series of incidents keep the readers` attention on the plot from the beginning to the very end.

This realistic sense is achieved by some precise depictions， take the following descriptions as examples. Defoe stated that：

Before I set up my tent， I drew a half circle before the hollow place， which took in about ten yards in its semi-diameter from the reck， and twenty yards in its diameter， from its beginning and ending.

In this half circle I pitched two rows of strong stakes， driving them into the found till they stood very firm like piles， the biggest end being out of the ground about five foot and a half， and sharpened on the top： The two rows did not stand above six inches from one another.

Then I tool the pieces of cable…I laid them in rows one upon another…neither man nor beast could get into t or over it （Defoe， 69）

Just as an example， lifelikeness is achieved on details―the size of the fence and its building materials. Defoe not only tells us that something is done， but how it is done. His detailed description make the reader believe it is based on his own experience. The language is the ordinary language of the ordinary people--“explicit， easy， free and very plain”（Fan， 342）. We can see Defoe’s great skill in telling them in a simple， straightforward style， not with exaggeration. What is more， Defoe states the concrete and believable data in the novel， for example， How many days does it take Robinson to cut down a tree？ He also uses first person voice to make the story believable. In addition， the hero Robinson is not a member of the upper class but a member of the bourgeoisie. In a word， all these add to the realistic effect of he story.

Additionally， Robinson Crusoe is a reflection of the times. The story was written in the middle of seventeenth century. As a new class， the majority of the bourgeois class came from rich merchants and handicraftsmen who were looked down upon by the upper class. They tried their best to topple noble class to gain their political position at that time. Constitutional monarchy regime was founded. The success promoted the development of capitalist economy. The industrial revolution made England be the first industrial country. At the same time， England went on invading other countries and took many colonies and half--colonies by force.

Living in such environment， Defoe himself was a bourgeois element who always cared about the capitalist industry， especially trading. He advocated he expansion of colonies and was against autocracy. For this reason， he modeled the title character Robinson Crusoe on himself--made him part of the conservative middle class. He used Robinson to explore his own ideas about colonialism.

We can see that Defoe attaches great importance to the growth of Robinson and tries to teach a moral message through the story. Robinson starts an inexperienced and tactless youth， who through years of tough sea travels， develops into a clever and hardened man. He is tempered and tried by numerous victorious. He is a hero of the bourgeoisie， who shows marvelous capacity for work， boundless courage and energy in overcoming obstacles and a shrewdness in accumulating wealth and gaining profits. He is typical of the rising English bourgeois class， practical and diligent， with a restless curiosity to know more about the world and a desire to prove individual power in the face of social and natural challenges.

During the twenty-eight years` time， Robinson fought against tough environment. He was ready to command nature， his enemies， and to make nearly all everyday use on his hands. His perseverance in spending months making a canoe， and in practicing pottery making until he got it， is worth of praising. Additionally， his resourcefulness in building himself a home， grape arbor， country house and goat stable is clearly remarkable. The Swiss philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau applauded Robinson’s do-it-yourself independence， and in his book on education， Emile， he recommends that ‘’children should be taught to imitate Robinson’s hands-on approach to life’’（George， 466） Robinson’s strong-minded made him keep dauntless all the time. He never yielded to any difficulty， while always struggled with tough environment. By his hard work and creative power， Robinson had his own kingdom years later. From this point of view， we know Defoe glorifies human labor.

On the other hand， Robinson is typical of the rising English bourgeois class who is not satisfied with what he has and is fond of taking risks to get rich. Not contented to make itinerant living overseas. Even if he is wandering about the uninhabited island， Robinson is confident in self development. Years of hard work and creative labor， he realizes his dream at last--become a rich man indeed. Through the detailed description of Robinson’s twenty-eight years` living on the uninhabited island， Defoe also praises the creative labor of the English bourgeoisie.

Besides， Robinson Crusoe is typical of colonizer， invading other places and oppressing the people there. Before living on the uninhabited island， he was a plantation owner in Brazil. With the rapid development of his plantation， Robinson needs people working for him. For this reason， he takes risks to sail abroad for black slaves. But because of bad luck， the ship strikes reef， and he has to wander about the uninhabited island. When he descends a little on the side of the delicious vale of the uninhabited island， Robinson thinks’ this was all my own， that I was King and Lord of all this Country indefeasibly（Defoe， 119） It seems that he is joyful at that time. While not boasting of heroism， as a matter of fact， Robinson is interested in possessions， power and prestige. He even wants to’ have it in inheritance， as completely as any Lord of a Manner in England’ （Defoe， 120）. As a colonizer， he has strong occupation desire as well as being an adventurer.

Robinson’s desire as a colonizer and capitalist is fulfilled by the appearance of Friday， when he rescued and later， became his first slave in the island. Being lonely on the uninhabited island， Robinson wants someone to accompany him. To be exact， he needs someone work for him. To his joy， he has the chance to realize the dream. He rescues a savage from death. What is more. Robinson becomes the benevolent colonizer--teaching the savage to be what he himself is. Robinson gave him some milk， in an earthen pot， and let him see me drink it before him， and sop my bread in it’ （Defoe， 254）. Then he “gave him a cake of bread to do the like” （Defoe， 254）. Complying with Robinson quickly， the savage “made signs that it was very good for him”（Defoe， 254）. Robinson forces the savage not to eat people and gives him clothes to see almost as well as Robinson. Though Robinson lets the savage live in his home， he also takes precautions of the savage after years of accompanying each other. It indicates that the colonizer never believe in his slave and the distance between the two different class always exist.

On the other hand， the slave is always loyal to his master. When the savage sees Robinson， he “ came running to him， laying himself down upon the ground， with all the possible signs of an humble thankful disposition， making a many antics gestures show it”（Defoe.253）. Being the benefactor of him， the savage is grateful to Robinson heart and soul. He even “lays his head fiat upon the ground， close to Robinson’s foot， and sets Robinson’s other foot upon his head” （Defoe， 253）. He just wants to let Robinson know “how he would serve him as long as he lived”（Defoe， 254）. As a matter of fact， Robinson rescued him from death， but we cannot infer Robinson would give the savage the same rights as ha has. On the other hand， the savage has the characteristic of servility that he is a willing servant because he considers Robinson as his benefactor.

Later， Robinson gives the savage the name of Friday “so for the memory of the time”（Defoe， 254）. Furthermore， Robinson teaches Friday the word “master” before “yes” or “no”. Here we can see how unequal exist between them. In fact， colonizer and slave cannot be equal at any time. Time is the truth that nobody could change.

With the time goes on， Robinson is “greatly delighted”（Defoe， 259） with Friday， and train Friday as his slave to be “useful， handy and helpful”（Defoe， 259）. Friday represents not just a Caribbean tribesman， but all the natives of America， Asia， and Africa who would later be oppressed in the age of European imperialism. At the moment when Robinson teaches Friday to call him “master”， Friday becomes an enduring political symbol of racial injustice in a modern world critical of imperialist expansion.

Moreover， Robinson uses spiritual weapon of colonialism over Friday. During the long time that Friday has been with Robinson， Robinson does want to “lay a foundation of religious knowledge in his mind”（Defoe， 267）. He begins to “instruct him in the knowledge of the true God”（Defoe， 268）， and tells him the God “governs the world by the same power and providence”（Defoe， 268）. Friday listens“with great attention， and receives with pleasure of the notion of Jesus Christ”（Defoe， 268）. Robinson influences Friday with Christianity， and gets success in controlling Friday’s mind. That is an evident point of Colonialism： the colonizer always control the slave’s mind in order to protect his gaining. In all， what Robinson has done displays that he is typical of colonizer indeed.

Besides the newness of the theme， the craftsmanship of Robinson Crusoe is also impeccable. Influenced by Spanish picaresque novel， Defoe uses a new species of writing to write the famous novel. It expresses the theme of the power of a common man to preserve life and to develop economy in the face of an unpromising environment. The key character Robinson is a man of a new age， in which doubt and uncertain are replaced by hope and confidence. Being typical of bourgeoisie， Defoe glorifies human labor and praises the creative labor of bourgeoisie. Through the description of the relationship between Robinson and Friday， Defoe shows the reader a microcosm of colonialism by the detailed description with plain words. We readers cannot only be attracted by realism but also colonialism.

【Reference】

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[2]Margaret Drabble. The Oxford Companion To English Literature[M]. London UP， 1989.

[3]Daniel Defoe. Robinson Crusoe[M]. London UP， 1990.

[4]George Anderson. The Literature of England[M]. London UP， 1981.

[5]Sun， yajie. The Companion To English Literature[M]. Foreign Language Study and Research Press， 1995.

[6]Wu， weiren. History And Anthology of English Literature[M]. Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press，1988.