1. His life and surprising adventures
„Robinson Crusoe”
His life and surprising adventures

3. About the author...
He was born into a middle class family of Dissenters in London, in 1660
He devoted himself to business
In 1685 he took part in the Duke of Monmouth’s rebellion against James II and three years later he joined the army of William of Orange during the Glorious Revolution

4. Ron Embleton (1930-1988), Daniel Defoe. Private Collection.
Queen Anne had him arrested, tried and imprisoned because of a pamphlet in favor of the Dissenters
Made three appearances in the pillory which turned into triumph when his friend threw him flowers.
he started "The Review"
He denied his Whig ideas and worked for the govern as a secret agent
When he was sixty he turned to prose fiction
He died alone in 1731
Ron Embleton ( ), Daniel Defoe. Private Collection.

5. Defoe’s novels: structure
Fictional autobiographies.
A series of episodes and adventures.
Unifying presence of a single hero.
Lack of a coherent plot. Retrospective first-person narration.
The author’s point of view coincides with the main character’s.
Characters presented through their actions. 5

6. The structure
“Robinson Crusoe” is a travel narrative, which id divided in three sections:
Crusoe’s early life and time up to his shipwreck
His twenty-eight years on the desert island
How he leaves the island
THERE IS NOT A REAL PLOT BUT A CHRONOLOGICAL SEQUENCE OF EVENTS!

8. Robinson Crusoe: the story
Born in York in 1632 of a German father and an English mother, Robinson Kreutznaer, anglicised Crusoe, leaves home at the age of 19.
He travels around the world to make his fortune.
His first voyage leads him to Guinea and then back to England.

9. 4. Robinson Crusoe: the story
He becomes the owner of a plantation in Brazil and sets out on a voyage to Africa to get more slaves.
During this journey he is shipwrecked on a desert island where he will remain
for 28 years.
When he returns to England, he discovers that his plantation in Brazil has made him very rich.

10. Alexander Selkirk
Robinson Crusoe’s adventures are based on the experiences of a Scottish sailor, Alexander Selkirk, who at his own request was left on a desert island and survived four years of solitary existence until he was rescued by Woodes Rogers’ expedition. The latter published a book („A cruising voyage round the world”) in which he told Selkirk’s adventures.

11. REALISTIC NOVEL BASED ON A TRUE STORY MINUTE DETAILS
NAMES
DATES
MINUTE DETAILS
PHYSICAL SETTING
GEOGRAPHICAL PLACE-NAMES
INVOLVEMENT OF NUMBERS AND QUANTITIES
CUSTOMS OF THE MIDDLE CLASS
ROBINSON KEEPS A JOURNAL
AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL NARRATIVE / DIARY
FIRST-PERSON POINT OF VIEW!
Typical of the
middle class
HIGHLY DESCRIPTIVE LANGUAGE, BUT SIMPLE

12. (from the German „formation novel”)
BILDUNGSROMAN NOVEL
It is a narration that traces the psychological and moral development of the character from childhood to adulthood
(from the German „formation novel”)
Initially Robinson doesn’t listen to his father’s advice, but after he repents his “original sin” and mistakes.

13. Main Themes Homo Oeconomicus Individualism Realism Puritan Aspects
Merchantilism
Colonization
Pursue for money
Nature seen as an instrument to exploit

14. RELIGION AND PURITAN ASPECTS
The novel may be considered a
spiritual autobiography
RELIGIOUS REFERENCES
HARD WORK MAY LEAD TO A PROSPEROUS REWARD
SHIPWRECK = SIN
PREDESTINATION
CRUSOE ALONE ON THE INSAND=
MAN ALONE IN HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD
FROM SIN TO CONVERSION OF THE SOUL (REDEMPTION)
HE READS THE BIBLE TO FIND CONSOLATION AND GUIDANCE

15. INDIVIDUALISM
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the term “individual”denotes the isolation from collectivity to reach his/her own needs and desires.
The individual is the center of the universe
The main character with his resourcefulness and self- reliance can overcome troubles and misfortune
Crusoe is a typical self-made man (the Augustan new man)
The man can develop economically thanks to persistent work

16. Homo faber / Homo oeconomicus
Robinson Crusoe is an Economic man, who struggles to achieve maximum welfare and prosperity
CAPITALISM
his constant pursuit of profit and weak relationships with other people
COLONIALISM
Moll Flanders

17. COLONIALISM and IMPERIALISM
„Robinson Crusoe is the true prototype of British colonialist, as Friday is the symbol of the subject races”-James Joyce
Crusoe takes complete dominion
over the island
after he is shipwrecked:
- He sees himself as a king
-And others as his subjects

18. The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade
From the 16th century African slaves are captured and transported across the Ocean to the colonies in North and South America. There they are forced to work on coffee, sugar and cotton plantations. Crusoe himself deports slaves from Guinea, and makes Friday his servant on the island.
Higher being,
„MASTER”
Superiority
of white man
ROBINSON
lesser being,
slave
Friday

19. Triangular trade Europe-Africa-America

20. ~Crusoe as William Shakespeare’s Prospero~
„The Tempest” (1610) is a play in which Prospero, rightful Duke of Milan, is marooned with his daughter Miranda on an island, because of a conspiracy.
He can be seen as a colonialist that, exactly as Robinson, creates his own „utopian” reign and enslaves Caliban, the savage who inhabits the isle.

21. Merchantilism
The English merchantile spirit began during the Elizabethan Age, when England realised that trade generated wealth.
By the end of the 17° century Britain had become the most important trading nation in Europe.

22. the island The ideal place for Robinson to prove his qualities
Vedi sopra.
Robinson organizes a primitive empire
Not a return to nature, but a chance
to exploit and dominate nature 22

23. the individual and society
The society Robinson creates on the island is not an alternative to
Vedi sopra.
but an exaltation of 18th-century England,
its ideals of mobility, material productiveness, and individualism
Though God is the prime cause of everything,
the individual can shape his destiny
through action 23

24. the style clear and precise details
description of the primary qualities of objects
Animazioni: prima il titolo, poi un elemento per ciascun clic NELLA PRESENTAZIONE ESCONO TUTTI INSIEME. Correggere
solidity, extension and number
simple, matter-of-fact and concrete language 24

25. Moll Flanders Insights into some social problems Set in urban society
Women were not able to support
themselves legally in 18th-century society
Animazioni: clic 1) titolo 2) set in urban… 3) insights… 4) women were… 5) moll rejects… 6) moll is crusoe’s… 7) the novel includes…
Vedi sopra per i colori.
Moll is Crusoe’s female counterpart
The novel includes «documents»
Moll rejects emotional experience 25

26. Daniel Defoe
9. Moll Flanders
It has insights into some social problems like crime and the provisions for poor orphans
Moll rejects emotional experience, seen as an impediment to the accumulation of capital
Animazioni: il titolo si conserva dalla slide precedente, un clic per punto NELLA PRESENTAZIONE ESCONO TUTTI INSIEME. Correggere
The novel includes «documents» – Moll’s memorandums, quoted letters, hospital bills – in order to increase the illusion of verifiable fact 26