Daniel Defoe was born in 1659 at St. Gille’s, Cripplegate in London. He was a man of many shades. These different personal traits are reflected in his literary contribution. He had carried out a numerous occupation during his life. Some of his important masterpieces such as “Essay on projects” (1698), “The true English born” (1701), “The hymn to the pillar” (1703), “Consolidator” (1705), “Appearance of Mrs. Veal “(1706),” History of the Union “(1708-09),” Reasons against the succession of the House of Hanover “(1712),” A general history of trade “(1713),” Robinson Crusoe “(1719) , “Captain Singleton” (1720), “Mole Flanders” (1722) “Rexona or the lucky mistress” (1724) and other important literary works will remain glorious throughout the centuries.
Daniel Defoe takes up his magic pen at age sixty once again for writing a multidimensional novel “Robinson Crusoe” (1719). After the completion of his novel, Daniel Defoe gains immense popularity among various ranks of readers and fans. He gets the inspiration to write “Robinson Crusoe” from the real life events of Alexander Selkirk. Alexander Selkirk also spends five years alone on a desolate island.
However, Defoe’s “Robinson Crusoe” remains a very popular novel for everyone. “Robinson Crusoe” can be classified with Bunyan’s “Pilgrim’s Progress” and Jonathan Swift’s “Gulliver’s Travels.” All the boys and girls who go to school are very interested in the story of “Robinson Crusoe”. It has the magic. tender minds. It has the magnificent taste of adventure that is irresistible and no one can help it. Defoe knows the real magic that strikes the heart of everyone, of any age. Herein lies the popularity and universality of “Robinson Crusoe”.
The protagonist of the novel “Robinson Crusoe”, Robinson loves to travel. He ignores the valuable instructions and advice of his parents. Run from home to explore new places and unknown lands. He goes to London. From London he sails to Guinea with an English captain. But, sadly, he is taken prisoner by the Turkish pirates. After two years of slavery, he finally manages to free himself. But due to bad weather, the ship was wrecked and all the other members of the ship lost their lives.
Only Robinson is left to survive. He has been thrown on a desolate island. He thanks his destiny for his survival. But at the same time he discovered that he is the only human being alive in that unknown place. You feel joy, but the pain is too close to the most desired joy. He does not find a single human being with whom he can share his thoughts. He has no shelter, no food, nothing to drink, no comfort, and no security. But it is the innate nature of the human being to make the necessary adjustments. Robinson also adapts to nature and the situation.
For a few days he sleeps in the branches of the trees. He has no idea of the island. Little by little he discovers that his ship is approaching the shore due to the tides. He goes to the ship and carries very basic items. It carries food, bread, rice, cheese, wine, nuts, barley, wheat, carpenter’s tools, guns, nails, picks, bedding, clothing, and hundreds of other vital equipment. Find a suitable place where you can erect your new protected shelter. He stores everything in his shelter and adapts it to live in it. But he soon changes places and moves to a new location, where he finds much more advantage. Prepare a fence around your store that gives you much more security.
Now he thanks Almighty God for saving his life and having a peaceful life on this island. Read the Bible. Now he has two parrots and a dog, he takes them out of the boat. Learn to cultivate. Learn how to make wells and clay pots and also how to make them durable. Divide twenty-four hours into various household chores. He is truly grateful to God for saving his life and giving him everything. Until now, Robinson is using nature in the passage of his life on the unknown island.
Suddenly one day he learns of two canoes and eleven cannibals on the shore. For the first time he feels danger. But Robinson fights bravely against enemies and saves the lives of the innocent. Somehow he finds a very trustworthy and innocent human being. Start calling him on Friday. You call it on Friday when you get it on Friday. Robinson gives him clothes. It teaches him to eat well and to speak “teacher”, “yes” and “no”. It tells him about God and makes him a good Christian. Like an obedient Friday he also follows his master. Learn about different household chores. Treat Robinson like his father. Robinson finds a companion on a desolate island. He’s quite relieved by Friday’s company. Both Robinson and Friday bravely fight more cannibals and save the lives of the prisoners. Through different adventures and emotions, Robinson leaves the desolate island together with Friday and begins a new journey to new places.
Defoe wraps his novel “Robinson Crusoe” with the help of adventure, emotion, sensation, reflexes, morals, cannibals and loneliness. These are the elements of the popularity of your novel. Defoe makes his hero Robinson strong, tough, brave, skilled and experienced and thus defies such hostile environment at first. Defoe very skillfully mixes both reality and imagination. Your imagination is full of reality. The episodes of the novel are really compelling. We never feel that it is a work of pure imagination. Defoe’s hero is happy and sad. He is sad because he is alone on a lonely island. On the other hand, he is happy because God has saved his life and provided him with all the good facilities on such an island.
Defoe writes “Robinson Crusoe” in a very simple and spontaneous style. Its simple style attracts your readers to read more. Simple, easy, spontaneous, straightforward, conversational, full of allegory, charming attitude: these are the best ingredients that make the novel “Robinson Crusoe” a popular novel in all stages of life and around the world.