FREE ESSAY ON ROBINSON CRUSOE

ROBINSON CRUSOE

The young Robinson Crusoe has a great desire to go to sea. His 
desire is so strong that it overrides all his other feelings. Neither 
his father's refusal nor the disapproval of friends influences him 
against a life on the sea. At his first opportunity, Crusoe runs away 
to pursue a life of adventure. He joins with a friend whose father 
owns a ship and soon sets sail. The trip proves to be a disaster. 
The young Crusoe displays a vacillating nature. When danger or 
disaster is near, he is repentant for his rebelliousness, but the 
minute the situation improves, he goes back to his old ways. He is 
given repeated chances to live his life differently, but he is not yet 
spiritually strong enough to resist temptation. His first profitable 
trading voyage makes him into a greedy man. As punishment for 
his greed, he is captured and made a slave in Sallee. When he 
escapes, he goes to Brazil, where he settles down and prospers; 
Crusoe, however, is still not satisfied. He seizes he first 
opportunity he gets to make more money, even though it is through 
the immoral occupation of slave trading. As punishment for this 
greed, he becomes the lone survivor of a shipwreck and is 
marooned on a deserted island. 
On the island, Crusoe is transformed. At first, he constantly wavers 
between despair and hope and then settles down to an everyday 
existence on the island. He tries to make up for his past sins with 
hard work and enterprise. However, industry and productivity can 
never take the place of genuine repentance. Finally, during his 
illness, when he is totally helpless for the first time in his life, he 
reaches out to God and begs for help and forgiveness. As always, 
God hears his prayer and will, in His own time, save Crusoe. 
After recovering from his illness, Crusoe begins to progress 
morally. He begins to depend on God and read the Bible. His life 
on the island becomes the triumph of the human spirit. Often, 
when disaster strikes, his old nature temporarily surfaces, but the 
change in him is too profound for his old self to pose a real threat. 
When he saves Friday, his life on the island changes dramatically. 
He welcomes a companion, even a savage, and quickly converts 
this native culturally -- dressing him in proper clothes, feeding him 
cooked meat, naming him with a British name, and teaching him 
English. He also converts him to Christianity, and in the process 
strengthens his own faith. 
Crusoe further shows he is a changed man when he refuses to 
judge the savages, acknowledging that only God can judge. Crusoe 
also deals justly with the Englishmen he later encounters on the 
island, sparing the lives of all that he can. When he realizes his 
deliverance is at hand, he gives the credit of his survival and rescue 
to God, humbly refusing to take credit for himself. When he 
returns to England and learns how rich he is, he shares with both 
family and friends. Crusoe has truly matured into a wise, humble, 
kind, and generous man.