DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH
NAME:- Parmar Milankumar L.
ROLL NO:- 16
ENROLLMENT NO.:- 14101026
SEMESTER:- 1st
Year :- 2014
COURSE:- Neo-Classic Literature
ASSIGNMENT TOPIC:- Robinson Crusoe as religious Allegory
SUBMITTED TO:- Heenaba Zala
Smt.S.B.Gardi
Department of English
M.K.B.University
Introduction of the Writer:-
The novel
Robinson Crusoe is written by Daniel Defoe. He was born in the year 1660. He
had very little education. He was a great traveler as a young man and went all
over Europe.
Source of the story :
-The novel Robinson Crusoe is based on fact. A man with name Alexander Selkirk spent many years on lonely island before returning home to Scotland. From that instance Defoe get his raw material for his novel. Though two hundred and fifty years passed, when this book was written, but still read by readers for lively picture of Robinson Crusoe and his island.
-The novel Robinson Crusoe is based on fact. A man with name Alexander Selkirk spent many years on lonely island before returning home to Scotland. From that instance Defoe get his raw material for his novel. Though two hundred and fifty years passed, when this book was written, but still read by readers for lively picture of Robinson Crusoe and his island.
Robinson Crusoe as Religious Allegory:-
The Robinson Crusoe is about the adventure of a
man on inhibited island. Though it is story of adventures there are also some
other views about novel some critics believes it as a religious and spiritual
book, especially as a book of Christian religion. In novel there are some
references to god, province, to sin, may be seen as real interest of the novel.
The reader of the ninetieth century read as spiritual book. For example a
reviewer for the Dublin university magazine called the book,
“A
great religious poem, showing that God is found there where men are absent.”
To decide whether and what extent
Robinson Crusoe is a religious poem or spiritual autobiography. Here are some
views with reference from the book.
In
‘preface’ Defoe confessed that by writing this novel his intention is to
justify honour the wisdom of province in all the variety of our circumstances.
Here I am trying to give some examples from the
text which can be helpful to prove my point that this novel has religious
elements and aspects and which made it ‘A
Religious Allegory’.
“…I consulted neither Father or
Mother any more nor so much as sent them Word of it; but leaving them to hear
of it as they might, without asking God's Blessing, or my Father's, without any
Consideration of Circumstances or Consequences and in an ill Hour, God knows.
On the first of September 1651 I went on Board a Ship bound for London;
never any young Adventurer's Misfortunes, I believe, began sooner, or
continued longer than mine.”
This quote shows real circumstances which drag
him to that particular Island. He fought with his father and mother for went on
voyage and he was trapped on that Island
so he used to think that he made them unhappy and that’s why God punish him and
put in such a situation that now he has to repent for his sin, what he done
with his parents.
“However he afterwards talk'd very gravely to me, exhorted
me to go back to my Father, not to tempt Providence to my Ruine; told me I
might see a visible Hand of Heaven against me, And young Man, said he, depend
upon it, if you do not go back, where-ever you go, you will meet with nothing
but Disasters and Disappointments till your Father's Words are fulfilled upon
you.”
This
quote makes us understand that at one moment he also lose his courage and faith
from religion.
“In a word, as the Sea was returned to its Smoothness of
Surface and settled Calmness by the Abatement of that Storm, so the Hurry of my
Thoughts being over, my Fears and Apprehensions of being swallow'd up by the
Sea being forgotten, and the Current of my former Desires return'd, I entirely
forgot the Vows and Promises that I made in my Distress.”
This quote shows real mentality of a person. How
a can depend on religion and God, is the point author proves with the help of
this line. A person uses to band down to religion when he/she actually needs it
or when there is some horror and danger of life. But when he/she comes into
normal circumstances and no need of God and religion, he/she forgets
everything.
“In a word, as my Life was a Life of Sorrow, one way, so it
was a Life of Mercy, another; and I wanted nothing to make it a Life of
Comfort, but to be able to make my Sence of God's Goodness to me, and Care over
me in this Condition, be my daily Consolation; and after I did make a just
Improvement of these things, I went away and was no more sad.”
Here in these lines author describes life of
Crusoe on that Island. He has bible with him and it gives him strength to fight
against circumstances. Means God and religion is a power of a man. One should
have to faith in it and if that element was absent in any work of art then that
work of art may be fail but Defoe portrays religion as a source of positivity
and inner force in this novel and it shows that he also have faith on religion and
have trust in God’s justice with any single person on this earth.
“I have been in all my Circumstances a Memento to those who
are touched with the general Plague of Mankind, whence, for ought I know, one
half of their Miseries flow; I mean, that of not being satisfy'd with the
Station wherein God and Nature has plac'd them; for not to look back upon my
primitive Condition, and the excellent Advice of my Father, the Opposition to
which was, as I may call it, my ORIGINAL SIN.”
Here in these lines Daniel Defoe tries to draw
our attention towards God’s justice, rules of Nature and Sin.
“I might well say now
indeed, that the later end of Job was beer than the beginning. It is impossible
to express here the flue rings of my very heart when I looked over these leers,
and especially when I found all my wealth about me; for as the Brazil ships
come all in fleets, the same ships which brought my leers brought my goods. . .
.”
Here in this quote Crusoe
was compared with Biblical character Job.
Crusoe is deprived of his fortune while nevertheless retaining his faith in
Providence. This passage also showcases Crusoe’s characteristic neutral
tone—the detached, deadpan style in which he narrates even thrilling events.
Although he reports that the emotional effects make his heart flutter, he displays very little emotion in the passage.
Robinson
Crusoe can be viewed from theological and political level.
Theological
level:-
When we look from theological level we find that
men’s excessive desires is cause of sin. The same as the “Paradise Lost” by
John Milton, that Adam and Eve are banished from heaven because of disobedience
towards God. Robinson is thrown on an inhibited island because of his
disobedience towards his father.
From
Political level:-
Crusoe is warned by his father and the captain
of the first ship about the dangers of sea life. They both father and captain
can be seen as God, and ignoring them he ignores and disobey God, he also
denying Gods providential order in the worlds means that god arranged the world
in hierarchically, endowing the king with authority in the political realm and
the father with the authority in the family. Crusoe’s conversation with his
father about leaving home can be interpreted from a religious perspective. Crusoe
repeatedly refers to leaving without his father’s permission as his “original
sin.” He not only associates god and his father but regards his sin against
father as a sin against God.
Original sin:-
Crusoe comments: "...my conscience,
which was not yet come to the pitch of hardness to which it has been since,
reproached me with the contempt of advice and the breach of my duty to God and
my Father"
In
Puritan family structure the father was regarded as god’s deputy, in rejecting
his father’s advice, Crusoe is committing sin of disobedience grows out
restless and discontent with the place given by God.
When Crusoe is cast
ashore on a deserted island, he sees his situation as the fulfillment of his
father’s prediction that if Crusoe disregarded his father’s advice. Crusoe
would find him alone with no source of help. As his father said with a little
sigh,
“That boy might be happy if he would
stay at home; but if he goes abroad, he will be the most miserable, wretch that
ever was born.’’
He
is alone on the island and no man is inhibited here, but he is not lonely. He
is under the watch / and bliss of God. It’s better to be alone than to be
lonely.
In
other way it can be seen as spiritual autobiography.
As a spiritual Autobiography :-
From another perspective we can see it as
spiritual autobiography. The spiritual autobiography portrays the puritan drama
of the soul. This is being saved by god, having profound sense of god’s
presence, seeing his will manifest everywhere and aware of unceasing conflict
between good and evil.
The spiritual autobiography follows a pattern; the narrator’s sin,
ignore god’s grace, and mercy, experiences a soul wrenching conversion, and
achieves salvation. It written with the deep sense of god’s presence in his
life and in the world, In the Robinson Crusoe we find some elements of
spiritual autobiography.
Crusoe throughout the novel uses religious language, imagery, Biblical
reference. He narrates his life story along afterward and from beginning of his
tale Crusoe presents events not only from his point of view as youth, but also
from a Christian perspective, he looks at his past through the eyes of the
convert who know now that fate is constantly working.
He tells when his first
ship wrecked, it was warning by god, but ignoring that warning he became a
sinner and now god throws him on the island
from where deliverance is not possible. He believes that it is because of
his disobedience to his father and to his god.
Crusoe’s Conversion after a dream:-
After the dream of his father Crusoe is now
trying to change himself, gradually he is on the way to god he repents for his
disobeying his father. His regeneration started after dream and his
understanding of god deepen. He turns to bible, studying of it reveals god’s
word and will tell him, he finds comfort, guidance and instruction in it, for
the first time in many years he prays to god, he prays not for rescue, from the
island but for god’s help “Lord be my
help, for I am in great distress.”
After
thinking about his life, he kneels to god for the first time his life he pray
to god to fulfill his promise “That if I
called upon him in the day of trouble he would deliver me”
His
next step towards conversion is asking for god’s grace “Jesus, thou son of David, Jesus, thou exalted prince and savior give
me repentance.”
He comes to
realize that spiritual deliverance is more important than physical deliverance
from island is not important. And he knows that the only way for spiritual
deliverance is by repentance for earlier deed.
Finally,
he thank god for saving his life by bringing him on island, he sincerely thanks
to God “For opening my eyes whatever
afflicting province to see the former condition of my life, and to mourn for
wickedness, and repent.” This event shows that Crusoe’s faith is very
strong and honest.
A work of
literature can be read with different perspectives. Its meaning differs from
person to person. Readers of this novel interpreted its meanings differently
like this novel is about the adventurous journey of Robinson Crusoe to an
unknown island and the story of his survival how he lived there for twenty five
years or more. On the other hand some of the readers interpreted it as a
religious and holy book of puritan soul. Who at the beginning of the novel does
not obey his father and so the God, so god throws him on unknown an island
where man are not inhibited. And his conversion in the Christian man or a very
religious man by repents.
Nearly after a year from Crusoe casted on
island Crusoe fell seek. His health was extremely intensive he hardly recovers
himself from this illness. When he was ill he saw a dream in which he saw a
divine spirit comes from heaven towards him. It was the spirit of his father
who came to him to tell to do repent
for his earlier deed. He
sees a man coming out of a black cloud, heading directly for him. With the
earth shaking and the skies filled with lightning, the man warns:
“Seeing all these things
have not brought thee to repentance, now thou shalt die.”
The man then points a spear at Crusoe's chest. Crusoe interprets
the vision as chastisement for his "uncommonly wicked" past. He had
previously not thought of his experiences as being punishment for this past,
but from this point on, he does. He responded to this vision. After that
dream Crusoe’s view towards god grew stronger he started to believe in god, as
he started thinking positively towards what is happening in his life. He thinks
that when he disobeys his father it’s his first sin, in disobeying his father
he thinks that he had disobeys god. And thus he started to link every incident
that took place during his journey as a wish of god. He believes when his sheep
wrecks for the first time it was warning by god to him and ignoring that
warning, so he is thrown on inhibited island. But in throwing him on island,
when he realize that he is the only savior of that sheep, he thank god for
saving his life, at least he is living though the situation is very different.
After that when
he met Friday a savage he believes that, god sends him as companion of Crusoe.
He believes him as angel send by god to save his life from that island. Only
after some time he started to teach him English words and also started to teach
him Christian religion. In converting Friday in Christianity he believes that
he is saving his soul, and by converting him in to Christianity he is doing
god’s service so he will finds favor from god. Robinson smiles when he hears
how Friday’s naïve Friday’s conceptions about religion are, and he sets up
converting him to the true faith. But Friday surprised him by asking,
“If god
much strong, much might as the devil, why God no kill the devil, so make him
more do wicked?” A question he is not able to answer, and which reveals how shallow
Robinson’s confidence is in his own religious knowledge.
When
Crusoe opens The Bible randomly he reads the line: “Call
on me in the Day of trouble, and I will deliver, and thou shalt glorify me.” He believes “The words were very apt to my case.”
He thinks that he is in great trouble so and will redeem by god, and by save
his soul god will glorify himself. So he
tried to identify himself with the instance from bible.
For
some days when he landed on island he faces faith crisis, like to believe in
god or not rather challenging god he becomes believer. After conversion of
Crusoe we find spiritual growth in the character of Crusoe. Crusoe finds the
rational reason of his miraculous growth and loses faith in God. But now he is
totally different from as he was.
He turns to the
Bible. "Lord be my help, for I am
in great distress" (88). After thinking about his life, he kneels to
God for the first time in his life and prays to God to fulfill his promise "that if I called upon Him in the day
of trouble, He would deliver me" (91).
One of the
critics Edward
Said:
Robinson Crusoe “as a work whose
protagonist is the founder of the new world, which he rules and reclaims for
Christianity and England.”
Conclusion:-
In short we can say that this novel is about the
story of an English man who accidentally caught in such situations from where
his survival is not possible, but by the faith in god and in himself, after
long time as long as twenty seven year he is able to reach at his home at the
end. Though it is the story of adventure but it has elements of religious book,
as well as puritan drama the spiritual autobiography. Throughout the novel
though god is not present physically but we can feel his presence, we can say
that god is present there where man’s dwelling is not possible. Defoe himself
was Christian and he changed his name to be like aristocratic and to glorify
his religion, his love for his religion and his faith in Jesus is presented
here. He might have written this book with intention to preach, teach morality,
to believe and have faith in god, and many more. In the time when Defoe lived
it was a time of religious turmoil, people have no faith in their religion, so
we can say Defoe tried to restore their faith in God and Christianity. Thus we
can say it a religious and spiritual book by Denial Defoe…..
In short we can
say Robinson Crusoe is great religious allegory. It shows the spiritual growing
of rebellious young boy in to a religious aged man. Crusoe’s inner conflict is
also shown here, and also portrays Crusoe as puritan soul. This follows the
pattern of spiritual drama of sin- punishment- realization- saved- and
salvation which is the last wish of any human being……
(3,022)
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