Robinson Crusoe Religion - Book Report/Review Example

Anamary Aramillo Robinson Crusoe, by Daniel Defoe, is best ified as a spiritual autobiography. While Robinson Crusoe reveals to us the story ofhis life, we can clearly see the role that religion played in Robinson's deliverance. From his father's warning about leaving home, to later escaping an island after 28 years of exile, one becomes a witness to Robinson's spiritual rebirth and growth. This novel takes the reader on a spiritual journey hidden beneath the adventures of Robinson Crusoe's life experiences. Robinson Crusoe's autobiography elaborates on the idea of redemption and deliverance. His life experiences give detail on how they come to us under the most unexpected times and circumstances. Redemption and deliverance are common concepts in Christianity. People confess their sins so that they may be redeemed. They engage in good deeds, so that they may be worthy to be in the presence of God when the time comes. It seems to be that it is in our nature to be most faithful when we are faced with adversities. Much of our deliverance comes during the most trying times that tests and confirms our beliefs or completely throws us off balance into another direction. Crusoe was the former, and we witness his spiritual growth into a firm believer of faith. "I have been, in all my circumstances, a memento to those who are touched with the general plague of mankind, whence, for aught I know, one half of their miseries flow: I mean that of not being satisfied with the station wherein God and Nature hath placed them" (Defoe, p. 310). We may say that the first novel of Daniel Defoe can be considered as a literary manifest of an author-enlightener based on concept of the world and a human peculiar to the early period of the age of Enlightenment. It is impossible to consider the worldview of a natural individual of that time without taking into consideration the influence of religious and ethical principles. The novel 'Robinson Crusoe definitely proves this statement. Numerous researchers of Defoe's creative work not only find direct illusions with texts of the Bible, but also draw an analogy between main plotline of the novel and some of the stories of the Old Testament. Solution of a problem of origin of sermon on work in this context is very simple: 'ln the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for "dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return', said God to Adam on his expulsion from Paradise (Genesis 3:19)1. Hard working is one of the Commandments of Christianity. All this Robinson had to realize and gratefully accept being on uninhabited island. 'I had worked so hard on my jars that I had forgotten to write the days in my calendar. I found that the next day would be Sunday. I wished to spend it in the right way, for I thought of what the Bible says: 'Six days thou shalt labor and do all thy work, but the seventh is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work'2. Reflections and reading the Bible Robinson open the universe for Robinson let him come to religious perception of life. From a certain moment of his being on the island he starts to take everything that happens to him as Divine Providence. Here we see that the author himself opens for us one more side of hard working which is spiritual perfection: 'My condition began now to be, though not less miserable as to my way of living, yet much easier to my mind: and my thoughts being directed, by a constant reading the Scripture and praying to God, to things of a higher nature, I had a great deal of comfort within, which, till now, 1 knew nothing of; also, my health and strength returned, I bestirred myself to furnish myself with everything that I wanted, and make my way of living as regular as I could'3. In the light of this reflection one may suppose that Robinson was working hard on the island trying to improve his living conditions, not only because he tried to make his life comfortable, but what is probably more important for Defoe, that on realizing what truth is Robinson did not want anymore to escape from imprisonment but started to take everything as a gift from God. 'I did not so much as pray to be delivered from it, or think of it; it was all of no consideration, in comparison to this. And I add this part here, to hint to whoever shall read it, that whenever they come to a true sense of things, they will find deliverance from sin a much greater blessing than deliverance from affliction'4 - that is the essence of changes that happened in Robinson's mindset. In relation to this his staying on the island may be compared with the desert through which Moses was wandering for 40 years with his people and which has become a symbol of deliverance not as much physical as spiritual. It is important to mention that among all the kind of activity that Robinson had on the island the most important role is given by Daniel Defoe to the spiritual work. 'first, my duty to God, and the reading the Scriptures, which I constantly set apart some time for, thrice every day; secondly, the going abroad with my gun for food, which generally took me up three hours in every morning, when it did not rain; thirdly, the ordering, cutting, preserving, and cooking, what I had killed or caught for my supply: these took up great part of the day'5. So, in this way working hard both physically and spiritually Robinson was getting rid of main sins of civilized society: greed, being lazy, gluttony and hypocrisy. One of the most complex and interesting part of the novel is Robinson's conversations with Friday about religion. Natural human being Friday with his nave questions easily brings Robinson, who was trying to convert him to Christianity, to a nonplus. On uncovering in detail the relationship between Robinson and Friday Defoe is trying to underline the noble mission of civilized British bourgeoisie. He tries to convince that even if Robinson turns the young savage into a humble servant; he still treats him humanely and politely, and teaches him a religious way of life. Somehow idealizing Robinson's image the author a kind of teaches European colonialists and slave-dealers a lesson of humane treatment with aborigines and criticizes barbarous methods of savage tribes enslavement. Defoe depicts the life story on the inhabitant island in the way that it becomes obvious that never-ending process of realization of the universe and hard working is a natural state for an individual. The state that allow getting real deliverance and happiness. Thus Daniel Defoe who was thinking about serving to a God as a possible carrier and for sure a religious person proves that the whole history of civilization is nothing else but education through work, labor. Read More