Robinson Crusoe

In order to gain someone’s true feeling regarding a certain situation, one looks at many factors about them. The most key is the person’s attitude. They may show a strong positive attitude or flipped around, they may show a strong negative feeling for whatever the matter is. In Daniel Defoe’s fictional novel, Robin Crusoe, the protagonist, Robin Crusoe, manages to show his attitudes concerning the non-Europeans, more specifically his servant, Friday, the Portuguese captain, and nature in general.

This novel began with Crusoe telling us how much of a desire he had for sailing and how he gave into going sailing with his companion to London. His yearn for sailing also suggests how much he wanted to get away from England. It is obvious to see his feelings for England were not very strong nor was his family relationship. The lack of names in his family showed us he did not want us to become familiar with them and therefore showed he did not have a strong relationship with them. This first journey made way for more to come, one including Crusoe becoming a slave and another involving a Portuguese captain who willingly took him to Brazil.

Although he is unnamed, like his family, he gave the reader more description and sounded more interested in him than his English family. His attitude toward the Captain is a very strong relationship because when Crusoe finally gets off the island, he goes back to the captain as old companions.

This then led to another expedition to Guinea where after two devastating storms, Crusoe became shipwrecked alone on an island near South Africa. Years passed and one key point was his isolation to people and society in general. Again years passed but finally Crusoe spotted a foot print in the sand. Crusoe was absolutely horrified by this phenomenon and claimed it to be the devil but actually knowing it was a person’s footprint. He then found along the beach, corpses of humans lying there. He took the proper precautions such as occasionally burning fires and keeping his presence unknown. His first actual encounter with any kind of human came when cannibals brought two victims to the island. One of the victims was killed but the other managed to escape and make his way to Crusoe’s area. Crusoe killed the two cannibals chasing the victim and welcomed him to stay with him and be his servant. He named him Friday and unexpectedly started a sincere relationship.

“I began really to love the creature.” It’s ironic to see how Crusoe changed and welcomed Friday as he did. For a long time, Crusoe was afraid of any kind of person but welcomed Friday as if he had no fear. His attitude completely changed with Friday. His fear of cannibals changed to a realization that not all are what they seem and his relationship with Friday became a meaningful one. Their bond became stronger and their similarities greater. Crusoe began to teach Friday about his religion and how God is his way of worship as Friday’s is Benamuckee. They also talk about the devil but both of them have a hard time grasping the idea of why one exists and why God does not do anything about it.

It was also odd that the two developed a relationship because it was not ideal in this time for a white to be in contact with a non-white person, but it should also be known that although Crusoe and Friday had a friendship, Crusoe still had more authority over Friday and he always would.

Crusoe also shows his attitude regarding