its crusoe, you know!

there seems to be such a negative light cast upon the famous robinson crusoe and yet, i'm starting to believe that it is done for a reason. throughout the class and online discussions, everyone appears to agree that rc is nothing but an unchangeable jerk. his desire for control, lack of enthusiam for anything (including his family, wife and her death *which he only mentioned in one sentence throughout the entire novel*) and total disregard for anyone or anything unless he needs them is amazing. i don't know how people could idolize him as a hero as he wasn't even a very succesful seaman. that, however, is beside the point.



“I turn’d to the boy who they called Xury, and said to him, Xury, if you will be faithful to me I’ll make you a great man, but if you will not stroke your face to be true to me, that is, swear by Mohomet and his father’s beard, I must throw you in to the sea too…”



poor xury...poor...poor xury. you have to feel bad for someone who becomes one of rc's total slaves. crusoe had no problem in drowning this young boy. much like the episode with the lion, life is of no true meaning to crusoe unless it is his own. throughout the entire novel, crusoe rarely takes heed of anything else that does not serve him. even God is put secondhand and called upon when needed,

“Lord look upon me, Lord pity me, Lord have mercy upon me…”

sick and on his deathbed, crusoe looks to the lord for help. i believe crusoe felt so out of control that he sought a greater power to assist him. i noted that, throughout the novel, crusoe rarely lost any control of anything and when he did...he needed the lord. he called upon him when he needed something but not to say 'hey, thanks' or anything else to that matter.

“O drug!” said I aloud, “what art thou good for? Thou art not worth to me, no, not the taking off of the ground; one of those knives is worth all this heap; I have no manner of use for thee; e’en remain where thou art and go to the bottom as a creature whose life is not worth saving.” However, upon second thoughts, I took it away. . . ."

although slightly amusing, this quote shows one of rc's great struggles - money. the drug, or gold, as he is exclaiming is nothing but a social ladder and yet, in his state, it matters nothing to him. yet, just as quickly as rc decides it is worthless, he immediately jumps at it again to store it away. money, wealth and power are three very important aspects of rc. his voyages, slaveships, and overall life is a mission to make money.

"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..."

his father offered him the world if he would stay and yet, rc took off...without even saying goodbye. his family was of no value, nor was his wife. nothing mattered to rc but himself and that truly bothered me. although he became attached to his goat and friday, rc never put anything but himself on top.

"My island was now peopled, and I thought myself very rich in subjects; and it was a merry reflection, which I frequently made, how like a king I looked. First of all, the whole country was my own mere property, Baso that I had an undoubted right of dominion. Secondly, my people were perfectly subjected. I was absolute lord and lawgiver, they all owed their lives to me, and were ready to lay down their lives, if there had been occasion of it, for me."

so here is this man, on an island, experiencing a major ego-trip. what a ride it must have been for good ole rc! to stumble on to this island and declare it his own! "...how like a king I looked," said rc....right. i don't know how much i should elaborate on this quote as it is pretty much self-explanatory. rc thought these natives loved him, he loved his kingdom and all was well. again, the references to rc's power-trips and love for control are oozing in this quote.

"...I shar'd the Island into Parts with 'em, reserv'd to myself the Property of the Whole, but gave them such Parts respectively as they agreed on..."

this island serves as a great foundation for who rc was as a whole. this object became one of great value to rc as he were a great king and it was his kingdom. even after he left and there were new inhabitants he still depicts himself as king. after all that he went through on that island, you would think he would want others to skip it and yet, he forces others to stay. way to go...jerk

"O, master"

Priceless. Definitely one of my favorite things to pull for this blog. I wish I could train people to say this and yet, I would become just like this man. rc teaches friday to call him by the name of 'master' before teaching him anything else. although rc does show affection and favoritism towards friday, their relationship was definitely slave owner and slave.

"loaded my gun again, and by and by I saw a great fowl like a hawk sit upon a tree within shot; so to let Friday understand a little what I would do, I call’d him to me again, pointed at the fowl which was indeed a parrot, and to my gun, and to the ground under the parrot, to let him see I would make it fall, I made him understand that I would shoot and kill that bird…”

whether it is the lion, the cats, the bear or the birds...nothing is safe. the last line of this quote is most appalling to me. i could never, under any circumstances other than life or death, kill another being. maybe it is just me, or the time period in which i live, but i see 'animal cruelty' written all over this. i felt this quote was about rc showing friday he was almighty and powerful. he is training friday to take the lives of things that, to rc, do not matter.

again, what a jerk.

through these quotes and a general understanding of the novel, i feel pretty confident in defending my original thesis...rc does not change. although he might make momentary adjustments to suit the situation, he is nothing but an egotistical jerk. his head is incredibly high in the air and there is nothing equal to him. sometimes i even wonder if rc thinks he is equal to god. if anything, rc definitely believes he is royalty.