Daniel Defoe and Robinson Crusoe: life, themes, and spiritual autobiography

Daniel Defoe Biography

Daniel Defoe (1660-1731) ZANICHELLI Only Connect ... New Directions Marina Spiazzi, Marina Tavella 2009Daniel Defoe ZANICHELLI Only Connect ... New Directions

Defoe's Early Life and Career

1. Defoe's life · Born into a family of Dissenters in 1660. · Studied modern languages, economics, geography, besides the traditional subjects. · Started to write in Whig papers; his greatest achievement was The Review. Only Connect ... New DirectionsDaniel Defoe ZANICHELLI Only Connect ... New Directions

Defoe's Later Life and Novels

1. Defoe's life · Queen Anne had him arrested, tried and imprisoned. · Denied his Whig ideas and became a secret agent for the new government. · Started to write novels when was about sixty. · Died in 1731. Only Connect ... New Directions Ron Embleton (1930-1988), Daniel Defoe. Private Collection.Daniel Defoe ZANICHELLI Only Connect ... New Directions

Defoe's Major Works

Robinson Crusoe and Other Adventure Stories

2. Defoe's works Robinson Crusoe (1719) • The story of a shipwreck on a desert island Captain Singleton (1720) • The voyage story of a captain who becomes a pirate Colonel Jack (1722) • The story of a pickpocket who repents Only Connect ... New DirectionsDaniel Defoe ZANICHELLI Only Connect ... New Directions

Moll Flanders and Roxana

2. Defoe's works Moll Flanders (1722) · The adventures of a woman who becomes a thief and a prostitute to survive but finally leads a respectable life Roxana (1724) · The adventures of a high-society woman who exploits her beauty to obtain what she wants. Only Connect ... New DirectionsDaniel Defoe ZANICHELLI Only Connect ... New Directions

Defoe's Novel Structure

Fictional Autobiographies and Hero Focus

3. Defoe's novels: structure · Fictional autobiographies. · A series of episodes and adventures. · Unifying presence of a single hero. THE LIFE AND STRANGE SURPRIZING ADVENTURES OF ROBINSON CRUSOE, Of YORK, MARINER: Who lived Eight and Twenty Years, all alone in an un-inhabited Ifland on the Coaft of AMERICA, near the Mouth of the Great River of OROONOQUE; Having been caft on Shore by Shipwreck, where- in all the Men perifhed but himfelf. WITH An Account how he was at last as ftrangely deli- ver'd by PYRATES. Written by Himfelf. LONDON: Printed for W. TAYLOR at the Ship in Pater-Nofter- Row. MDCCXIX. Only Connect ... New DirectionsDaniel Defoe ZANICHELLI Only Connect ... New Directions

Narrative Style and Character Presentation

3. Defoe's novels: structure · Lack of a coherent plot. · Retrospective first-person narration. . The author's point of view coincides with the main character's. · Characters presented through their actions. Only Connect ... New DirectionsDaniel Defoe ZANICHELLI Only Connect ... New Directions

Robinson Crusoe Analysis

The Middle-Class Hero's Transgression

4. Robinson Crusoe: the middle-class hero Robinson shares restlessness with classical heroes of travel literature An act of transgression, of disobedience His isolation on the island after the shipwreck Only Connect ... New DirectionsDaniel Defoe ZANICHELLI Only Connect ... New Directions

Spiritual Autobiography and Conflict

5. Robinson Crusoe: a spiritual autobiography Full of religious references to God, sin, providence, salvation The hero reads the Bible to find comfort and guidance Defoe explores the conflict between economic motivation and spiritual salvation Only Connect ... New DirectionsDaniel Defoe ZANICHELLI Only Connect ... New Directions

The Island as a Proving Ground

6. Robinson Crusoe: the island The ideal place for Robinson to prove his qualities Robinson organizes a primitive empire Not a return to nature, but a chance to exploit and dominate nature Only Connect ... New DirectionsDaniel Defoe ZANICHELLI Only Connect ... New Directions

Individual and Society in Robinson Crusoe

7. Robinson Crusoe: the individual and society The society Robinson creates on the island is not an alternative to but an exaltation of 18th-century England, its ideals of mobility, material productiveness, and individualism Though God is the prime cause of everything, the individual can shape his destiny through action Only Connect ... New DirectionsDaniel Defoe ZANICHELLI Only Connect ... New Directions

Robinson Crusoe's Style

8. Robinson Crusoe: the style · Clear and precise details. · Description of the primary qualities of objects. solidity, extension and number · Simple, matter-of-fact and concrete language. Only Connect ... New Directions