Book Discussion Notes Robinson Crusoe

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1 Book Discussion Notes Robinson Crusoe 1. YLBC Opening and business 2. Narration 3. Author Review Defoe - 4. Discuss Toy, item from home that reminds you of book 5. Each person say I like because (each character) Discussion: Question Answer Title Robinson Crusoe Author Daniel Defoe Year Written 1719 Setting Time Setting Place York, England; then London; then Sallee, North Africa; then Brazil; then a deserted island off Trinidad; then England; then Lisbon; then overland from Spain toward England; then England; and finally the island again. Crusoe begins his journey in September 1659 and travels to Africa, Brazil, and a lost island in the Atlantic. He moves primarily through and around the Atlantic Ocean. In this sense, the setting of the novel is a transatlantic one. The significance of this setting is that it is also the primary location of eighteenth-century trade routes including the slave trade. Overview: Full title:the Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, of York, Mariner: Who lived Eight and Twenty Years, all alone in an uninhabited Island on the Coast of America, near the Mouth of the Great River of Oroonoque; Having been cast on Shore by Shipwreck, wherein all the Men perished but himself. With An Account how he was at last as strangely deliver d by Pyrates Characters: Question Protagonist(s) Leading character, hero, or heroine of a drama or other literary work who traditionally, undergoes some sort of change (pushing something forward). Adjectives to describe Protagonist(s) Antagonist - An antagonist is one that contents with or opposes another, adversary or opponent, the villain. The antagonist of a story is the character that provides an obstacle for the protagonist. Adjectives to describe Antagonist(s) Answer Robinson Crusoe - As the sole narrator of the novel and the main character, Robinson Crusoe is without a doubt the protagonist of this novel. It's his soul that we see being saved in his conversion to Christianity, and it's his escape that we're all rooting for at the end. Let's not forget that his name is in the title too. That's a good hint Brave, Island or The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, of York, Mariner: Who lived Eight and Twenty Years, all alone in an uninhabited Island on the Coast of America, near the Mouth of the Great River of Oroonoque; Having been cast on Shore by Shipwreck, wherein all the Men perished but himself. With An Account how he was at last as strangely deliver d by Pyrates 1

2 Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action, Resolution Question7 Conflict (Man vs. Man, Man vs. Nature, Man vs. God, Man vs. Himself, Man vs. Society Rising action - During rising action, the basic internal conflict is complicated by the introduction of related secondary conflicts, including various obstacles that frustrate the protagonist's attempt to reach his goal. Secondary conflicts can include adversaries of lesser importance than the story s antagonist, who may work with the antagonist or separately, by and for themselves or actions unknown, and also the conflict Falling action (Emotional Climax) - The falling action is that part of the story in which the main part (the climax) has finished and you're heading to the resolution. Climax - The third act is that of the climax, or turning point, which marks a change, for the better or the worse, in the protagonist s affairs. If the story is a comedy, things will have gone badly for the protagonist up to this point; now, the tide, so to speak, will turn, and things will begin to go well for him or her. If the story is a tragedy, the opposite state of affairs will ensue, with things going from good to bad for the protagonist. Simply put, this is where the main part happens or the most dramatic part. Resolution - comprises events between the falling action and the actual ending scene of the drama or narrative and thus serves as the conclusion of the story. Meaning of the Title Major Themes Minor Themes Answer Shipwrecked alone, Crusoe struggles against hardship, privation, loneliness, and cannibals in his attempt to survive on a deserted island Crusoe disobeys his father and goes out to sea. Crusoe has a profitable first merchant voyage, has fantasies of success in Brazil, and prepares for a slave-gathering expedition The armies of Wisdom, led by Azaz and his brother the Mathemagician route the demons and welcome Rhyme and Reason back to the land. Crusoe becomes shipwrecked on an island near Trinidad, forcing him to fend for himself and his basic needs The novel ends in comedy, with Crusoe overcoming his antagonists. Crusoe masters his hardships, which he feels have been inflicted due to his disobedience. The years on the island transform him into a practicing Christian with a peaceful soul; he even converts Friday, a savage, to Christianity. When he sails away from the island, he is richer than ever before, both spiritually and financially (although he is not aware of his wealth until he arrives in England). Back at home, Crusoe settles down, marries, becomes a father, and is generous towards all his friends and relatives. The Protagonist The ambivalence of mastery; the necessity of repentance; the importance of self-awareness Obedience Other Characters: Who Friday Adjectives A twenty-six-year-old Caribbean native and cannibal who converts to Protestantism under Crusoe s tutelage. Friday becomes Crusoe s servant after Crusoe saves his life when Friday is about to be eaten by other cannibals. Friday never appears to resist or resent his new servitude, and he may sincerely view it as 2

3 The Portuguese captain The Spaniard Xury The widow God Cannibals appropriate compensation for having his life saved. But whatever Friday s response may be, his servitude has become a symbol of imperialist oppression throughout the modern world. Friday s overall charisma works against the emotional deadness that many readers find in Crusoe. The sea captain who picks up Crusoe and the slave boy Xury from their boat after they escape from their Moorish captors and float down the African coast. The Portuguese captain takes Crusoe to Brazil and thus inaugurates Crusoe s new life as plantation owner. The Portuguese captain is never named unlike Xury, for example and his anonymity suggests a certain uninteresting blandness in his role in the novel. He is polite, personable, and extremely generous to Crusoe, buying the animal skins and the slave boy from Crusoe at well over market value. He is loyal as well, taking care of Crusoe s Brazilian investments even after a twenty-eight-year absence. His role in Crusoe s life is crucial, since he both arranges for Crusoe s new career as a plantation owner and helps Crusoe cash in on the profits later. One of the men from the Spanish ship that is wrecked off Crusoe s island, and whose crew is rescued by the cannibals and taken to a neighboring island. The Spaniard is doomed to be eaten as a ritual victim of the cannibals when Crusoe saves him. In exchange, he becomes a new subject in Crusoe s kingdom, at least according to Crusoe. The Spaniard is never fleshed out much as a character in Crusoe s narrative, an example of the odd impersonal attitude often notable in Crusoe. Faithful, obedient, clever, brave, A nonwhite (Arab or black) slave boy only briefly introduced during the period of Crusoe s enslavement in Sallee. When Crusoe escapes with two other slaves in a boat, he forces one to swim to shore but keeps Xury on board, showing a certain trust toward the boy. Xury never betrays that trust. Nevertheless, when the Portuguese captain eventually picks them up, Crusoe sells Xury to the captain. Xury s sale shows us the racist double standards sometimes apparent in Crusoe s behavior. Appearing briefly, but on two separate occasions in the novel, the widow keeps Crusoe s 200 pounds safe in England throughout all his thirty-five years of journeying. She returns it loyally to Crusoe upon his return to England and, like the Portuguese captain and Friday, reminds us of the goodwill and trustworthiness of which humans can be capable, whether European or not. In the novel's major narrative arc, Crusoe must submit to the authority and power of God. Christianity will prove to be the guiding force in his life after this conversion The cannibals are the native islanders and they serve as a contrast to Crusoe's own culture and beliefs The Characters 3

4 Which character do you identify with? Which do you admire or dislike? Who in this book would you most like to meet? What would you ask or say? The Story, the Plot and Your Experience Is the plot well developed? Is it believable? Does the book remind you of someone or something in your own life? Title, Themes, Style and Symbolism How does the title relate to the book? Can you pick out a passage that s profound or interesting or perhaps sums up the central issue of the book? The Ending Did you expect the ending or did it surprise you? Was the ending satisfying? If you could rewrite the ending, would you? What ending would you have chosen for the story? Do You Want to Read More? What is the future of the characters lives? Would it make a good movie? Is there a film adaptation of this book? Do you think people will still be reading it in 10 years, 50 years or 100 years? My 2 cents: 1. Do you see how God had prepared Robinson Crusoe for his trials? (Through His providence) He knew what rice looked like from having seen it when on shore in in Africa, He knew farming, in His great providence God cared for Him and seemingly coddled him in his trials. Our life is just like that. We may not know why we are asked to endure something, or why do I need to know this? everything we learn, do, experience, creates and forms us into the person God is asking us to become even if we don t use those skills, talents, etc for years down the road. I look at loss of family at untimely times and praise God for making me strong. Evidence of Providence Saved when washed up in Africa The Portuguese captain s charity Shipwrecked and nearly drown in current island, but only man spared The growing of the corn Being spared from the earthquake 2. DO you see how Robinson has grown in virtue throughout the book? Gone from ungrateful to VERY grateful, seeing God s hand in everything patience imagine how much patience it took to fortify his home, build, grow (4 years of planting corn before edible), etc Love of Lord God s hand in giving him 3 good bibles, so he could learn to love Him and be grateful 3. After he was sick, the first thing he did in his recovery was prepare a meal, and for the first time, thank God and ask His blessing for the FIRST TIME IN HIS WHOLE LIFE!!! 4. SOOOOOO after his nightmare, he is guided to the chest looking for the tobacco, he finds the bibles ABSOLUTELY directed by the hand of God 5. So interesting how his priorities change after he is delivered and repents. His priorities: First, Duty to God, reading scripture 3 times daily Second, food Third, ordering, preserving, and cooking food Question for thought: Crusoe spends much time on the island devising ways to escape it. But when he finally does escape, his return to Europe is anticlimactic. Nothing he finds there, not even friends or family, is described with the same interest evoked earlier by 4

5 his fortress or farm. Indeed, at the end of the novel Crusoe returns to the island. Why does Defoe portray the island originally as a place of captivity and then later as a desired destination? Answer for Study Question 3 >> Crusoe s ordeal is not merely the adventure tale it seems at first, but a moral and religious illustration of the virtues of solitude and selfreliance. At the beginning, Crusoe can only perceive his isolation as a punishment. But after his religious illumination, and after he has turned an uninhabited island into a satisfying piece of real estate, he learns to relish his solitude. His panic at the sight of a footprint shows how he has come to view other humans as threatening invaders of his private realm. His fellow humans in Europe undoubtedly also represent not the advantages of society, but the loss of empowered solitude, and so he dreams of returning to the island where he was king alone. Quotes?: Page 6 I entirely forgot the vows and promises I had made in my distress I found indeed some intervals of reflection, and the serious thoughts did, as it were, endeavour to return again sometimes, but I shook them off, and roused myself from them as it were from a distemper, and applying myself to drink and company, soon mastered the return of those fits, for I so called them, and had in five or six days got as complete victory over conscience as any young fellow that resolved not to be troubled with it could desire. He was running from the whisperings of the Holy Spirit. His conscience, to do his will not God s. Page 10 The captain to Robinson after he explains that this first voyage was a trial in order to go farther abroad, you ought never to go to sea anymore, you ought to take this for a plain and visible token that you are not to be a seafaring man you see what a taste Heaven has given you of what you are to expect if you persist. He exhorted me to go back to my father and not temp Providence to my ruin you will meet with nothing but disasters and disappointment till your Father s words are fulfilled upon you. Good advice? Then his pride prevents him from returning home I should be laughed at among the neighbors. Page 10 I have since often observed, how incongruous and irrational the common temper of mankind is, especially of youth, to that reason which ought to guide them in such cases, that they are not ashamed to sin, and yet are ashamed to repent. Page 29 But I was hurried on, and obeyed blindly te dictates of my fancy rather than my reason. Rob of deciding to leave the Brazlis and his success for slaves off coast of Guinea Page 33 For sudden joys, like grief, confound at first. Realizes he is not going to die when washed ashore after wreck. Page 64 Rob s dream: Seeing all these things have not brought thee to repentance,now thou shall die he lifed up the spear to kill me while Robinson was sick he had this dream. GREAT Page 64 Not having the least sense, either of the fear of God in danger, or of thankfulness to God in deliverances. Of which he had sooooooooo many to be thankful for. Page 64 I never had so much as one thought of it being the hand of God, or that it was just punishment for my sin; my rebellious behavior against my father, or my present sins which were great; of so much as a unishment for the general course of my wicked life. He is coming to a conversion of heart, seeing God s loving hand. Page 64 but I was merely thoughtless of a God or a providence; acted like a mere bruit from the principles of nature, and by the dictates of common sense only, and indeed hardly that. Page 65 I had no more sense of God or His judgements, much less of the present affliction of my circumstances being from His hand, than if I had been in the most prosperous condition of my life. Page 66 Lord, be my help, for I am in great distress. This was the first prayer, if I may call it so, that I had made for many years. Page 67 Then it followed most naturally; It is God that has made it all. Well, but then it came on strangely, if God has made all these things, He guides and governs them all, and all things that concern them; for the power 5

6 that could make all things must certainly have power to guide and direct them. If so, nothing can happen in the great circuit without his knowledge or appointment. Page 68 first time he picks the bible the Holy Spirit leads him to Call on me in the day of trouble, and I will deliver, and thou shall glorify me. Good stuff! Page 70 as he is asking forgiveness and thanking God for his deliverance from sickness he reads He is exalted a Prince and a Savior, to give repentance, and to give remission. He then hits his knees and begs repentance. Page 82 One morning being very sad, I opened the Bible upon these words, I will never, never leave thee, nor forsake thee; immediately it occurred that these words were to me; why else should they be directed in such a manner, just as the moment when I was mourning over my condition as one forsaken of God and man? Yes God is that good. Page 210 I had more care upon my head nowthan I had in my silent state of life in the island, where I wanted nothing but what I had, and had nothing but what I wanted Page 211 I began to regret my having professed myself a Papist, and thought it might not be the best religion to die with. WOW WOW - o o PAPIST (noun) The noun PAPIST has 1 sense: 1. an offensive term for Roman Catholics; originally, a Roman Catholic who was a strong advocate of the papacy Page 232 :I was so prepossessed against my going by sea at all [to England], except from Calais to Dover, that I resolved to travel all the way by land. Page 223 I resolved to embrace the Roman Catholic religion, without any reserve; unless on the other hand I resolved to be a sacrifice to my principles, e a martyr for religion, and die in the Inquisition; so I resolved to stay at home, and if I could find means for it, to dispose of my plantation 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, 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. (9) 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. (10) - At the beginning of the novel, Crusoe has a tendency to call on the help of God when his life is in danger (that is, when the ocean is super stormy), and then to forget about all that religious stuff when he's sailing on smooth waters. Notice how the ever-changing sea serves as a useful metaphor for thinking about Crusoe's fickle relationship with God. 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. (15) cast away upon that Island without being driven, as is said, by a violent Storm quite out of the Course of our intended Voyage, and a great Way, viz. some Hundreds of Leagues out of the ordinary Course of the Trade of Mankind, I had great Reason to consider it as a Determination of Heaven, that in this desolate Place, and in this desolate Manner I should end my life; the Tears would run plentifully down my Face when I made these Reflections, and sometimes I would expostulate with my self, Why Providence should thus completely ruine its Creatures, and render them so absolutely miserable, so without Help abandon'd, so entirely depress'd, that it could hardly be rational to be thankful for such a Life. (54) - Crusoe is in a fit of despair at his landing on the island and wonders why Providence (i.e., God) would send him to such a place. He correlates the storms on the ocean with the will of God. His life on the island will become a test of his faith. 6

7 also I found three very good Bibles which came to me in my Cargo from England, and which I had pack'd up among my things (56) - Notice that three Bibles are among the wreckage of the ship. The Bible is hugely important for Crusoe's time on the island, as it will serve as his moral compass and means of spiritual reformation. In this Interval, the good Advice of my Father came to my Mind, and presently his Prediction which I mentioned at the Beginning of the Story, viz. That if I did take this foolish Step, God would not bless me, and I would have Leisure hereafter to reflect upon having neglected his Counsel, when there might be none to assist in my Recovery. Now, said I aloud, My dear Father's Words are come to pass: God's Justice has overtaken me, and I have none to help or hear me: I rejected the Voice of Providence, which had mercifully put me in a Posture or Station of Life, wherein I might have been happy and easy; but I would neither see it my self, or learn to know the Blessing of it from my Parents; I left them to mourn over my Folly, and now I am left to mourn under the Consequences of it: I refus'd their Help and Assistance who would have lifted me into the World, and wou'd have made every Thing easy to me, and now I have Difficulties to struggle with, too great for even Nature itself to support, and no Assistance, no Help, no Comfort, no Advice; then I cry'd out, Lord be my Help, for I am in Great Distress. (78) in the grips of the flu (or "Ague" as Crusoe calls it on page 75), Crusoe has a fever dream in which a man comes down from the heavens and admonishes him for not yet repenting, and tries to kill him with a spear. He begins to see that his past behaviors have been sinful and his miseries are punishments for his rebellious behavior. He finally repents and utters his first prayer. This is the beginning of Crusoe's spiritual life. Now I began to construe the Words mentioned above, Call on me, and I will deliver you, in a different Sense from what I had ever done before; for then I had no Notion of any thing being call'd Deliverance, but my being deliver'd from the Captivity I was in; for tho' I was indeed at large in the Place, yet the Island was certainly a Prison to me, and that in the worst Sense in the World; but now I learn'd to take it in another Sense: Now I look'd back upon my past Life with such Horrour, and my Sins appear'd so dreadful, that my Soul sought nothing of God, but Deliverance from he Load of Guilt that bore down all my Comfort: As for my solitary Life it was nothing; I did not so much as pray to be deliver'd 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. (83) - Crusoe rethinks the meaning of "deliverance" in that he now realizes it's not the island that he needs to be saved from. Oh, no. It's his own sins. Paradigm shift, anyone? Religion joyn'd in with this Prudential, and I was convinc'd now many Ways, that I was perfectly out of my Duty, when I was laying all my bloody Schemes for the Destruction of innocent Creatures, I mean innocent as to me: As to the Crimes they were guilty of towards one another, I had nothing to do with them; they were National, and I ought to leave them to the Justice of God, who is the Governour of Nations, and knows how by National Punishments to make a just Retribution for National Offences; and to bring publick Judgments upon those who offend in a publick Manner, by such Ways as best pleases him. (146) - After much thought Crusoe, realizes that he cannot kill the cannibals, since that would be taking up God's office. It's up to God to punish nations of people who do wrong, not an individual man. Note, however, that Crusoe does later decide to intervene in the cannibals' actions when he sees that they are ready to kill and eat a Spaniard. Why During the long Time that Friday has now been with Me, and that he began to speak to me, and understand me, I was not wanting to lay a Foundation of religious Knowledge in his Mind; particularly I ask'd him one Time who made him? (182) - Crusoe renames Friday, teaches him English, and then converts him to Christianity. Crusoe tells us that this becomes a way for Crusoe, as teacher, to better understand religion (185). The two engage in various theological debates. What is the effect, though, on Friday? It was remarkable too, we had but three Subjects, and they were of three different Religions. My Man Friday was a Protestant, his Father was a Pagan and a Cannibal, and the Spaniard was a Papist: However, I allow'd Liberty of Conscience throughout my Dominions: But this is by the Way. (203) - Note that, though he urges Friday to convert to Christianity, Crusoe allows different religions to exist on the society of the island. 7

8 I might well say, now indeed, the latter End of Job was better than the Beginning. It is impossible to express here the Flutterings of my very Heart, when I look'd over these Letters, and especially when I found all my Wealth about me; for as the Brasil Ships come all in Fleets, the same Ships which brought my Letters, brought my Goods; and the Effects were safe in the River before the Letters came to my Hand. (239) - Crusoe compares himself to Job, a character from the Old Testament of the Bible. Job suffered relentlessly (plagues, loss of fortune, and all that), but he never lost his faith in God. Crusoe sees himself as a Job of sorts too, but one here who is rewarded with great wealth upon his return from the island. Did you find any foreshadowing? o Crusoe suffers a storm at sea near Yarmouth, foreshadowing his shipwreck years later. o Crusoe dreams of cannibals arriving, and later they come to kill Friday. o Crusoe invents the idea of a governor of the island to intimidate the mutineers, foreshadowing the actual governor s later arrival Any interesting phrases? o Coup de gras The expression coup de grâce ( /ˌkuː də ˈɡrɑːs/ [note 1] ; French: [ku də ɡʁɑs], "blow of mercy") means a death blow intended to end the suffering of a wounded creature. [2] The phrase can refer to the killing of civilians or soldiers, friends or enemies, with or without the consent of the sufferer. It is often used figuratively to describe the last in a series of events which brings about the end of some entity; [2] for example: "The business had been failing for years; the coup de grâce was the sudden jump [citation needed] in oil prices." o Fortnight 2 weeks o PAPIST (noun) The noun PAPIST has 1 sense: 1. an offensive term for Roman Catholics; originally, a Roman Catholic who was a strong advocate of the papacy Sources: Sparknotes.com -SparkNotes Editors. SparkNote on Robinson Crusoe. SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC Web. 3 Oct Monkey Notes.com Schmoop.com 8

9 Author Review Daniel Defoe Daniel Defoe was born in 1660 in London, to James and Alice Foe. His father worked as a butcher and made and sold candles, and the young Daniel regretted the fact that he was not of the gentry class and could not attend a prestigious school, such as Oxford or Cambridge. The fact that his parents had left the Church of England to join the Presbyterian fold compounded the boy's problems, especially in finding acceptance among the upper crust of society. Early in his life, Defoe made preparations to become a Presbyterian minister, but after studying religion for some time, he decided against the ministry, feeling that a parish life would be too restrictive. Later, he settled into the business world, setting up an import-export business and haberdashery in London. In January of 1684, he married Mary Tuffley, the daughter of a wine cooper. By the early 1690s, Defoe's business had failed; his marriage was also failing. In search of a new career, he involved himself in politics and became a profile journalist and pamphleteer. He published a political tract against James II and in defense of the accession of William of Orange. In 1702, he published the pamphlet, The Shortest Way with Dissenter, attacking the Church of England. As a result of his controversial writings, Defoe was arrested, imprisoned for a period of time, tried, and sentenced to pay a fine and to stand three times in the pillory. Supposedly, the crowd cheered when he stood before them on the pillory. After his release from prison, Defoe immersed himself in political journalism, often contributing to newspapers. For a period of time, he was a secret agent for the government and afterwards he wrote for different parties, switching his allegiance to whoever would pay him the most. At times he would even publish simultaneously and anonymously written articles expressing opposite points of view, one supporting the Whigs and the other the Tories. From 1704 to 1713, Defoe published The Review, a periodical that was the forerunner of the work of Steele and Addison. Already considered an old man at the age of fifty-nine, Defoe began writing fiction in 1719 and became the most prolific writer of his day. It is impossible to know exactly how many literary works he wrote, for many of them were published anonymously. As a novelist, he was much loved and widely read. His first novel, Robinson Crusoe, was published in 1719 and became an instant hit with the commoners. For the next few years, he published a succession of realistic adventure stories that were written with incredible speed. Well known titles include Mariner, Captain Singleton, and A Journal of the Plague Year. Moll Flanders (1722) is considered to be his best-written novel, and Roxana was his last. All of his novels presented realistic characters in a realistic manner; as a result, many critics see him as the forerunner to writers like Theodore Dreiser and Ernest Hemingway. Defoe was never accepted during his lifetime by the literary class, who sneered at his background and the common people who read his books. To improve his image, Defoe tried his best to be a gentleman, even changing his name from Foe to Defoe. He also bought an expensive coach with a coat of arms emblazoned on it. These accoutrements, however, could not hide the nature of the tradesman who lurked behind the façade. In spite of his popularity with the commoners, he never became wealthy, for his financial dealings were a mess. In fact, he never really recovered from the failure of his business, which occurred more than forty years before his death. Defoe died at the age of seventy, on April 24, At the time, he was a poor man, hiding from his creditors in Ropemaker's Alley. Today, however, he is recognized as the father of the English novel, and Robinson Crusoe, his first work of fiction, has remained one of the most popular adventure stories in Western literature. Journeys of Robinson 1. England and returns to England bad storm 2. Ship to Africa (Guinea) learned to be a sailor and merchant from captain success and $$$ 3. Voyage to Canary Islands time off the coast of Africa Cape De Verd Islands (WEST COAST) a. - captured by pirates and made slave to captain of pirate ship, sees Father s prophecy, 9

10 b. He learns to fish c. Befriends Xury - spares him d. Meets other ship, rescued. Portuguese Capt buys Xury and Rob s boat, Xury agrees to become Christian e. Captain is great, honest, and generous 4. Brazils, arrives on All Saints Day a. Lives with a sugar plantation and learns the trade b. Achieves the Middle station with tobacco plantation, selling his English wares for 4x their value, slaves & servants are his c. Spends 4 years, then heads out again to obtain slaves as negotiator for other plantation owners with he owning some of the slaves for his service, off the coast of Guniea 5. 9/1/1659 heads to Guinea, lands on island 9/301659, stranded and shipwrecked. a. Finds 3 bibles 10