The Literature Book

95

See also: Gulliver’s Travels 104 ■ Tom Jones 104 ■ David Copperfield 153 ■ The Catcher in the Rye 256–57

RENAISSANCE TO ENLIGHTENMENT

The details of the “author’s” birth

lend authenticity to the work as

an autobiographical text—and

therefore also as a true narrative.

Such verisimilitude is enhanced

by the fact that parts of the novel

take the form of a journal.

Island castaways

Robinson Crusoe is widely credited

as a foundational text of realism,

and, for many, it also ranks as the

first English novel. It is believed

that Defoe’s work was inspired by

the account of a real-life castaway,

Alexander Selkirk, who, in the early

18th century, was marooned on an

island in the Pacific. An instant

success on publication, Defoe’s

story mentions expeditions in

exotic regions of Africa and Brazil,

and a slaving mission that leads to

shipwreck on a Caribbean island.

Crusoe tells of his attempts to

rescue provisions from the ship

and of his solitary existence on

the island. He builds a shelter and

makes tools with which to hunt,

farm, and forage. He keeps track

of the days by cutting notches in

a wooden cross; he reads the Bible

and thanks God. He domesticates

a parrot. For years this is his life.

Then—in one of the most iconic

moments in literature—Crusoe

discovers a footprint in the sand,

leading to an obsessive fear that

he will be attacked by “savages.”

After two years spent barricading

himself in a fortress, he encounters

a native from a nearby island who

is fleeing from cannibals. Crusoe

“rescues” him, puts him to work,

and names him Friday, after

the day on which they met. The

relationship between the two has

been critiqued as one of master

and slave (a European explorer/

exploiter and an indigenous local);

Crusoe, as a bearer of “civilization,”

is a symbol of burgeoning British

imperialism. Just as European

nations claim land for colonies,

so Crusoe assumes dominion over

the island, and sees himself as an

owner and “absolute Lord.”

Crusoe’s “autobiographical” island

memoir proved remarkably resilient,

inspiring endless reimaginings and

giving rise to an entire subgenre,

the Robinsonade. A pivotal text

in English literature, it has had

a significant influence—perhaps

unrivaled by any other individual

work—and its motifs have become

part of the general culture. ■

[H]e kneeled down again,

kissed the ground, and ...

set my foot upon his head;

this it seems was in token

of swearing to be

my slave forever.

Robinson Crusoe

Makes use of an

autobiographical voice to

parody claims of truth in

contemporary fiction.

Satirizes the concept

of individualism and the

use of reason.

Gulliver becomes a

prisoner on the island

of Lilliput.

Promotes individualism:

solitary, self-sufficient

man mastering nature

through reason.

Crusoe becomes “King

and Lord” of his isle.

Makes use of an

autobiographical voice

to endorse the text as

a true narrative.

Robinson

Crusoe

Gulliver’s

Travels

Robinson Crusoe and Gulliver’s Travels both

use an autobiographical voice to present their tales

of travel as factual accounts of real-life experiences;

they nevertheless differ in several crucial respects.

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