Daniel Defoe, author of Robinson Crusoe, led a rather dramatic life, just like
the character described in his novel. He had played various roles throughout his
life. He used to be a successful merchant, though went out of business later. He
published The True-Born Englishman, which was awarded by William III, and he
also the author of The Short Way With The Dissentions, because of which he was
sent to the court since the article ridicule the policy the government had taken
towards the national church. When he was producing the novel Robinson Crusoe, he
was already over sixty years of age. The novel was presented out of a real story
of a seaman and it gained great popularity as soon as it was published. It goes
beyond any literary codes or restrictions. Deniel Defoe with great independence
of creativity made his novels a model of a completely new literary style and
just because of this he was awarded as the father of the English and European
novels. In the novel, Robinson Crusoe was a young Englishman with great
interests in traveling in sea. He abandoned the peaceful life of his hometown
village and went out to the sea. Unfortunately their ship was attacked by a
storm. However Robinson was the only one who survived and was stuck on an
island. In order to live on the deserted island, he cultivated small farmlands
and raised animals with his own hands and wisdom. After he saved a savage, whom
he names Friday and made him his slave, the small island was changed into a tiny
society. Before he returned to his homeland he had stayed on the small island
for twenty-eight years. Robinson Crusoe was the first novel, which describe the
creative activity of human beings with a rather different method compared with
many other novels of his time. Defoe regarded labor as a great motivation of the
society and praised it with elaborate words. Although Robinson was lost in the
island away from the society which he lived in, he still has the ability to
work, to create, to make a living in the lonely island out of his own hands. And
it was just this ability which made it possible for him to lead a quite
comfortable life there. The crash of his boat and the death of his fellowmen
mean that the world on which he used to depend on had ended, and he had to start
from the beginning. The main problem Robinson was facing was to live, that is,
to eat, drink, and get warm under the most severe conditions. With no ready-made
tools and the help of other people, the only thing he could depend on was his
own hands and wisdom. Robinson chose the best moment to swim to the shipwreck
when the tides were down checking whether there were anything left that were not
destroyed by the water and he could make use of. And then he made a raft with
the wood on the sunken ship and loaded it with necessary food for life and also
some guns in order to protect himself from the savages. However it was not an
easy job to accomplish that. He finished it with several steps and each of them
was a great challenge. There was one time he even almost made his raft up side
down. For twelve times he went between the shore and the raft by jumping and
swimming until the last piece of tools was safely carried to the raft. The new
life began and gradually developed. First Robinson got things and foods readily
from the nature and later on he began to grow things and raise animals. What's
more, Robinson also dug caves in which he could live more comfortable and away
from the rain and snow outside. At the same time he made chairs, tables and even
poetry for cooking though he had failed numerous times. Robinson got a feeling
through his hard work: No joy at a thing of so wan a nature way even to mine,
when I found I had made an earthen pot that would bear the fire, and I had
hardly patience to stay till they were cold, before I set one upon the fire
again, with admirably well, and with a piece of a ----lid I made some very good
broth, though, I wanted oatmeal. And several other ingredients requisite to make
it so good as I would have Had it been. Robinson lived on the island for 28
years, 28 years of struggle against the nature. During the years he made his own
farm, herds, and even slaves and he was the winner of the struggle.