My understanding
The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe is a novel with adventurous spirit. The protagonist Robinson was born in a wealthy merchant family, but he is not satisfied with a rich and comfortable life and wants to go to sea. On the fourth voyage, he encountered a storm, and all his companions on board were killed. Only he survived and drifted to an island. On this island, he settled down and lived on this island for 28 years, 2 months and 19 days. Finally, he was able to return to his hometown.
I want to explain my understanding of this novel from the following perspectives. The first is the spirit of adventure and dream. Robinson was born in a wealthy merchant family in England. He should have followed his parents' arrangement, learned knowledge, took over the family industry, and then married a wife to live an enviable life. However, Robinson is not willing to live such an established life. He does not want his future to be planned and completed. He wants to live a more wonderful life, so he chooses sailing trade. Some people may think that this choice is foolish, because Robinson abandoned the original comfortable and happy life and chose to trade at sea. The security of the trade road from Africa to Europe is unknown, and the trade benefits are also unknown. To give up a stable life in order to meet his desire for challenge broke the public's cognition at that time. But from now on, this adventurous spirit is commendable. Now society has been encouraging us to jump out of the comfort zone and encourage the spirit of adventure. This undoubtedly fits the theme of the book. Although the known future is stable, in such an environment, people are easy to lose their fighting spirit and gradually get used to this kind of life, which is terrible. Being in the same position and doing the same thing for a long time is easy to solidify people's thinking, and it is also easy to make people lose their curiosity and live numbly. Therefore, Robinson gave up this life and chose to do business at sea. Although he encountered many difficulties in the process, it is undeniable that this experience will be the most precious wealth in his life.
Secondly, persistence and diligence. Robinson unfortunately encountered a storm on the way to the sea, and all his companions on the ship were killed. Only he survived. However, he was exiled to an unknown island and had nothing. The shipwreck was a heavy blow to Robinson. His partner lost his life. He was once alive. The people who accompanied him disappeared instantly. How sad he should be. Moreover, he was exiled to an island, where there were no family and friends he was familiar with, no developed civilization he was familiar with, but only the most primitive things, and even survival became very difficult. In such a desperate situation, most people will feel hopeless and collapse. But Robinson didn't. He made use of the existing resources on the island and transported the existing materials from the shipwrecked ships. He settled down on the island. He set up a tent on the side of the mountain, built fences around the tent with pointed wooden stakes, dug holes in the back of the tent, and made furniture with simple tools. In such a blow, he braced himself for a better life. Of course, he did not give up the idea of an outlying island. He was sent to the island by the storm. He did not know where the island was, the direction of his hometown, or whether anyone would pass by the island, but he still kept his faith in going home and made efforts again and again. This spirit of persistence is worth learning from. At the same time, the book also affirms the role of people. At that time, God and the Bible were highly respected. Everyone believed in God's ability and God created everything. But after Robinson wandered on the island, what God could save him. The only thing he can rely on is himself. Robinson's performance adapts to the new trend of western historical and cultural development. In the creative work of human beings, he further discovers human's ability to promote human's wisdom and labor, and negates the idea that God is omnipotent. This is also an ideological progress.
Moreover, this book reflects colonialism and the accumulation of primitive capital of the early bourgeoisie. Robinson lived in England, but he began to trade with Africa. This is consistent with the historical background at that time. For the primitive accumulation of early capital, capitalism kept trading at sea and selling slaves. But at that time, this kind of trade was not widely popularized, so there were fewer people who took risks at sea. However, the appearance of this book encourages such an adventurous spirit of going to sea, which is in line with the background of the times and, in a sense, also promotes the development of offshore trade. In the book, Robinson accidentally saves Friday and lives with him. At first glance, we can see that Robinson saved next Friday, and taught him a lot, treating him as a friend. But if you think about it carefully, you will find the colonial thought in it. First of all, Friday is Robinson's servant in the text, which is consistent with the slave trade at that time. At that time, Africans were sold as goods and became slaves of Europeans. Secondly, Robinson is a typical bourgeois colonist. He settled on a desert island, colonized the island, and controlled the resources and people on the island. Then he even came back to inspect the island, which seemed to be his private property. His colonial thoughts can be seen in general.
Even though there are some colonial thoughts in this book, at that time, Robinson was still one of the earliest positive figures in bourgeois literature. With his strong will and positive enterprising spirit, he overwhelmed the conservative noble figures. His image conforms to the spirit of British society in the 18th century. Robinson is eager for adventure and unwilling to lead a mediocre life. He is the representative of the rising bourgeoisie.
This book is based on Robinson's adventure as a clue, so that the reader can quickly follow the development of the story, and the story is full of twists and turns and fascinating. Moreover, the choice of words and sentences is relatively simple, and it is easy to understand the content of the original text. And the novel uses the first person narrative method to narrow the distance with the reader. This novel is based on a story. In 1719, the British magazine published a story: the Scottish sailor sercoco had a conflict with the captain and was abandoned on a desert island. He lived alone for more than four years and became a savage who forgot the human language. Later, a navigator found him and took him back to England. Based on the real story, the author gives play to his imagination and constructs a new adventure world. For the people at that time, on the one hand, it made them dare to take risks and make unprecedented decisions; On the other hand, I think what attracts readers more is the unique and desirable life on the island. With the gradual development of industrialization, many things in life have been replaced by mechanized mass production, and the most primitive and free way of life is gradually disappearing. The author conceived of such an island, which is not affected by industry, and only retains the original and most primitive way of life. This may be the life the author yearns for, and it may also be the idea of most people living in cities.
In a word, Robinson Crusoe is a good book, which can give readers a lot of thinking and inspiration. My favorite words in this book are “people in fear of how ridiculous ah! Any reason to provide them all the way to protect themselves, once the heart of fear prevailed, they will not know how to use these methods.” This makes me reflect on my life now.
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