Summary of Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe

Robinson Crusoe (1719) is a classic novel about survival and resilience. Crusoe, a young Englishman, leaves home to pursue seafaring adventures. After several misfortunes, Crusoe ends up stranded on an uninhabited island following a shipwreck. He manages to establish a life for himself, constructing a habitation, making tools, and hunting for food. He spends 28 years as a castaway, encountering both cannibals and mutineers before his return to civilization. Crusoe is not a typical hero; he’s accident-prone and more stubborn than brave. His story is narrated in first-person, making it more believable. Author Daniel Defoe, one of the founders of the English novel, was also a merchant and traveler. Much like Crusoe, he was a man who could improvise and survive. Robinson Crusoe, his first novel, was successful because it was perceived as factual rather than fictional, while exploring materialism, isolation, power dynamics, faith, atonement, and other universal topics. Robinson Crusoe continues to resonate in Western culture. The tale has been reimagined and adapted for TV and movies.