THE AGE OF REASON: BACKGROUND & FAMOUS WORKS

The Enlightenment, also known as the Age of Reason came into being during the 1700s when
mankind was emerging from centuries of ignorance into a new age enlightened by reason,
science, and respect for humanity. The Age of Reason was published in two parts by Thomas
Paine; the first in 1794 and the follow-up in 1796. Part of the reason for The Age of
Reason existing in two separate parts is the reception the original publication received.

Part I establishes that the two are necessarily synonymous.

Part II reminds the reader that the author is not only taking pain—pardon the pun—not to attack
God but is actually insisting that an atheistic ideologically is equally unsound.

The message of this volume is not just that belief in God can exist without subservience to an
organized religion, but also that a democracy cannot exist without God. The result of such a
government would be the equivalence of moral anarchy as well as political anarchy and anarchy
is anathema to the entire proposition of democratic ideals.

The product of a search for a natural—rational—religion was Deism, which, although never

an organized cult or movement, conflicted with Christianity for two centuries, especially in
England and France. For the Deism, a very few religious truths sufficed, and they were truths
felt to be manifest to all rational beings: the existence of one God, often conceived of as
architect or mechanician, the existence of a system of rewards and punishments
administered by that God, and the obligation of humans to virtue and piety. Beyond
the natural religion of the Deists lay the more radical products of the application of reason to
religion: skepticism, atheism, and materialism.

Literature of the Age of Reason:

Swift: attacked hypocrisy in Gulliver's Travels (1726): a famous satire in English.
Pope: The Rape of the Lock.
Addison and Steele: outstanding essayists: Both wrote to criticize to criticize the social customs
and attitudes of their day.
Novel: the development of the novel is one of the great achievements of English literature of this
age.
Daniel Defoe, Samuel Richardson

DANIEL DEFOE: A BIOGRAPHY

Daniel Defoe was born in 1660 in London, England. He became a merchant and participated
in several failing businesses, facing bankruptcy and aggressive creditors. He was also a prolific
political pamphleteer. Late in life he started writing fiction and wrote Robinson Crusoe, one
of the most widely read and influential novels of all time
Daniel Foe was the son of James Foe, a London butcher. Daniel later changed his name to Daniel
Defoe, wanting to sound more gentlemanly. Defoe graduated from an academy at Newington
Green, run by the Reverend Charles Morton. Not long after, in 1683, he went into business,
having given up an earlier intent on becoming a minister. He traveled often, selling such
goods as wine and wool, but was rarely out of debt. He went bankrupt in 1692 (paying his debts
for nearly a decade thereafter), and by 1703, decided to leave business forever. Having always
been interested in politics, Defoe published his first literary piece, a political pamphlet in
1683. He continued to write political works, working as a journalist until the early 1700s. Many
of Defoe's works during this period targeted support for King William III, also known as
"William Henry of Orange." Some of his most popular works include The True-Born
Englishman, which shed light on racial prejudice in England.
Defoe took a new literary path in 1719, around the age of 59, when he published Robinson
Crusoe, a fiction novel based on several short essays that he had composed over the years. A
handful of novels followed soon after-often with rogues and criminals as lead characters-
including Moll Flanders, Colonel Jack, Captain Singleton, Journal of the Plague Year and his last
major fiction piece, Roxana (1724). In the mid-1720s, Defoe returned to writing editorial
pieces, focusing on such subjects as morality, politics and the breakdown of social order in
England. Some of his later works include Everybody's Business is Nobody's Business
(1725); the nonfiction essay "Conjugal Lewdness, Matrimonial Whoredom" (1727)
He died on April 24, 1731.
While little is known about Daniel Defoe's personal life-largely due to a lack of documentation-
Defoe is remembered today as a prolific journalist and author, and has been applauded for
his hundreds of fiction and nonfiction works, from political pamphlets to other journalistic
pieces, to fantasy-filled novels

ROBINSON CRUSOE
Daniel Defoe

I. Writer
- Daniel Defoe (1660 - 1731), born in London (England).
- Until the early 1700s, he continued to write political works, working as a journalist.
- He published Robinson Crusoe in 1719, London
II. Story Robinson Crusoe
- Full title: The life and strange surprising adventures of Robinson Crusoe of York,
Mariner
- Type of work: Novel
- Genre: Adventure, historical fiction
- Based on Defoe's suspected inspiration for Robinson Crusoe is thought to be Scottish
sailor, Alexander Selkirk, who spent four years on the uninhabited island of Más a Tierra
- Published: 25 April 1719 (300 years ago)
III. Summary
Robinson Crusoe is a person who loves adventures. Unfortunately, after a shipwreck, he had to
live alone in a deserted island. During lonely years, he had to grow plants, raise animals and
make friends with wild animals. More years pass and Crusoe discovers native cannibals, who
occasionally visit the island to kill and eat prisoners. At first, he plans to kill them for
 committing an abomination but later realizes he has no right to do so, as the cannibals do not
knowingly commit a crime. He dreams of obtaining one or two servants by freeing some
prisoners; when a prisoner escapes, Crusoe helps him, naming his new companion "Friday".
Crusoe then teaches him English and gives him some clothes. Then, Crusoe and Friday discover
the tokens of the triumphant feast.
IV. Analysis
1. Setting
The narrative opens in York in the middle of the eighteenth century with a brief history of
Robinson Crusoe's early life. After being captured by pirates, Crusoe is imprisoned at the
Moorish port of Sallee before being sent to Brazil, where he establishes himself as a planter after
escaping. Crusoe embarks from his Brazilian plantation on a journey to Africa that ends in a
shipwreck; as the lone survivor, Crusoe spends the next 28 years on a remote island.
Crusoe's new home is a tiny, rugged island off the coast of South America where only wild
creatures and birds may be found. Although Crusoe is unfamiliar with the majority of the lush
vegetation in the area, he does come across citrus trees, sugar cane, tobacco, and melon and
grape vines. On a journey to the far side of the island, he sees a nearby land mass that he is
unable to identify. In stark contrast to the teeming city where Crusoe was born and raised, the
island is an unspoiled paradise, an example of untamed nature
2. Plot
Major Conflict
Shipwrecked alone, Crusoe struggles against hardship, privation, loneliness, and cannibals in his
attempt to survive on a deserted island.
Rising Action
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.
Climax
Crusoe becomes shipwrecked on an island near Trinidad, forcing him to fend for himself and his
basic needs.
Falling Action
Crusoe constructs a shelter, secures a food supply, and accepts his stay on the island as the work
of Providence.
3. Themes in Robinson Crusoe
Christianity: The theme of Christianity is significant in the course of the novel through the
physical journey of Robinson Crusoe to the island that is also a representation of his spiritual
journey to become a good Christian. His initial disregard of the religious beliefs confirms this
proposition that he considers his life faithless due to the warning of his father about God has not
blessed him. His dream about his non-repenting attitude and his study of the Bible on the island
confirms this assumption that Robinson has turned to Christianity and is engaged in its
propagation. Also, it gives him a way out from his confusion and provides him with some solace
during these dark moments on the island. This long and arduous rumination about religion
provides him some confirmation about his belief’s miracle in the shape of Friday, his servant, and
an English captain. Some other such incidents and happenings, which first seem disastrous for
him, later prove blessings only because of his leanings toward Christianity in that he considers
them God’s will and care for him.
Society: Society and social interaction is another major significant theme of the novel in that
Robinson Crusoe flees from his family, including trying to escape from his middle-class social
relations in England. It is, in a sense, an escape from responsibilities as well as the obligation of
adhering to the social framework. However, when he lands on the island, he comes to know about
the value of people and social relations and immediately makes Friday his companion to make a
sense of the isolated living. His view of prioritizing his own life over that of the social life by
leaving toward the sea shows that he is fed up with the society, which he, later, thinks is
necessary for the balanced growth of an individual to survive. However, in another sense, it is
also appropriate for an individual to be isolated to learn the value of society as Robinson learns it.
Individuality: The novel shows the theme of individuality through Robinson Crusoe’s desire of
leaving English society despite his father’s warnings. When he is shipwrecked and ends up on an
island, he learns about his individuality and the difficulties a person faces when they remain away
from society. He also learns to live a sustainable life of independence that is free from the stress
of everyday preoccupations and tensions. His final return to the English society, however,
confirms to him that the individuality of a person can only prosper in a balanced lifestyle in a
social setup where he has the will to leave the social fabric and then return to it when he wants.
Yet what he values the most is his liberty and freedom that no harassing father or torturing
relations could make a person to be loaded with cares and preoccupations.
Isolation: Isolation is torturing and also enriching from the social and spiritual point of view.
Robinson Crusoe, when he faces himself all alone on the island, not only finds himself isolated
from the society but also from his family and faith. However, this isolation from society teaches
him the value of self-living and self-reliance, patience, and socialization. When he makes Friday
his comrade, he also learns that isolation teaches a person to have others at his beck and call,
though, it seems quite contradictory to his freedom-loving nature. This isolation and loneliness
bring him close to God and Christianity as he starts preaching later in life after his return to
England.
Independent Living: Self-reliance or independent living is another theme that Robinson Crusoe
highlights through his life on the island. When he is alone on the island, he builds his own hut,
and also domesticates different animals for his benefit, and starts using Friday for himself,
though, at the surface level he is imparting his knowledge. His acts of escape from the master and
his plantation in Brazil and later its sale and purchase point to his thinking of living an
independent life away from the fever and fret of the daily living of the English urban life.
Civilization: The theme of civilization unfolds when Crusoe is stranded on an island following
the shipwreck. He lives in the wild, taking the fittest of survival to his heart. However, he soon
starts spreading civilization when he domesticates animals and parrots and teaches the English
language and Christianity to Friday. In one sense, this becomes a tool to spread the civilization
that Kipling has called a white man’s burden.
Nature: Nature and the impact of its forces on human beings in setting the course of their lives is
another major theme that Crusoe shows through his story. It entails not only human nature but
also natural forces. When Crusoe does not pay heed to his father’s advice, it is the rebellion of his
nature, but when he faces a shipwreck, it is the wrath of the natural forces. Ultimately, he comes
to know that his own nature mixed with the natural forces could balance the life of a person.
Colonialism: The novel is highly seductive in presenting the theme of colonialism. Robinson
Crusoe’s desire to execute his voyages to different lands and his desire to materially profit from
his voyages are a reflection of human desire and the English bent of mind. Although the sane
voice of his father restrains him for some time, he finally breaks the barrier by setting out to
different islands. His idea of having a plantation in Brazil and its final sale is also a sign of the
colonial mind to profit from such ventures.
Morality: The novel also shows the theme of the existence of a moral framework although it is
mostly based on English and Christian morals. Robinson Crusoe considers it his moral duty to
save Friday to whom he later teaches Christianity and civilization. He saves several others and
kills the cannibals chasing them, considering it a morally upright task.
Self-Reliance: Crusoe presents the theme of self-reliance through his character that he faces the
question of his survival in provision and fending off the animals at the island.
4. Character
Robinson Crusoe
The novel’s protagonist and narrator. Crusoe begins the novel as a young middle-class man in
York in search of a career. He father recommends the law, but Crusoe yearns for a life at sea, and
his subsequent rebellion and decision to become a merchant is the starting point for the whole
adventure that follows. His vague but recurring feelings of guilt over his disobedience color the
first part of the first half of the story and show us how deep Crusoe’s religious fear is. Crusoe is
steady and plodding in everything he does, and his perseverance ensures his survival through
storms, enslavement, and a twenty-eight-year isolation on a desert island.

Friday
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 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 Portuguese captain

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.

The Spaniard
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.

Xury
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.

The widow
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.

5. Literary devices & Figures of Speech

Repetition: In order to survive, Crusoe keeps extensive catalogues of goods and resources he
has available to him. Often, similar events—such as visiting the wrecked ship multiple times, or
building different-sized canoes—happen more than once. Defoe uses this repetition to present
not only the monotony of island life but also Crusoe’s obsessive personality. Recounting many
mundane events also helps contribute to the realism of the novel.
Allusion: Since Daniel Defoe was a Puritan Christian, Crusoe shares his beliefs and frequently
references biblical stories or figures. These references serve as ways for Defoe to show Crusoe’s
struggle to be pious or to provide guidance for Crusoe in tough situations.
Hyperbole: The novel shows various examples of hyperboles such as,
i. I expected every Wave would have swallowed us up, and that every time the Ship fell down, as
I thought, in the Trough or Hollow of the Sea. (66)
ii. I got up out of my Cabbin, and look’d out; but such a dismal Sight I never saw: The Sea went
Mountains high, and broke upon us every three or four Minutes. (68)
iii. Then all Hands were called to the Pump. At that very Word my Heart, as I thought, died
within me, and I fell backwards upon the Side of my Bed where I sat, into the Cabbin. (70)
These examples exaggerate things as the wave swallowing up, the sea high as mountains, and the
heart has died.
Imagery: Robinson Crusoe shows the use of imagery as shown in the below examples,
i. It happen’d one time, that going a fishing in a stark calm Morning, a Fog rose so thick, that
tho’ we were not half a League from the Shoar we lost Sight of it; and rowing we knew not
whither or which way, we labour’d all Day and all the next Night, and when the Morning came
we found we had pull’d off to Sea instead of pulling in for the Shoar; and that we were at least
two Leagues from the Shoar:
However we got well in again, tho’ with a great deal of Labour, and some Danger; for the Wind
began to blow pretty fresh in the Morning; but particularly we were all very hungry. (76)
ii. The Mouth of this Hollow, was at the Bottom of a great Rock, where by meer accident, (I
would say, if I did not see abundant Reason to ascribe all such Things now to Providence) I was
cutting down some thick Branches of Trees, to make Charcoal; and before I go on, I must
observe the Reason of my making this Charcoal; which was thus. (206)
These two examples show images of color, light, and sight.
Metaphor: Robinson Crusoe shows good use of various metaphors as given in the below
examples,
 i. I cast my Eyes to the stranded Vessel, when the Breach and Froth of the Sea being so big, I
could hardly see it, it lay so far off, and considered, Lord! how was it possible I could get on
Shore? (98)
ii. My Thoughts were now wholly employ’d about securing my self against either Savages, if
any should appear, or wild Beasts, if any were in the Island. (107)
iii. How can he sweeten the bitterest Providences, and give us Cause to praise him for Dungeons
and Prisons. What a Table was here spread for me in a Wilderness, where I saw nothing at first
but to perish for Hunger. (182)
These examples show that several things have been compared directly in the novel such as the
first shows his eyes as if they are a net, the second his thoughts as if they are hooks, and the last
the island as if it is a table.
Personification: The novel shows examples of personifications such as,
i. The Wave that came upon me again, buried me at once 20 or 30 Foot deep in its own Body;
and I could feel my self carried with a mighty Force and Swiftness towards the Shore a very
great Way. (97)
ii. She lay almost where she did at first, but not quite; and was turn’d by the Force of the Waves
and the Winds almost Bottom upward, against a high Ridge of Beachy rough Sand; but no Water
about her as before. (163)
iii. In my viewing the Sea from that Hill where I stood, I perceiv’d a strong, and indeed, a most
furious Current, which run to the East, and even came close to the Point; and I took the more
Notice of it, because I saw there might be some Danger; that when I came into it. (174)
These examples show as if the waves, boat, and the sea have the life of their own.
Simile: The novel shows good use of various similes as given in the examples below,
i. I added a Wick of some Oakum, I made me a Lamp; and this gave me Light, tho’ not a clear
steady Light like a Candle. (67)
ii. I made me a Cave just behind my Tent, which serv’d me like a Cellar to my House. (109)
iii. I went out with my Gun and kill’d two Fowls like Ducks, which were very good Food. (119)
iv. I had a short Jacket of Goat-Skin, the Skirts coming down to about the middle of my Thighs;
and a Pair of open-knee’d Breeches of the same, the Breeches were made of the Skin of an old
He-goat, whose Hair hung down such a Length on either Side, that like Pantaloons it reach’d to
the middle of my Legs; Stockings and Shoes I had none, but had made me a Pair of some-things,
I scarce know what to call them, like Buskins to flap over my Legs, and lace on either Side like
Spatter-dashes; but of a most barbarous Shape, as indeed were all the rest of my Cloaths. (184)
These are similes as the use of the word “like” shows the comparison between different things.
6. Point of View:
Crusoe narrates in both the first and third person, presenting what he observes. Crusoe
occasionally describes his feelings, but only when they are overwhelming. Usually he favors a
more factual narrative style focused on actions and events.
7. Tone
Crusoe’s tone is mostly detached, meticulous, and objective. He displays little rhetorical
grandeur and few poetic or colorful turns of phrase. He generally avoids dramatic storytelling,
preferring an inventory like approach to the facts as they unfold. He very rarely registers his own
feelings, or those of other characters, and only does so when those feelings affect a situation
directly, such as when he describes the mutineers as tired and confused, indicating that their
fatigue allows them to be defeated.’
V. Questions
1. Who is the young fellow the writer is describing?
Answer: Friday
2. What does the term “perfectly-well made” refer to? (line 1)
Answer: Perfect appearance of Friday
3. List the words used in par.2 showing the submissive behavior of the fellow?
Answer:
-Lay (He lays his head flat upon the ground) – line 17
-Subjection – line 18
-Servitude – line 18
-Submission – line 18
-Serve – line 20
4. Give a modern equivalent for “to get some further intelligence of them?
Answer: To get more information about them
5. Why does the young fellow seem not to feel horror at the scene?
Answer: He was a slave. He saw the horror scene every day, so he got used to that.
6. What had just happened on the island?
Answer: A triumphant feast with human bones, dyed ground by blood, great pieces of flesh, half
– eaten, mangled and scorched.