Essay
Question: Man is a social animal. Can he stay alone or not?
Substantiate by the novel Robinson Crusoe (word limit – 700–800
words)
Daniel
Defoe is a very well-known novelist, journalist, and a pamphleteer in
English literature. One of his most famous novels is Robinson Crusoe,
which was written in the year 1719.
It
talks about a teenager, Robinson Crusoe who runs away from his home
to fulfill his one and only wish to go on a voyage, which he does
against the wishes of his dear parents. The novel talks about his
ship becoming a wreckage and the boy getting stranded on an island.
Robinson
Crusoe is a 19-year old boy when he goes on a voyage. His ship is
wrecked on an unknown island and he discovers that the island is
inhabited by savages. This makes Robinson Crusoe afraid of being
eaten.
Robinson Crusoe,
all alone was shocked to see his mates all dead. He wanted someone he
could talk to. He was also shocked when he discovers that he was on
an island. He was sad and sat idle for the first day and his health
began to deteriorate. However, he was very happy the next day to see
that his ship was not broken and many goods were inside the ship.
Along with many goods he also finds a dog! He was happy to find a
company. He eats food and starts building a house.
He
does not sit idle until he can make something for his escape from the
island. This proves that when a man has nothing to do and he gets
some items, he cannot sit idle and starts using them. He later also
finds a diary in which he writes his memories of his stay on the
island. He is happy with his memories too because, in some parts of
the novel, we can see that Robinson Crusoe is happier than when he
was in England. For a comfortable living of a human being, many
things are also important.
When
Robinson Crusoe scares the savages away from their place, he gets a
new “African friend” who was one of the savages' captives.
Robinson Crusoe is happy to have a new friend. He becomes much more
active than he was earlier when he was alone. He badly needed a
fellow companion because he felt lonely without his companions of the
ship. That is why even though his friend Friday is a tribesman, he
provides him with protection and shelter in his house. Friday also
gives Robinson Crusoe some company and they work together to fight
against the savages. In the fight with savages, unfortunately the dog
also dies as it runs into the bombed site. This makes him sad and he
builds a tomb for the dog as a remembrance. After Robinson Crusoe is
stranded on the island, some days later he spots a ship passing some
distance away and yells in a streak of happiness in the hope of
getting back to society. But as he realizes that the passengers of
the ship had not seen his firing signal, he becomes sadder and loses
hope of going back home. In one more incident, while rescuing people
from savages, he and Friday manage to find a Spaniard and Friday's
father. They are happy with this reunion. This proves that no man can
stay without any mates for a long time. Man can talk and have fun
only in others company.
With
the help of movie based on the novel Robinson Crusoe, we could see
the change of Robinson Crusoe's expressions when he got things and he
lost things. This can be explained by one incident. After Friday and
Robinson Crusoe were attacked by the same savages, they had to fire
bullets and bombs. Because of this, although the savages were all
dead, their house, built with lot of effort is also broken to pieces. After this
incident, Robinson Crusoe was the “saddest” because, his shelter
was broken to pieces. This proves that man cannot stay without his
essential things.
One
last incident in the end of novel is when Friday gets killed by some
Englishmen who came to find Robinson Crusoe. Robinson Crusoe was very
sad and angry because the Englishmen killed his most faithful mate
but was also happy to go back to his homeland. This proves that man
needs his people and a society, or someone to be with.
Overall, I conclude that man is a living being specially created to
live together. No being in this world can live his whole life alone
without anything to do or anyone to be with.
Suhas
10 April 2012
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