Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe - Hidden Overtones - Book Report/Review Example

Task: Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe is about the life of Robinson Crusoe on a deserted island for twenty-eight years. The novel depicts Christian themes, for example, the story of the Prodigal Son, Jobs’ life experience, and the story of Jonah’s (the messenger swallowed by the fish in the sea for disobeying his God’s instructions). In the novel, Defoe explores divine providence as one of the major themes through the character of Crusoe. Robinson Crusoe journeys in his attitude toward Divine Providence from a rebellion against what he perceives as a disinterested authority early on, to an initial repentance and conversion through the vision-dream, and finally, to an active and mature faith in a loving God, who protects and guides all things, by the end of his stay on the island. The journey of Crusoe commences from his attitude toward divine providence and his rebellion against what, in his perception, was a disinterested authority early on. Crusoe rebels and gives no to heed to his father’ words. He went against the wishes of his parents to take a career (law) that he had little interest in. He, therefore, proceeds to the sea where he experiences terrible and scary storms. This is comparable to the biblical story of Jonah. Jonah gave little attention to the words of his father (God) to pass his words to the people. He proceeded to the sea where a shark swallowed him for use as a messenger. In Defoe’s novel, Crusoe received advice from the captain not to go against the words of elderly people. According to Defoe, Crusoe considered his father a disinterested authority. Therefore, he rebelled and did what his father condemned him to do. This marked the beginning of the journey towards divine providence in the life of Crusoe. Because of his rebellion, he went to the sea and had his fate in the deserted island. The loneliness in the life he adopts initiates the creation of an intimate relationship with God. It is noteworthy that at this point in life, Crusoe had a flawed interest in divine providence. The journey of Crusoe to divine providence then went through an initial repentance and conversion through the vision-dream. The vision-dream that Crusoe experienced reformed his life in a great way. The vision-dream also changed his mode of thinking and viewing what happens in life. The dream contributed immensely to the development of divine providence in the life of Crusoe, while in the island. There was a deepened understanding of the sense of God. The dream was also the source of his regeneration after he dreamed the world of angels. He recalls seeing a black cloud that was great in size. From the clouds, Crusoe recalls of seeing a man descend. There was a bright flame of fire and light came upon then earth (Defoe 70). He expresses his feelings of a great force descend on the earth when the person in the dream stepped on the ground. This was main turning point in the life of Crusoe. The dream is similar to that experienced by John the Baptist in the lonely island. This was a major turning point in Crusoe’s life. Through the dream, he realized the need for him to embrace divine providence. His attitude towards divine providence continued to develop, positively, after the dream. This forms a notable stage in his life since the mission of divine providence begins in his life after the dream. He gains wisdom after the dream, which later helps him to undertake later missions in divine providence. The journey of the divine providence in Crusoe’s life ends with an active and mature faith in a loving God, who protects and guides all things, by the end of his stay on the island. His belief in God significantly increased. He trusts that God will provide for his needs while staying in the islands. The meat he eats that he gets from killing the goats, in his view, is a divine providence from God. He keeps faith in God’s provision for his needs and planted grains. He views the success of his plantation as a blessing from God. Because of the deep faith he developed in God, he kept an admirable relationship with him. The active and mature faith hat Crusoe has in God functions to enable him to undertake the various missions of divine providence. Crusoe, given the mature and active faith he has in God, was able to survive the adverse conditions of living in the lonely island. He built structure to have shelter and caves for protective functions. The strong faith that Crusoe had in God contributed immensely to helping him execute the various missions he conducted as a way of ensuring divine providence. These include the rescue missions he performs as saving the captain. The strong faith enables to find a way out and depart from the island. After the stay in the island, Crusoe maintained a life that promoted the love of God to the people. He embraced vast readership of the bible and conducted teachings to the people. He expressed the need for faith in God throughout his teachings, giving examples with his personal experiences while living in the lonely island. This is a core contribution in divine providence. His love and trust that emanates from his strong faith in God is evident in his rescue of the captain. In his book, Defoe expresses (through Crusoe) the life of a man initially rebellious and never heeded to words and teachings of elderly people (his father). Crusoe, from the beginning of the book was defiant and a poor listener to advice from his father, which made him go to the sea. Because of his perception of what, to him, was a disinterested authority, he proceeded to the sea. This formed the beginning of his journey to divine providence in Crusoe’s life. The next stage of divine providence was the dream that saw his repentance. Through the dream, he realized the need to have divine providence as a way of transforming the people. Crusoe’s strong faith in God formed the final stage in the mission of divine providence. His strong faith came because of the conditions of life he had in the lonely island. The faith he had helped him in many missions and brought a considerable reform to his personal life. Works Cited Defoe, Daniel. Robinson Crusoe. London, LD: Macmillan and Company, 1868. Print. Read More