Although released at a time, in which the downfall of English Puritanism was already conspicuous, I claim that by contrasting the protagonists of the two works, Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe definitely contains theological elements. These are founded in the old-fashioned Puritan belief depicting the spiritual journey of a reluctant pilgrim to God.
In validating this thesis, I will primarily work with the two aforementioned works and another publication of Daniel Defoe, as well as the King James Bible which most likely has been the translation that the two authors might have had at their disposal. Due to the fact that Daniel Defoe has been raised in a Presbyterian home, I am also going to consult the Institutes of the Christian Religion by the French reformer John Calvin and other secondary literature. For the confirmation of my above-mentioned claim, I will structure the term paper as follows: The first section, will feature the spiritual lives of Crusoe and Christian before their conversion. The second section will cover their conversion experience as such and the crucial role of God’s providence. The last section focusses concisely on the possible intention of Daniel Defoe. I will conclude this paper by summarizing the different outcomes supporting my thesis statement and by mentioning some potential research topics based on this paper.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Crusoe’s and Christian’s Lives as Wretched Pilgrims
3. Crusoe’s and Christians’ Conversion Experience
4. Daniel Defoe’s Possible Intention
5. Conclusion
6. Works Cited
1. Introduction
Crusoe and Christian: Two Pilgrims on Their Journey to Salvation
“It was now that I began sensibly to feel how much more happy this Life I now led was, with all its miserable Circumstances, than the wicked, cursed, abominable Life I led all the past Part of my Days; and now I chang’d both my Sorrows and my Joys; my very Desires alter’d, my Affections chang’d their Gusts, and my Delights were perfectly new” (Defoe 96). This quote is taken from the protagonist of Daniel Defoe’s masterpiece Robinson Crusoe which is the first novel that has ever been written in Britain. Apparently, the English-speaking community was not well acquainted with this kind of literature because at the time of Puritanism the overall purpose of writing was not to entertain. It was to encourage Christian people in their faith. Therefore, there have not been any novels written yet, but rather theological works of which John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress proves to be the one most famously known. While this Puritan work is perceived as being thoroughly theological, the readers of Daniel Defoe’s novel Robinson Crusoe are primarily confronted with supposedly well-documented, real life experiences in the plot. Hence, this might lead to the conclusion that Daniel Defoe did not have any theological intentions in mind and that his novel differs strongly from John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress. Although released at a time, in which the downfall of English Puritanism was already conspicuous, I claim that by contrasting the protagonists of the two works, Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe definitely contains theological elements. These are founded in the old-fashioned Puritan belief depicting the spiritual journey of a reluctant pilgrim to God.
In validating this thesis, I will primarily work with the two aforementioned works and another publication of Daniel Defoe, as well as the King James Bible which most likely has been the translation that the two authors might have had at their disposal. Due to the fact that Daniel Defoe has been raised in a Presbyterian home, I am also going to consult the Institutes of the Christian Religion by the French reformer John Calvin and other secondary literature. For the confirmation of my above-mentioned claim, I will structure the term paper as follows: The first section, will feature the spiritual lives of Crusoe and Christian before their conversion. The second section will cover their conversion experience as such and the crucial role of God’s providence. The last section focusses concisely on the possible intention of Daniel Defoe. I will conclude this paper by summarizing the different outcomes supporting my thesis statement and by mentioning some potential research topics based on this paper.
2. Crusoe’s and Christian’s Lives as Wretched Pilgrims
Right from the beginning of the plot, the reader of Daniel Defoe’s novel Robinson Crusoe is introduced to the protagonist, called Robinson Crusoe, as being an adventurous young man. Born in 1632, he is the third son of a “good family” (Defoe, “Robinson Crusoe” 5). Although his parents wanted him to become a lawyer, Crusoe’s “Head began to be fill’d very early with rambling Thoughts” (Defoe, “Robinson Crusoe” 5). He expressed his wishes openly to his parents stating that he “would be satisfied with nothing but going to Sea” (Defoe “Robinson Crusoe” 5). Even after he has left his family, his mother utters that if he decides to leave, her son “will be the miserablest Wretch that was ever born” (Defoe, “Robinson Crusoe” 8). What his parents, and Crusoe himself apparently knew was the fact that the young adventurer did not live according to the law of God presented in the Scriptures. He has left his family without respecting the counsel of his guardians and finds himself in a dreadful situation thereafter. As a matter of fact, he acknowledges his rebellious conduct and promises to God that “if it would please [him to] spare [his] Life” (Defoe, “Robinson Crusoe” 9) he would immediately return to his father “like a true repenting Prodigal” (9). In this context, Crusoe refers to the story of the Bible and possibly identifies himself with the Prodigal Son in the parable taught by Jesus Christ. Later, the reader realizes that all his vows were nothing but empty talk. Instead, it is noteworthy to mention that the young man “drowned all [his] repentance” (Defoe, “Robinson Crusoe” 10) that once was found in his heart when he became drunk on the ship. Furthermore, Crusoe himself states that he is the “most harden’d Wretch among” the comrades (Defoe, “Robinson Crusoe” 11). In all the years of his journey up to his miraculous deliverance on the deserted island, and even in the first year after, the author does not give any hint that the young sailor had regretted any of his past sins. Apparently though, Crusoe was aware of them. Besides, there is no information that Crusoe prayed to God or that he read the Bible regularly. It was only when he already stayed on the island for quite some time that he “found three very good Bibles” (Defoe, “Robinson Crusoe” 56) which he brought into his dwelling. After a few months, Crusoe began to pray and read the Bible more often. In doing so, he looks back upon his past life and states that his “Sins appear’d so dreadful, that [his] Soul sought nothing of God, but Deliverance from the Load of Guilt” (Defoe “Robinson Crusoe” 83). In fact, all of these illustrations fit perfectly into the Puritan teachings regarding the unregenerate sinner. As clearly seen in the personality of the young adventurer, the Bible states that “the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth” (AKJV, Genesis 8:21). Moreover, the Scriptures manifest, as it is written, to be “profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (AKJV, 2 Timothy 3:16). The French reformer John Calvin even argues that “the human mind . . . [is] altogether unable to come to God if not aided and upheld by his sacred word” (Calvin 50).
When it comes to comparing Crusoe’s spiritual life before his conversion with that of Christian in Bunyan’s allegory, the differences between these two are clearly discernable even though there are several similarities evident too. As a matter of fact, when Christian begins to read the book at the beginning of the plot, he is permanently plagued by a heavy burden on his back. He even fears “that [it] will sink [him] lower than the Grave” (Bunyan 11). Furthermore, Bunyan depicts Christian as a man who, by reading and meditating upon the scriptures, recognizes his own wickedness. In fact, he considers himself a sinner and speaks: “O wretched Man that I am” (Bunyan 44). Moreover, he is aware of the curse that will befall the inhabitants of his home city, the city of destruction. Hence, the protagonist tries all that he can to convince his beloved wife and his children to support him in his resolution to flee from the city. Yet, his wife defies the pleas of her husband and decides to stay with their four children. As a result, Christian is compelled to start his pilgrim’s journey alone. Compared to Crusoe in Daniel Defoe’s novel Robinson Crusoe, Christian also left his family in order to find something that he was so eagerly looking for. Both are urged by their beloved ones, not to forsake them, but unlike Crusoe, Christian wants to leave his place out of his fear of the impending judgement. Moreover, he is already awakened to his own wretchedness and sin, and therefore pained by the burden on his back, which consequently brings him to a condition where he “cannot take that pleasure in [his family] as formerly” (Bunyan 18). After Christian has begun his pilgrim’s journey, he is, like Crusoe, faced with troublesome hazards. The first of which, almost brought his life to an end. As the young man states after “Help” has pulled him out of the mire, it was “fear [that] followed [him]” (Bunyan 16).
To conclude this section, both characters prove, as the Bible outlines, “dead in trespasses and sins” (AKJV, Ephesians 2:1) plagued by their fatal misery. However, Crusoe and Christian are described as men who acknowledged their own rebellion and sin against God. As mentioned above, it is the reading of the Bible that enlightened them to their depraved condition. Additionally, both have in common that they left the people closest to them, in order to find that, which they were so eagerly looking for. However, their motives differed: in Crusoe’s case, it was mere adventure, whereas Christian sought to flee “from the wrath to come” (Bunyan 25). He desired to get rid of the heavy burden that troubled him as a consequence of his studies in the Scriptures. The following section is going to depict how Crusoe and Christian finally satisfied their longing.
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- John Kirsch (Autor), 2020, Crusoe and Christian. Two Pilgrims on Their Journey to Salvation, Múnich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/1060152
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