Daniel Defoe "Robinson Crusoe": description, characters, analysis of the work. How did Robinson Crusoe appear and who in Russia bore his name The name of Robinson Crusoe

The history of the creation of Robinson Crusoe

During his long life, D. Defoe wrote many books. But none of them were as successful as The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe. D. Defoe was prompted to write the novel by a meeting with Alexander Selkearn, the navigator of the ship “Five Ports”. He told Defoe his amazing story. Selkirk quarreled with the captain on the ship, and he landed him on an uninhabited island off the coast of Chile. There he lived for four years and four months, eating goat and turtle meat, fruit and fish. At first it was hard for him, but later he learned to understand nature, mastered and remembered many crafts. One day, the Bristol ship "Duke" under the command of Woods Rogers arrived at this island, and he took Alexander Selkirk on board. Rogers wrote down all of Selkirk's stories in the ship's log. When these recordings were made public, Selkirk was talked about in London as a miracle. D. Defoe used stories about the adventures of the navigator and wrote his novel about Robinson Crusoe. Seven times the author changed the details of the hero's life on the island. He moved the island from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean, and pushed the time of action into the past by about fifty years. The writer also increased the length of his hero's stay on the island seven times. And in addition, he gave him a meeting with a faithful friend and assistant - the native Friday. Later, D. Defoe wrote a sequel to the first book - “The Further Adventures of Robinson Crusoe.” In this book, the writer talks about how his hero came to Russia. Robinson Crusoe began to get acquainted with Russia in Siberia. There he visited the Amur. And to this Robinson traveled all over the world, visited the Philippines, China, sailed across the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans. D. Defoe's novel “The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe” had a significant influence on the development of world literature. He started a new genre - “Robinsonade”. This is what they call any description of adventures in an uninhabited land. D. Defoe's book has been reprinted many times. Robinson has many doubles. He had different names, and was a Dutchman, a Greek, and a Scotsman. Readers from different countries expected works from writers that were no less exciting than D. Defoe’s book. So one book gave rise to a number of other literary works.

Genre:

The genre of the novel "Robinson Crusoe" was defined as: an educational adventure novel (V. Dibelius); adventure novel (M. Sokolyansky); a novel of education, a treatise on natural education (Jean-Jacques Rousseau), “the classic idyll of free enterprise,” “a fictional adaptation of Locke’s theory of the social contract” (A. Elistratova). According to the lecture: a novel about work.

The plot of the novel "Robinson Crusoe" falls into three parts (according to the lecture):

1: events related to the hero’s social existence, stay in his homeland are described, issues of ideology are touched upon: (superiority of the middle class, slave trade."

2: describes hermit life on the island. Philosophy of life. Friday is a natural person. Defoe's positive program is visible in his example. That is, a combination of naturalness and civilization.

3: loss of harmony. Return to England. Adventure novel.

Defoe embodied in Robinson the typically Enlightenment concept of history

Robinson's image

The image of Robinson Crusoe is by no means fictional, and is based on real stories of sailors. In Defoe's time, the main and only type of long-distance travel was sailing. It is not surprising that from time to time the ships were wrecked, and often the survivors were washed up on a desert island. Few people managed to return and tell their stories, but there were such people, and their biographies formed the basis of the work of Daniel Defoe.

The description of Robinson Crusoe occurs in the first person and, while reading the book, you are imbued with respect and sympathy for the main character. Rejoicing and empathizing, we go with him all the way, starting from birth and ending with returning home. A man with enviable tenacity and hard work, who, by the will of fate, finds himself alone in an unknown area, immediately sets goals for himself and soberly assesses his chances of survival. Gradually equipping his home and household, he does not lose hope of salvation and makes every effort to achieve his goals. In fact, he went all the way from a primitive man to a wealthy peasant, and alone, without any education or special knowledge.

In various translations and adaptations, this was the main idea of ​​the work, survival and salvation. However, Daniel Defoe was smart enough not to limit the image of Robinson Crusoe only to everyday problems. The work widely reveals the spiritual world and psychology of the main character. His growing up and maturity, and subsequently aging, cannot go unnoticed by an experienced reader. Starting with enviable enthusiasm, Robinson gradually comes to terms with his fate, although the hope of salvation does not leave him. Thinking a lot about his existence, he understands that with all the abundance of wealth, a person receives pleasure only from what he really needs.

In order not to forget human speech, Robinson begins to talk with pets and constantly reads the Bible. Only when he was 24 years old on the island was he lucky enough to talk to a man from a tribe of savages whom he saved from death. The long-awaited interlocutor Friday, as Robinson nicknamed him, faithfully and devotedly helped him on the farm and became his only friend. In addition to his assistant, Friday became a student for him, who needed to learn to speak, instill faith in God, and wean him from the habits of savages.

However, Robinson was only glad; it was not an easy task and at least somehow helped him take his mind off sad thoughts. These were the most joyful years of life on the island, if you can call them that.

Hero Robinson Crusoe. Description of Robinson Crusoe. The image of Robinson Crusoe. Robinson's rescue is as exciting and unusual as his life on the island. Thanks to his friend Friday, he managed to suppress a riot on a ship that accidentally landed on the island. Thus, Robinson Crusoe saves part of the team and returns with them to the mainland. He leaves the rebels on the island on his former possessions, providing them with everything they need, and returns home safely.

The story of Robinson Crusoe is instructive and exciting. The happy ending and the return are pleasing, but it becomes a little sad that the adventures are over and you have to part with the main character.

Subsequently, many authors tried to imitate Daniel Defoe, and he himself wrote a continuation of the adventures of Robinson Crusoe, but not a single book surpassed his masterpiece in popularity. Robinson Crusoe is a sailor who found himself as a result of a shipwreck on an uninhabited island in the West Indies near the island of Trinidad and managed to live on it for twenty-eight years, first completely alone, and then with the savage Friday, to develop this island and start a farm on it, in which had everything necessary for life.

Telling the story of his stay on the island, R. tells in detail how his life was settled: what things and main tools he managed to save from the crashed ship, how he set up a tent made of canvas and how he surrounded his home with a palisade; how he hunted wild goats and how he later decided to tame them, built a pen for them, learned to milk them and make butter and cheese; how several grains of barley and rice were discovered and what labor it took to dig up a field with a wooden shovel and sow it with these grains, how he had to protect his crop from goats and birds, how one crop died due to the onset of drought and how he began to observe the change dry and rainy seasons to sow at the right time; how he learned to make pottery and fire it; how he made clothes from goat skins, how he dried and stored wild grapes, how he caught a parrot, tamed him and taught him to pronounce his name, etc. Thanks to the unusualness of the situation, all these prosaic everyday actions acquire the interest of exciting adventures and even a kind of poetry. Trying to provide himself with everything necessary for life, R. works tirelessly, and with his work the despair that gripped him after the shipwreck gradually dissipates. Seeing that he can survive on the island, he calms down, begins to reflect on his former life, finds the finger of providence in many turns of his fate and turns to reading the Bible, which he saved from the ship. Now he believes that his “imprisonment” on the island is divine punishment for all his many sins, the main one of which is his disobedience to the will of his parents, who did not let him go sailing, and his flight from his home; at the same time, he is imbued with deep gratitude to divine providence, which saved him from death and sent him the means to maintain life. At the same time, his beliefs are distinguished by the concreteness and efficiency characteristic of his class. Once on the island, he reflects on his situation, divides a sheet of paper in half and writes down its pros and cons in two columns: “good” and “evil”, strongly reminiscent of the columns “income” and “expense” in a merchant’s ledger. In his worldview, R. turns out to be a typical representative of the “middle class” and reveals all its advantages and disadvantages

Consideration of the question of who wrote “Robinson Crusoe” in a school lesson should begin with a brief description of the biography and work of the writer. D. Defoe was a famous English writer, the founder of the novel genre in the spirit of enlightenment ideology. He was a very versatile author: he owned a huge number of works of various genres, devoted to topics of economics, politics, art, religion and many others. However, the aforementioned novel, which he created quite late, brought him worldwide fame. The author was 59 years old when the book was published.

Childhood, youth, interests

Daniel Defoe was born into the family of an ordinary London merchant in 1660. He studied at the theological academy, but did not become a priest. His father advised him to become a businessman and engage in trade.

The young man quickly mastered the craft of a merchant, studying at the Trading House in the famous City of London. After some time, the enterprising businessman opened his own business selling stockings, bricks, and tiles. The future famous writer became interested in politics and was always at the center of the most important events in his country. Thus, he took part in the Duke of Monmouth's rebellion against the English king James II Stuart in 1685. He studied a lot, studied foreign languages, traveled around Europe, constantly improving his education.

Becoming a writer

Daniel Defoe began his literary activity in 1697, publishing a work called “An Essay on Projects.” In this essay, he proposed some measures to improve the social system through financial reforms.

Being a merchant and successful entrepreneur, the writer believed that creating favorable conditions for trade would improve the social position of the middle class. This was followed by the satirical work “The Thoroughbred Englishman” (1701). This curious essay was written in support of the new English king, William III of Orange, who was Dutch by nationality. In this poem, the writer conveyed the idea that true nobility depends not on social status, but on the morality of people.

Other writings

To understand the work of the one who wrote “Robinson Crusoe,” it is necessary to consider the author’s most famous works, which will allow us to understand his worldview. While in prison, he composed “Hymn to the Pillory,” which brought him popularity among the democratic intelligentsia. After his release, important changes took place in the writer’s life: he became a government agent. Many literary scholars attribute this change to the fact that his views became more moderate.

World recognition

Probably every schoolchild knows who wrote Robinson Crusoe, even if he has not read the novel itself. This work was published in 1719, when the writer was already in old age. The novel was based on a real story that happened to the Scottish sailor Alexander Selkirk, who lived alone on a desert island for quite a long time and managed to survive.

However, the writer filled his novel with new, educational content. He showed the triumph of the human spirit in difficult, almost critical conditions. His hero independently overcomes all the difficulties that befall him, equipping the island near which his ship was shipwrecked according to a civilizational model. The author concisely showed the evolution of human history from the stage of barbarism to civilization. The hero of the story, finding himself in primitive conditions, after some time (thanks to his efforts and efforts) turned the island into a kind of colony, which was not only suitable for a tolerable existence, but even turned out to be quite profitable from an economic point of view.

Plot

One of the most famous novels in world literature is the work “Robinson Crusoe”. The main characters of this book are the narrator himself and his faithful friend and assistant named Friday. The first was engaged in trade, traveled a lot until he ended up on a desert island. The second is a representative of the local tribe, who was saved from death by the main character.

They became friends and did not part even after they returned to human society. The plot of the book “Robinson Crusoe” is quite simple, but at the same time very deep: it is dedicated to the struggle of man not only for physical, but moral survival. The climax of the novel can be considered the scene of the fight with the local tribe, as a result of which Friday was saved. At the end of the book, the heroes embark on new journeys and found a colony on the island.

The meaning of the novel

When you mention the name of the one who wrote “Robinson Crusoe,” the image of an intellectual immediately appears - a typical representative of the Enlightenment. And indeed, this novel is completely imbued with the pathos of rationalism. After all, the main character, through the wise use of the natural resources at his disposal, completely modifies the landscape of the environment, so that subsequently a colony of settlers even arose here. However, the author, a man of his time, nevertheless went further.

"Robinson Crusoe" is a book that anticipated the development of not only adventure, but also historical and memoir novels in European literature. The writer not only asserted the triumph of the human mind over the forces of nature, but also made many interesting artistic discoveries that turned him into a world-class writer.

Features of the work

Perhaps the most important advantage of the work is its authenticity. The author describes the amazing adventures of his hero very simply, without unnecessary pathos, which is what made this character so beloved by millions of readers. "Robinson Crusoe" is a book that is the memoirs of the main character. The narration is told in the first person.

This man talks about his lonely life on the island without unnecessary emotion or drama. On the contrary, he recounts events calmly and unhurriedly. Crusoe consistently describes his work and labor to survive on a desert island, and this gives the story authenticity. The second undoubted advantage of the novel is its language. The writer masterfully conveyed pictures of nature, and he was especially good at landscape sketches.

Influence

It is difficult to overestimate the contribution to world literature that Defoe made. Robinson Crusoe is a novel that influenced many famous writers. Subsequently, works appeared in European literature that had direct references to the cult novel. One of them is the work of Pastor J. Wyss, who wrote the work “The Adventures of the Swiss Robinson Family.” The plot of this book is very similar to this work, with the only difference being that this time it’s not just one person, but a whole family that ends up on the island.

The famous novel The Mysterious Island was also written under the clear influence of Defoe. Robinson Crusoe is a story about how one man changed the nature around him. In the same work by J. Verne, the same thing is done by several people who, by chance, found themselves on an uninhabited land. So, the influence of Defoe’s work on world literature is undeniable. Several films have been made based on his book, which indicates the continued interest in his work.

Written in the genre of an adventure novel, the most famous work of the talented English journalist Daniel Defoe was a resounding success and served as an impetus for the development of such a trend in literature as traveler's notes. The plausibility of the plot and the reliability of the presentation - this is precisely the effect the author tried to achieve, presenting the events in a spare, everyday language, in style more reminiscent of journalism.

History of creation

The real prototype of the main character, a Scottish sailor, as a result of a serious quarrel, was landed by his crew on a desert island, where he spent over four years. By changing the time and place of action, the writer created an amazing biography of a young Englishman who found himself in extreme circumstances.

Published in 1719, the book created a sensation and demanded a sequel. Four months later, the second part of the epic was released, and later the third. In Russia, an abridged translation of the publication appeared almost half a century later.

Description of the work. Main characters

Young Robinson, drawn by a dream of the sea, leaves his father's house against the will of his parents. After a series of adventures, having suffered a disaster, the young man finds himself on an uninhabited island located far from sea trade routes. His experiences, steps to find a way out of the current situation, a description of the actions taken to create a comfortable and safe environment on a lost piece of land, moral maturation, rethinking of values ​​- all this formed the basis of a fascinating story that combines the features of memoir literature and a philosophical parable.

The main character of the story is a young man in the street, a bourgeois with traditional views and mercantile goals. The reader observes the change in his character, the transformation of consciousness as the story progresses.

Another striking character is the savage Friday, who was saved by Crusoe from the massacre of cannibals. The Indian's loyalty, courage, sincerity and common sense conquer Robinson; Friday becomes a good helper and friend.

Analysis of the work

The story is told in the first person, in simple, precise language, allowing one to reveal the hero’s inner world, his moral qualities, and assessment of current events. The absence of specific artistic techniques and pathos in the presentation, laconicism and specificity add authenticity to the work. Events are conveyed in chronological order, but sometimes the narrator refers to the past.

The storyline divides the text into two components: the life of the central character at home and the period of survival in the wild.

Placing Robinson in critical conditions for 28 long years, Defoe shows how, thanks to energy, spiritual strength, hard work, observation, ingenuity, and optimism, a person finds ways to solve pressing problems: gets food, arranges a home, makes clothes. Isolation from society and familiar stereotypes reveals the best qualities of his personality in a traveler. Analyzing not only the environment, but also the changes taking place in his own soul, the author, through the mouth of Robinson, with the help of simple words, makes it clear what, in his opinion, is actually important and paramount, and what can be easily done without. Remaining a man in difficult conditions, Crusoe confirms by his example that simple things are enough for happiness and harmony.

Also, one of the central themes of the story is the description of the exoticism of a deserted island and the influence of nature on the human mind.

Created in the wake of interest in geographical discoveries, Robinson Crusoe was intended for an adult audience, but today it has become an entertaining and instructive masterpiece of children's prose.

700 kilometers off the coast of Chile there is a small island that is part of the Juan Fernandez archipelago in the Pacific Ocean. The almost tiny island, only 22 kilometers long, is very popular among tourists. After all, this is the island of Robinson Crusoe himself! That's what it's called.

It was here that the events of Daniel Defoe's famous novel Robinson Crusoe took place. In 2008, a team of scientists from the British Society for Post-Medieval Archeology, led by Professor Andrew Lambert, landed on Robinson Island. Scientists decided to find out if what is written in the book is true? Or is the story described by Daniel Defoe a fiction from beginning to end?

Imagine the amazement of archaeologists when they realized that Robinson actually existed. Although almost 300 years have passed since then, scientists have found traces of his presence on the island - household items, navigation instruments from the early 18th century. Here's what one of the expedition participants, Doctor of History of the Museum in Scotland, David Caldwell, said about this:

“All these artifacts date back to the time when Selkirk was supposed to have lived on the island. The most important find we discovered was a small metal piece, which, in my opinion, was part of a navigation compass, which was used to measure distances and lay out navigation paths on the map.”

According to archaeologists, this proves that Robinson's story is real. Moreover, Robinson's habitat remains. He lived near a stream where he built two huts. But today all that remains of Robinson’s home are wooden stakes. True, this man’s real name was not Robinson Crusoe, but Alexander Selkirk. The story that happened in 1704 with this English sailor on a desert island became the basis of the famous novel by Daniel Defoe. Moreover, scientists have found that the real life of Alexander Selkirk is no less amazing than the adventures of the literary character Robinson Crusoe.

The monument to Alexander Selkirk is his only image, and it is located in the sailor’s homeland in the Scottish city of Largo. When in 1703 the future Robinson - 27-year-old Alexander Selkirk - got a job as a boatswain on the ship "Sank Port", he was already an experienced sailor! From the age of 15 he went to sea and experienced a lot over the years. For example, he was in the hands of French pirates, who sold him into slavery.

Alexander then escaped from captivity. The upcoming voyage on the Sankpor galley was no less dangerous, but promised considerable benefits. And all because in 1701 a long Ten Years' War began in Europe. France and Austria fought for the right to place their king on the Spanish throne. Most European states were drawn into the conflict. Including Great Britain, which fought against Spain on the side of the Austrian Empire. Since England and Spain were at war, the British fleet was officially authorized to attack and plunder Spanish ships...

Dozens of ships were involved in this dangerous but profitable business! One of them was the 16-gun galley Senk Por, where Alexander Selkirk was hired as a boatswain. In September 1703, his ship from London set off for the Pacific Ocean - where it was easiest to meet Spanish galleons transporting gold from the Mexican and Peruvian colonies to Europe. However, Selkirk and his comrades were unlucky: a year of sailing passed, and there was still no booty. Meanwhile, the ship was deteriorating, half the crew died of scurvy. Moreover, conflicts began on the ship between the captain and the boatswain. Alexander Selkirk demanded to moor to the nearest island for rest and repairs. However, Captain Thomas Stradling decided that the boatswain was starting a mutiny on the ship...

In anger, Selkirk said that he refused to work in such conditions and demanded that he be dropped off on the nearest island 700 km off the coast of Chile. In the heat of an argument, he was disembarked from the ship and left with a minimum of food, a set of outer clothing, a gun, 20 pounds of gunpowder, a knife, and a small chest of tools.

The rebellious boatswain hoped that he would not stay on the island for long. After all, ships occasionally came here to replenish their supplies of drinking water... However, Selkirk did not know that four long years awaited him in complete solitude. At first, Selkirk did not particularly care about creating any conditions - he slept in the open air, covered with a blanket. The gun allowed him to hunt game, but even without it he could survive. After all, there are many fruits on the island. It was possible to catch fish and sea turtles. At first, the main occupation for Selkirk was to keep a calendar of his stay on the island. But the days passed, and there were still no ships on the horizon. After a few weeks on a desert island, Selkirk realized that there was nowhere to wait for help.

During his first year as Robinson, Selkirk built himself a hut. Then he found grains of cereals and began to grow wheat, starting a vegetable garden. In the second year of his life, the sailor built something like a farm by taming wild goats. So there was always plenty of fresh meat and milk... When European clothes wore out, Selkirk, like the literary Robinson later, sewed clothes for himself from goat skins, using nails instead of needles. But the most powerful test for Selkirk, as for any person who found himself in the role of Robinson on a desert island, was not not to die of hunger, but not to survive crazy from loneliness. After all, unlike the literary hero, Selkirk did not have a friend - Friday. The sailor was saved by the fact that he had a goal - to survive at any cost and wait for people to appear. Every day Selkirk climbed the highest mountain on his island and looked out for the ship. After 4 years and 4 months he appeared.

When the British ship Duke approached the shore of Robinson Island in 1709, its crew did not immediately understand what kind of creature it was rushing along the shore. Selkirk, overgrown and dressed in animal skins, was mistaken for some exotic animal... Moreover, when it became clear that he was a man, Selkirk was not immediately able to explain who he was and where he came from. Because he simply couldn’t speak - he just mumbled. But 4 years spent alone did not turn Selkirk into an animal. Soon his speech returned. And upon arriving home in England in 1712, Selkirk wrote a book about his adventures... However, he was not an important writer. But people went in droves to the tavern, where the sailor talked about his adventures... Where journalist Daniel Defoe also stopped by.

As a result, the writer Defoe in 1719 literally made a fortune with a book about a man from a desert island. After all, it was printed in huge numbers and translated into dozens of languages ​​around the world. While things were not going so well for the real Robinson, the sailor Alexander Selkirk. He was unable to adapt to civilization. And a few years later he set off again on a new voyage. This time it's the last one. On December 16, 1723, the Weymouth's first mate, Alexander Selkirk, contracted yellow fever and died. Selkirk was buried far from home - off the coast of West Africa at sea. So there is no Robinson grave. But on the highest point of the Chilean Robinson Island, where Selkirk’s observation post was located, a memorial plaque was installed. And on the shore there is a monument to Robinson Crusoe, which symbolizes hard work, patience, courage and endurance of a person...

The Life and Strange Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, Of York, Mariner: Who lived Eight and Twenty Years, all alone in an un-inhabited Island on the Coast of America, near the Mouth of the Great River of Oroonoque; Having been cast on Shore by Shipwreck, wherein all the Men perished but himself. With An Account how he was at last as strangely deliver"d by Pirates ), often abbreviated "Robinson Crusoe"(English) Robinson Crusoe listen)) after the main character is a novel by Daniel Defoe, first published in April 1719. This book gave rise to the classic English novel and gave rise to a fashion for pseudo-documentary fiction; it is often called the first "authentic" novel in English.

The plot is most likely based on the true story of Alexander Selkirk, the boatswain of the ship "Cinque Ports" ("Sank Port"), who was distinguished by an extremely quarrelsome and quarrelsome character. In 1704, he was landed at his own request on an uninhabited island, supplied with weapons, food, seeds and tools. Selkirk lived on this island until 1709.

In August 1719, Defoe released a sequel - “ The Further Adventures of Robinson Crusoe", and a year later - " Serious Reflections of Robinson Crusoe“, but only the first book was included in the treasury of world literature, and it is with it that a new genre concept is associated - “Robinsonade”.

The book was translated into Russian by Yakov Trusov and received the title “ The Life and Adventures of Robinson Cruise, a Natural Englishman"(1st ed., St. Petersburg, 1762-1764, 2nd - 1775, 3rd - 1787, 4th - 1811).

Plot

The book is written as a fictional autobiography of Robinson Crusoe, a resident of York who dreamed of traveling to distant seas. Contrary to the will of his father, in 1651 he left his home and set off with a friend on his first sea voyage. It ends in a shipwreck off the English coast, but this did not disappoint Crusoe, and he soon made several trips on a merchant ship. In one of them, his ship was captured off the coast of Africa by Barbary pirates and Crusoe had to be held captive for two years until he escaped on a longboat. He is picked up at sea by a Portuguese ship bound for Brazil, where he settles for the next four years, becoming the owner of a plantation.

Wanting to get rich faster, in 1659 he took part in an illegal trading voyage to Africa for black slaves. However, the ship encounters a storm and runs aground on an unknown island near the mouth of the Orinoco. Crusoe was the only survivor of the crew, having swam to the island, which turned out to be uninhabited. Overcoming despair, he rescues all the necessary tools and supplies from the ship before it is completely destroyed by storms. Having settled on the island, he builds himself a well-sheltered and protected home, learns to sew clothes, bake clay dishes, and sows the fields with barley and rice from the ship. He also manages to tame the wild goats that lived on the island, which gives him a stable source of meat and milk, as well as hides for making clothes. Exploring the island for many years, Crusoe discovers traces of cannibal savages who sometimes visit different parts of the island and hold cannibalistic feasts. On one of these visits, he rescues a captive savage who was about to be eaten. He teaches the native English and calls him Friday, since he saved him on that day of the week. Crusoe discovers that Friday is from Trinidad, which can be seen from the opposite side of the island, and that he was captured during a battle between Indian tribes.

The next time the cannibals are seen visiting the island, Crusoe and Friday attack the savages and rescue two more captives. One of them turns out to be Friday's father, and the second is a Spaniard, whose ship was also wrecked. In addition to him, more than a dozen more Spaniards and Portuguese, who were in a hopeless situation among the savages on the mainland, escaped from the ship. Crusoe decides to send the Spaniard along with Friday's father on a boat to bring his comrades to the island and jointly build a ship on which they could all sail to civilized shores.

While Crusoe was waiting for the Spaniard and his crew to return, an unknown ship arrived at the island. This ship was captured by rebels who were going to land the captain and his loyal people on the island. Crusoe and Friday free the captain and help him regain control of the ship. The most unreliable rebels are left on the island, and Crusoe, after 28 years spent on the island, leaves it at the end of 1686 and in 1687 returns to England to his relatives, who considered him long dead. Crusoe travels to Lisbon to make a profit on his plantation in Brazil, which makes him very rich. After this, he transports his wealth overland to England to avoid traveling by sea. Friday accompanies him, and along the way they find themselves on one last adventure together as they fight hungry wolves and a bear while crossing the Pyrenees.

Sequels

There is also a third book by Defoe about Robinson Crusoe, which has not yet been translated into Russian. It is entitled "The Serious Reflections of Robinson Crusoe" Serious Reflections of Robinson Crusoe ) and is a collection of essays on moral topics; The name of Robinson Crusoe was used by the author in order to attract public interest in this work.

Meaning

Defoe's novel became a literary sensation and spawned many imitations. He demonstrated man's inexhaustible capabilities in mastering nature and in the fight against a world hostile to him. This message was very consonant with the ideology of early capitalism and the Enlightenment. In Germany alone, in the forty years that followed the publication of the first book about Robinson, no less than forty “Robinsonades” were published. Jonathan Swift challenged the optimism of Defoe's worldview in his thematically related book Gulliver's Travels (1727).

In his novel (Russian edition The New Robinson Crusoe, or the Adventures of the Chief English Mariner, 1781), the German writer Johann Wetzel subjected the pedagogical and philosophical discussions of the 18th century to sharp satire.

The German poetess Maria Louise Weissmann philosophically interpreted the plot of the novel in her poem “Robinson.”

Filmography

Year	A country	Name	Characteristics of the film	Performer of the role of Robinson Crusoe
	France	Robinson Crusoe	silent short film by Georges Méliès	Georges Méliès
	USA	Robinson Crusoe	silent short film by Otis Turner	Robert Leonard
	USA	Little Robinson Crusoe	silent film by Edward F. Kline	Jackie Coogan
	USA	The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe	silent short series by Robert F. Hill	Harry Myers
	Great Britain	Robinson Crusoe	silent film by M. A. Wetherell	M. A. Wetherell
	USA	Mr Robinson Crusoe	adventure comedy	Douglas Fairbanks (as Steve Drexel)
	USSR	Robinson Crusoe	black and white stereo film	Pavel Kadochnikov
	USA	His mouse Friday	cartoon from the Tom and Jerry series
	USA	Miss Robinson Crusoe	adventure film by Eugene Frenke	Amanda Blake
	Mexico	Robinson Crusoe	film version by Luis Buñuel	Dan O'Herlihy
	USA	Rabbitson Crusoe	Looney Tunes cartoon
	USA	Robinson Crusoe on Mars	science fiction film
	USA	Robinson Crusoe, US Navy Lieutenant	comedy from W. Disney studio	Dick Van Dyke
	USSR	The Life and Amazing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe	adventure film by Stanislav Govorukhin	Leonid Kuravlev
	Mexico	Robinson and Friday on a desert island	adventure film by Rene Cardona Jr.	Hugo Stieglitz
	USA, UK	Man Friday	parody film	Peter O'Toole
	Italy	Signor Robinson	parody film	Paolo Villaggio (role Robie)
	Czechoslovakia	The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, Sailor from York	animated film by Stanislav Latal	Vaclav Postranecki
	UK, USA	Crusoe	adventure film by Caleb Deschanel	Aidan Quinn
	USA	Robinson Crusoe	adventure film	Pierce Brosnan
	France	Robinson Crusoe	adventure film	Pierre Richard
	USA	Crusoe	television series	Philip Winchester
	France, Belgium	Robinson Crusoe: A Very Inhabited Island	Belgian-French computer-animated film

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Notes

Literature

• Urnov D. M. Robinson and Gulliver: The fate of two literary heroes / Rep. ed. A. N. Nikolyukin; Academy of Sciences of the USSR. - M.: Nauka, 1973. - 89 p. - (From the history of world culture). - 50,000 copies.(region)

Links

• in the library of Maxim Moshkov

Excerpt characterizing Robinson Crusoe

Vive ce roi vaillanti –
[Long live Henry the Fourth!
Long live this brave king!
etc. (French song)]
sang Morel, winking his eye.
Se diable a quatre…
- Vivarika! Vif seruvaru! sit-down... - the soldier repeated, waving his hand and really catching the tune.
- Look, clever! Go go go go!.. - rough, joyful laughter rose from different sides. Morel, wincing, laughed too.
- Well, go ahead, go ahead!
Qui eut le triple talent,
De boire, de batre,
Et d'etre un vert galant...
[Having triple talent,
drink, fight
and be kind...]
– But it’s also complicated. Well, well, Zaletaev!..
“Kyu...” Zaletaev said with effort. “Kyu yu yu...” he drawled, carefully protruding his lips, “letriptala, de bu de ba and detravagala,” he sang.
- Hey, it’s important! That's it, guardian! oh... go go go! - Well, do you want to eat more?
- Give him some porridge; After all, it won’t be long before he gets enough of hunger.
Again they gave him porridge; and Morel, chuckling, began to work on the third pot. Joyful smiles were on all the faces of the young soldiers looking at Morel. The old soldiers, who considered it indecent to engage in such trifles, lay on the other side of the fire, but occasionally, raising themselves on their elbows, they looked at Morel with a smile.
“People too,” said one of them, dodging into his overcoat. - And wormwood grows on its root.
- Ooh! Lord, Lord! How stellar, passion! Towards the frost... - And everything fell silent.
The stars, as if knowing that now no one would see them, played out in the black sky. Now flaring up, now extinguishing, now shuddering, they busily whispered among themselves about something joyful, but mysterious.

X
The French troops gradually melted away in a mathematically correct progression. And that crossing of the Berezina, about which so much has been written, was only one of the intermediate stages in the destruction of the French army, and not at all a decisive episode of the campaign. If so much has been and is being written about the Berezina, then on the part of the French this happened only because on the broken Berezina Bridge, the disasters that the French army had previously suffered evenly here suddenly grouped together at one moment and into one tragic spectacle that remained in everyone’s memory. On the Russian side, they talked and wrote so much about the Berezina only because, far from the theater of war, in St. Petersburg, a plan was drawn up (by Pfuel) to capture Napoleon in a strategic trap on the Berezina River. Everyone was convinced that everything would actually happen exactly as planned, and therefore insisted that it was the Berezina crossing that destroyed the French. In essence, the results of the Berezinsky crossing were much less disastrous for the French in terms of the loss of guns and prisoners than Krasnoye, as the numbers show.
The only significance of the Berezin crossing is that this crossing obviously and undoubtedly proved the falsity of all plans for cutting off and the justice of the only possible course of action demanded by both Kutuzov and all the troops (mass) - only following the enemy. The crowd of Frenchmen fled with an ever-increasing force of speed, with all their energy directed towards achieving their goal. She ran like a wounded animal, and she could not get in the way. This was proven not so much by the construction of the crossing as by the traffic on the bridges. When the bridges were broken, unarmed soldiers, Moscow residents, women and children who were in the French convoy - all, under the influence of the force of inertia, did not give up, but ran forward into the boats, into the frozen water.
This aspiration was reasonable. The situation of both those fleeing and those pursuing was equally bad. Remaining with his own, each in distress hoped for the help of a comrade, for a certain place he occupied among his own. Having given himself over to the Russians, he was in the same position of distress, but he was on a lower level in terms of satisfying the needs of life. The French did not need to have correct information that half of the prisoners, with whom they did not know what to do, despite all the Russians’ desire to save them, died from cold and hunger; they felt that it could not be otherwise. The most compassionate Russian commanders and hunters of the French, the French in Russian service could not do anything for the prisoners. The French were destroyed by the disaster in which the Russian army was located. It was impossible to take away bread and clothing from hungry, necessary soldiers in order to give it to the French who were not harmful, not hated, not guilty, but simply unnecessary. Some did; but this was only an exception.
Behind was certain death; there was hope ahead. The ships were burned; there was no other salvation but a collective flight, and all the forces of the French were directed towards this collective flight.
The further the French fled, the more pitiful their remnants were, especially after the Berezina, on which, as a result of the St. Petersburg plan, special hopes were pinned, the more the passions of the Russian commanders flared up, blaming each other and especially Kutuzov. Believing that the failure of the Berezinsky Petersburg plan would be attributed to him, dissatisfaction with him, contempt for him and ridicule of him were expressed more and more strongly. Teasing and contempt, of course, were expressed in a respectful form, in a form in which Kutuzov could not even ask what and for what he was accused. They didn't talk to him seriously; reporting to him and asking his permission, they pretended to perform a sad ritual, and behind his back they winked and tried to deceive him at every step.
All these people, precisely because they could not understand him, recognized that there was no point in talking to the old man; that he would never understand the full depth of their plans; that he would answer with his phrases (it seemed to them that these were just phrases) about the golden bridge, that you cannot come abroad with a crowd of vagabonds, etc. They had already heard all this from him. And everything he said: for example, that we had to wait for food, that people were without boots, it was all so simple, and everything they offered was so complex and clever that it was obvious to them that he was stupid and old, but they were not powerful, brilliant commanders.
Especially after the joining of the armies of the brilliant admiral and the hero of St. Petersburg, Wittgenstein, this mood and staff gossip reached its highest limits. Kutuzov saw this and, sighing, just shrugged his shoulders. Only once, after the Berezina, he became angry and wrote the following letter to Bennigsen, who reported separately to the sovereign:
“Due to your painful seizures, please, Your Excellency, upon receipt of this, go to Kaluga, where you await further orders and assignments from His Imperial Majesty.”
But after Bennigsen was sent away, Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich came to the army, making the beginning of the campaign and being removed from the army by Kutuzov. Now the Grand Duke, having arrived at the army, informed Kutuzov about the displeasure of the sovereign emperor for the weak successes of our troops and for the slowness of movement. The Emperor himself intended to arrive at the army the other day.
An old man, as experienced in court affairs as in military matters, that Kutuzov, who in August of the same year was chosen commander-in-chief against the will of the sovereign, the one who removed the heir and the Grand Duke from the army, the one who, with his power, in opposition the will of the sovereign, ordered the abandonment of Moscow, this Kutuzov now immediately realized that his time was over, that his role had been played and that he no longer had this imaginary power. And he understood this not just from court relationships. On the one hand, he saw that military affairs, the one in which he played his role, was over, and he felt that his calling had been fulfilled. On the other hand, at the same time he began to feel physical fatigue in his old body and the need for physical rest.
On November 29, Kutuzov entered Vilna - his good Vilna, as he said. Kutuzov was governor of Vilna twice during his service. In the rich, surviving Vilna, in addition to the comforts of life that he had been deprived of for so long, Kutuzov found old friends and memories. And he, suddenly turning away from all military and state concerns, plunged into a smooth, familiar life as much as he was given peace by the passions seething around him, as if everything that was happening now and was about to happen in the historical world did not concern him at all.
Chichagov, one of the most passionate cutters and overturners, Chichagov, who first wanted to make a diversion to Greece, and then to Warsaw, but did not want to go where he was ordered, Chichagov, known for his courage in speaking to the sovereign, Chichagov, who considered Kutuzov benefited himself, because when he was sent in the 11th year to conclude peace with Turkey in addition to Kutuzov, he, making sure that peace had already been concluded, admitted to the sovereign that the merit of concluding peace belonged to Kutuzov; This Chichagov was the first to meet Kutuzov in Vilna at the castle where Kutuzov was supposed to stay. Chichagov in a naval uniform, with a dirk, holding his cap under his arm, gave Kutuzov his drill report and the keys to the city. That contemptuously respectful attitude of the youth towards the old man who had lost his mind was expressed to the highest degree in the entire address of Chichagov, who already knew the charges brought against Kutuzov.
While talking with Chichagov, Kutuzov, among other things, told him that the carriages with dishes captured from him in Borisov were intact and would be returned to him.
- C"est pour me dire que je n"ai pas sur quoi manger... Je puis au contraire vous fournir de tout dans le cas meme ou vous voudriez donner des diners, [You want to tell me that I have nothing to eat. On the contrary, I can serve you all, even if you wanted to give dinners.] - Chichagov said, flushing, with every word he wanted to prove that he was right and therefore assumed that Kutuzov was preoccupied with this very thing. Kutuzov smiled his thin, penetrating smile and, shrugging his shoulders, answered: “Ce n"est que pour vous dire ce que je vous dis. [I want to say only what I say.]
In Vilna, Kutuzov, contrary to the will of the sovereign, stopped most of the troops. Kutuzov, as his close associates said, had become unusually depressed and physically weakened during his stay in Vilna. He was reluctant to deal with the affairs of the army, leaving everything to his generals and, while waiting for the sovereign, indulged in an absent-minded life.
Having left St. Petersburg with his retinue - Count Tolstoy, Prince Volkonsky, Arakcheev and others, on December 7, the sovereign arrived in Vilna on December 11 and drove straight up to the castle in a road sleigh. At the castle, despite the severe frost, stood about a hundred generals and staff officers in full dress uniform and an honor guard from the Semenovsky regiment.
The courier, who galloped up to the castle in a sweaty troika, ahead of the sovereign, shouted: “He’s coming!” Konovnitsyn rushed into the hallway to report to Kutuzov, who was waiting in a small Swiss room.
A minute later, the thick, large figure of an old man, in full dress uniform, with all the regalia covering his chest, and his belly pulled up by a scarf, pumping, came out onto the porch. Kutuzov put his hat on the front, picked up his gloves and sideways, stepping with difficulty down the steps, stepped down and took in his hand the report prepared for submission to the sovereign.
Running, whispering, the troika still desperately flying by, and all eyes turned to the jumping sleigh, in which the figures of the sovereign and Volkonsky were already visible.
All this, out of a fifty-year habit, had a physically disturbing effect on the old general; He hurriedly felt himself with concern, straightened his hat, and at that moment the sovereign, emerging from the sleigh, raised his eyes to him, cheered up and stretched out, submitted a report and began to speak in his measured, ingratiating voice.
The Emperor glanced quickly at Kutuzov from head to toe, frowned for a moment, but immediately, overcoming himself, walked up and, spreading his arms, hugged the old general. Again, according to the old, familiar impression and in relation to his sincere thoughts, this hug, as usual, had an effect on Kutuzov: he sobbed.
The Emperor greeted the officers and the Semenovsky guard and, shaking the old man’s hand again, went with him to the castle.
Left alone with the field marshal, the sovereign expressed his displeasure to him for the slowness of the pursuit, for the mistakes in Krasnoye and on the Berezina, and conveyed his thoughts about the future campaign abroad. Kutuzov made no objections or comments. The same submissive and meaningless expression with which, seven years ago, he listened to the orders of the sovereign on the Field of Austerlitz, was now established on his face.