郭棲桐

【Abstract】Daniel Defoe （Daniel Defoe， September 13， 1660 April 24th 1731 years）， British novelist， journalist， author of pamphlets. He is the British enlightenment realism the founder of the novel and he is called Father of Novel in Britain and Europe. One of the most representative character was Robinson Crusoe. He was on behalf of these capitalists characters. Robinson Crusoe expressed his brave， active advanced spirit during his twenty-eight years career on the island. He took advantage of developed resources to change the environment， and overcame any difficulties， created the miracle of the life， went after his own dreams， arouse his intelligence， was delighted and honest， wasnt beaten by faults. These examples showed his shining point in his life. He was grateful for everything that he met. However， as a normal person， he had disadvantages himself， too. He was careless and had serious grade thoughts and arrogant and so on. Robinson Crusoe had changes of his characters in the article. First of all， he was disappointed. Then， he began to have wishes. Final， that was meeting after Friday， he was more optimistic and active. But later， Friday died in a sea battle， it was a serious event to him. He was so sad because Friday had an effect on him. And he had confidence to come back to the motherland.

【Key Words】 Robinson Crusoe; character; positive; negative ; advantages; disadvantages;

Introduction

Robinson Crusoe， written by Daniel Defoe who is a great English novelist in the18th century as his masterpiece， is either a pioneering English adventure fiction or a typical colonial literature. It is a vivid

narrative story about the surprising and adventuring life of Robinson who runs away from home and sets out to sea. Most previous researchers concerned more about Robinsons sprint while ignoring his flaws. However， this paper focuses on the both sides of Robinsons character.

1 ?The Positive Aspects of the Character of Robinson

1.1 He is an individual and hero. He is brave.

In fact， he really wanted to a kind of free life and valued individualism. We could know about himself by his brave spirit because he wanted to overcome difficulties.

Robinson was not willing to stick to the old doctrines and lived a life of leisure and ease.His restless nature made him always fight for a better life and the things he wanted to possess： he went out to sea three times to do business.

1.2 Robinson wants to try his best to hard working.

When he was staying on the island by himself， he wanted to give up at first， but he must be alive， thus， he could return to his country. So he encouraged himself to cheer up and fit the situation. He knew that only did he help himself and he had to work hard in order to live on the island. Finally， he succeeded going back to the nation.

1.3 Robinson has great wisdom.

Robinson Crusoe was a person with wisdom and he received good education.

Thanks to the education he received in the modern society and the goods ?he luckily got from the wrecked ship， especially the tools for production， he could then live on the island and remake it at his own will.

2 ?The negative Aspects of the Character of Robinson

2.1 Robinson is careless about himself.

Robinson Crusoe was on behalf of the capitalist class so he had the same ideas with others. This was one of his disadvantages. It must appear for his identity. He also had a sense of vanity and weakness. After thefirst sea voyage failed， he had the thought of going home， shame opposed the action.

2.2Robinson likes keeping Friday.

Friday was a black slave who was saved by Robinson Crusoe. He was kindly and friendly though he didnt express to Robinson at first. But he never wanted to betray. Due to Robinsons bourgeoisie outlook，he did have some limits of the bourgeoisie.For example， he supported slavery and thought it was a profitable trade.He was ridiculous on this point，that is，he who believed that man was born free and equal was even eager to own some slaves and direct them at his will.

2.3 Robinson takes little care of his friends and relatives.

Why Robinson went abroad ?Because he killed a person in a battle for his lovely girl， and he began his life to escape from his fear. He and his girl made a promise to wait for each other for one year. But he met danger in the trip. So I thought he had no ideas to face what happened， he only could forget their promise. He was helpless. Just like the old saying goes，“Men are not saints”.Robinson Crusoe also has his shortcomings in his character. In order to realize his dream， Robinson left his family， not considering much about the feelings of the family.In the end he went out to sea without saying goodbye to his family. This， to me， is irresponsible， especially in modern society.

Conclusion

All in all， Robinson Crusoe was interested in heroism and exploration. I think in Robinson Crusoes life we cant only see an optimistic aspect， but also a negative aspect. It also reflects that everyone has advantages and weaknesses， including Robinson Crusoe， such a brave explorer. To sum up， the author shaped like Robinson a dream full of courage and perseverance of typical characters. During the period of life on the lonely island， he gave us plenty of feelings and ides to our lives. It teaches us that we should do adventures. When hardships are on the corner， we should face them bravely and never be fear. Thus， success must belong to us in the end.

【References】

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