Robinson Crusoe in our Society
Does the novel Robinson Crusoe still relate to the people of today's world? Is it possible for a novel that was based in the seventeenth century to still be relevant in society of the twenty first century? Well, if we look at the Bible, which was written roughly around the time of 3500 BC, we could see that it is still the worlds most populated and well known book, as well as the book with the most copies sold ever. With this book playing such a large part of society such as leading religions like Christianity and the Roman Catholic faith, it is obvious that to most of the population, it is still very relevant and truthful.
I think in some ways, the novel can still be a perfect portrayal of people in our society because of some factors such as loneliness and isolation. Being alone, will affect people as long as there are people. The story of Robinson's survival is still a classic novel and I think that as a human race, all we are looking for is to survive. Even on a planet with over 6.7 billion people, there are always going to be people who will be lonely and feel as though they are on an island in the middle of the ocean. This is because people are not as welcoming today as they were years ago. This is my opinion, but i think that everyone is too much to himself or herself now. This generation growing up is too much into texting and messaging, which could cause loneliness because of non-verbal and/ or physical interaction.
I think that it definitely still relates to today’s society because there hasn't been an equally amazing survival story since Defoe's. Also, with the relationship between Friday and Crusoe, There is still a lot of cultural racism happening all over the world. "I likewise taught him to say Master, and then let him know that was to be my name; I likewise taught him to say, Yes, and No, and to know the meaning of them." (163). The first word that Friday learned was "Master". Even before the simplicity of yes and no. Instead of making a friend, which Friday eventually became to be, Friday was first a slave to the to the white supremacy. ". . . and beckon'd with my hand to him to come away, which he did immediately, with great submission." (163). This is a perfect example of the racism that Crusoe shows towards Friday and that racism links Robinson Crusoe with today’s society, even in the wrongness of manners, but still creates a relationship between the world today and the novel.
