Comparatively that was a FAST read (compared to Bleak House that is), I actually finished it on Thursday evening, however I've just been too crazy busy to find a chance to actually muse over my read. I enjoyed this book and found the fact that Crusoe began the story so pessimistic to be very interesting. One would think that this character would become pessimistic after being kidnapped by pirates and later on being shipwrecked on a deserted island, but no... he began his tale very negatively and his spirits actually improved with every adventure he experienced. I guess Defoe was simply trying to illustrate what really is important in life.
Crusoe truly found himself during his nearly three decades long stay on the island. He witnessed things that brought him closer to God as I believe he simply couldn't reconcile what he was seeing without believing that a divinity was somehow on his side. His capacity for growth was truly inspiring and I think that seeing the perseverance of this individual really could propel someone who otherwise was on the brink of collapse whether physical or emotional.
One must look at this novel as a treatise on getting back to nature, slowing down and I believe it fitting today as an exploration of taking the unnecessary out of one's life. One phrase that really spoke to me as "but what need I have been concerned at the tediousness of anything I had to do, seeing I had time enough to do it in?" If we could all just slow down and accomplish what we "have" to do without thinking about its tediousness I believe we would all be happier by far. Defoe also had Crusoe list the pros and cons of his being shipwrecked and again if we could all find that silver lining, as Crusoe had to, I believe our lives might seem that much more fulfilling. As Defoe so eloquently states (as Crusoe) "there was scare any condition in the world so miserable, but there was something negative or something positive to be thankful for in it."
As I have indicated this novel is really a commentary on the necessities of life. Crusoe muses "that all the good things of this world are no further good to us than they are for our use; and that whatever we may heap up indeed to give others, we enjoy just as much as we can use, and no more." This sentiment is again one that I believe we, as a society today, should take to heart. With wastefulness and over extension of both economics and emotions at the individual level, reflection, such as the kind practiced by Crusoe in this novel, is a necessity one should consider. I know that the effect this novel had on me will propel me to strive to be more reflective and to consider my physical and emotional impact on the environment and society even more than I already do.
In all I found Robinson Crusoe to be full of musings that are as timely today as when this novel was first published. I believe that if I were to take a moment to investigate the social atmosphere of Defoe's time I may find that the sentiments of my contemporaries are akin to those of his. As I indicated above, Robinson Crusoe has certainly caused me to take a moment to reflect on my own existence and has encouraged me to take the time to be thankful for what I have and not to harp on that which I do not.
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