Neoclassicism: typical characteristics in Robinson Crusoe

[annabellle]

I was wondering about what makes Robinson Crusoe a novel of its time, e.g. what neoclassical features it has.
Would be grateful for some suggestions.

[ennison]

Nobody seems to have replied to you and the time has probably passed when you needed an answer. Either your question defeated us or perhaps you did not make yourself clear. Strange book Mr D's. By rights it might have been expected to have faded into oblivion but it can be read on so many levels it has survived. I read it several times as a child. It appealed to my spirit of imaginative adventure. But it has spawned other modern works by serious modern writers. So if it has neoclassical features or not, it certainly has features that have appealed to a wide range of readers. It remains fascinating for many and knowing it was based on a true story only adds to its appeal.

[OrphanPip]

I would not consider Defoe to be Neoclassical, at least not in the same self-conscious way the Scriblerians were. Of course, Defoe was on some level dealing with classical ideas of genre, particularly history, and truth in fiction, but Defoe comes out of a middle-class protestant world that viewed the basic tenets of Neoclassicism with a great deal of skepticism and were far more inclined to radical and progressive rejections of the classics. Moral didacticism, which is notably ambiguous in Defoe's later novels, was a basic tenet of Neoclassicism but was just as much part of a Christian parable tradition. Now, sometimes "neoclassical" is used in a broad stroke to define any literature of the Augustan/Early Eighteenth Century period, in which case I'm sure one could apply some broad generalizations to Defoe that wouldn't really be all that instructive.

[kev67]

I am currently reading a book called Debunking Economics by Steve Keen. I was a bit surprised to read him refer to a Robinson Crusoe economy. I think it's to do with an individual consumer and an individual supplier. When Man Friday appears on the scene, there are two consumers and two suppliers, which complicates things significantly, but not too much. Neoclassical economics assumes market demand can be aggregated from individual demand. Their models also assume rational agents which represent the consumers and suppliers. The rational consumer always strives to maximize his utility, while the rational supplier strives to maximize his profit.

[Selma bn]

Hello... i am searching for an answer for the same question and eventually i came out of : major features of Neo classical movement in Robinson Crusoe are reason ,wisdom and religion , please if you have any other elements and features you may share them with me.

[ennison]

Foe is a very big beast in English literature. He wrote very widely on a diverse range of subjects. He also was busily involved in business, politics, reportage and religious matters. There are many things to admire about the fellow's tremendous energy and many things (especially for a Scot) to treat with circumspection. One aspect of his life where he remained sincere would be in his non-conformist religious beliefs. Crusoe is a didactic text. It is a spiritual text. Not all the writers of the era called neo- classical shared the same religious beliefs as Foe. Indeed some were very different. You have identified religion as an aspect of the texts neo-claccicism. Very well. Ask yourself then how Crusoe reacts to his enforced Solitude. How does that compare with the neo-classical "attitude" to retirement and contemplation as a feature of the individual's religious life. From there you can go on to look at Foe's treatment of the individual outside of society.

[Selma bn]

Thank you ennison