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I just completed Defoe's classic novel, Robinson Crusoe and while the adventure was quite intriguing, I couldn't help noticing how much emphasis the author has put on the existence and omnipotence of God through Crusoe.
Personally, I have an unwavering belief in the existence as well as omnipotence of God but I wanted to know especially from our atheist friends here how they rate the book and what are their views about it.
Hello.
At the outset I need to excuse myself – English is NOT my native language and level of it leaves a lot to be desired. Don’t go at me with hammers and tongs about it :).
You cannot call me religious person, I’m none of believer, so I guess I’m one of those whose opinion you would like to know.
I read Robinson Crusoe a good few years ago, however I used to come back to it quite often. Religious plot never was any problem for me, even if I enjoyed way more survival-parts. Until now I’ve never pondered about religious part of the book – it was there all the time, but haven’t brought any emotions (actually, I found it a little bit boring). However, now as I think about it, maybe it had put some depth into the story?
I mean – it’s hard to believe that anyone pushed out of their standard life, more lonely than a hermit in the middle of a desert could stand what Robinson did without any support. He couldn’t count on second person and God was a good thing to rely on. I don’t think God truly (or more accurate physically) had helped him, but I do believe that the most necessary for Robinson was some mental support and belief. And that’s what he got thanks to his faith.
to write fiction with verisimilitude or reality. There was no actual Robinson Crusoe or the whore Moll Flanders who married her own brother. Although Defoe may have gotten his ideas for these from things he had read or heard about, most was from his creative imagination and his ability to relate his tales as if his characters actual existed. He did this in other works also, such as Journal of the Plague Year and Roxanna, The fortunate Mistress.
There is one of the characters in Wilkie Collins' The Moonstone who treats Robinson Crusoe as a bible of sorts and is continually referencing or alluding to it. I thought this was interesting: sort of Collins' own brand of verisimilitude.
Are you suggesting that Defoe did not believe in the things that Robinson Crusoe did. Crusoe and his adventures may be Defoe's creative work but the religious beliefs of the former seem real enough to be the author's own. In fact the various references to the Bible and usage of Biblical phrases in the book show Defoe to be quite a religious person.
Defoe was of the Puritan persuasion
He swims naked out to the ship and fills his pockets with biscuits--clearly a miracle.
I'm looking at the picture by Phoenixtear's name (Is that what one calls an avatar?). Is that a likeness of Cowper?