Although Robinson Crusoe is a novel that primarily deals with the theme of isolation and its effect on an individual, a key detail is Robinson’s interaction with the “other.” The dynamic of Robinson and the slave, seen especially in his relationships with Xury and the cannibal he later names Friday, directly relates to that of English imperialism. This mindset forces Robinson to view those outside of his culture as the “other” and consequently, less than himself. Robinson expresses this by holding himself in a position of power over Xury and Friday, thus enforcing Western views upon them. Early in the novel, Robinson is taken and enslaved by pirates. Also enslaved is a boy named Xury who quickly becomes Robinson’s companion. Despite being
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He describes the process of educating Friday as making him “speak fluently, though in broken English, to me…I described to him the country of Europe, and particularly England, which I came from; how we lived, how we worshipped God, how we behaved to one another…” (Defoe 294). This process of educating Friday mirrors that of European settlers who entered into countries and whose interaction with the natives was to educate them on the European and “civilized” way of living. Toni Morrison, in her essay Race-ing Justice, Engendering Power: Essays on Anita Hill, Clarence Thomas and the Constitution of Social Reality,” alludes to the relationship between Robinson and Friday. She writes that in Robinson Crusoe, “the Indian becomes a ‘savage cannibal’—black, barbarous, stupid, servile, adoring…Crusoe’s narrative is a success story, one in which a socially, culturally and biologically handicapped black man is civilized and Christianized—taught, in other words, to be like a white one,” (qtd. in Wheeler). Friday’s lifestyle, ways of living opinions are not asked for, nor cared about, as they are not the socially accepted views of Europe, England in
He describes the process of educating Friday as making him “speak fluently, though in broken English, to me…I described to him the country of Europe, and particularly England, which I came from; how we lived, how we worshipped God, how we behaved to one another…” (Defoe 294). This process of educating Friday mirrors that of European settlers who entered into countries and whose interaction with the natives was to educate them on the European and “civilized” way of living. Toni Morrison, in her essay Race-ing Justice, Engendering Power: Essays on Anita Hill, Clarence Thomas and the Constitution of Social Reality,” alludes to the relationship between Robinson and Friday. She writes that in Robinson Crusoe, “the Indian becomes a ‘savage cannibal’—black, barbarous, stupid, servile, adoring…Crusoe’s narrative is a success story, one in which a socially, culturally and biologically handicapped black man is civilized and Christianized—taught, in other words, to be like a white one,” (qtd. in Wheeler). Friday’s lifestyle, ways of living opinions are not asked for, nor cared about, as they are not the socially accepted views of Europe, England in