Robinson Crusoe and Its Progressive Meanings.docx

Robinson Crusoe and Its Progressive Meanings.docx

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RobinsonCrusoeandItsProgressiveMeanings

《鲁滨逊漂流记》及其进步意义

RobinsonCrusoeandItsProgressiveMeanings

Contents

Abstract………………………………………….………………………….1

Keywords…………………………………….……………………………..1

.Introduction…………………………………………………………...1

.LiteratureReview………………………….……………………..……2

2.1Generalintroductionofthenovel………………………………………2

2.2Thecommentsofthenovel………………..…..………………….……3

III.TheProgressiveMeaningsoftheRobinsonCrusoe……….…………4

3.1Topursuefreelifeandrealizeindividualvalue.…………..….….…….4

3.2Topraiselaborofhumanbeingandgreatcreativity.………..…………6

3.3Toapplyknowledgetocreatecivilizedlife……………………..………8

3.4Theperseveringaggressivespirit………………..……………………10

3.5Toadvancethedevelopmentofsocietyandhistoricprogress…….……11

IV.Conclusion ……………………………………………………………13

References………………………………………………………………….14

RobinsonCrusoeandItsprogressiveMeanings

摘要：

《鲁滨逊漂流记》是一部非常著名的而且受到人们欢迎的小说，它的作者笛福是一位被誉为“英国和欧洲小说之父”的英国作家。

本文从五个方面分析小说《鲁滨逊漂流记》的进步意义。

它们是：

追求自由生活，实现个人价值；赞美人类的劳动和伟大的创造力；运用科技知识，创造文明生活；坚忍不拔的进取精神；推动了社会的发展和历史的进步。

关键词：

《鲁滨逊漂流记》;鲁滨逊;小说;进步意义

Abstract：

Thenovel,RobinsonCrusoe,isveryfamousandpopular.Theauthor,DanielDefoe,wonthetitle“FatherofEnglishandEuropeanNovels”.Somepeoplethinkthisnovelactsasapropagandaofcolonialism.Butthepapermainlyanalysestheprogressivemeaningswhicharereflectedinthenovelfromfiveaspects,theseare,topursuefreelifeandrealizeindividualvalue,topraiselaborofhumanbeingandgreatcreativity,toapplyknowledgetocreatecivilizedlife,theperseveringaggressivespiritandtopushthedevelopmentofsocietyandhistoricprogress.

Keywords：

RobinsonCrusoe;RobinsonCrusoe;novel;progressiveMeanings

I.Introduction

DanielDefoewasnearly60yearsoldwhenheturnedtowritingnovels,hisfirstnovelwaspublishedin1719withthefulltitle,TheLifeandstrangeandsurprisingAdventuresofRobinsonCrusoeanditwasagreatsuccessandDefoebecameawell-knownwriteralloverEurope.Thenovel,RobinsonCrusoe,iscalledtheoriginaladventurenovelandtheearliestmodernEnglishnovel.DanielDefoehasbeenregardedas“thediscovererofthemodernnovel”（Guoqunying,2003:

93）.Defoealsoproducedsomeothernovels,suchasCaptainSingleton,MollFlandersandColonelJacque.Hisstrongcreativespiritinnovelwritingwonhimthetitle“FatherofEnglishandEuropeanNovels”（Guoqunying,2003:

94）.Inthenovel,RobinsonCrusoe,Defoecreatedtheimageofatrueempire-builder,acolonizerandatrader,whohasthecourageandabilitytofacehardshipsandthedeterminationtoprotecthimselfandimprovehislivelihoodbystrugglingagainstnature.Thestoryhasremainedpopulareversinceitspublicationanditspawnedtwosequels.InChina,somescholarsthinkDefoehadcreatedtheimage,Crusoe,ofthenoveltorepresenttherisingEnglishbourgeoisieattheearlierstageofcapitalismdevelopment.Beingabourgeoiswriter,DefoeglorifiedtheheroanddefendedthepolicyofcolonialismofBritishgovernment.Thenovelshowsanotherveryimportantdimensionrelatedtocolonialism:

Althoughthehero,RobinsonCrusoe,issomethingofacolonistandthisnovelactsasapropaganda,thenovelalsorevealedsomeprogressivemeaningswhicharenotlimitedbythesocialideology.SomeChinesescholarsalsonotethis.Bystudyingthenovel,RobisonCrusoe,andtheimageofRobinson,WangWen-huasaid“Thedouble-edgeeffectsofitslimitationandadvancearejustliketwinsgestatedatthesametime”（WangWenhua,2004）.Weshouldn’tonlyfocusonitshistoricallimitationtodenyitsprogressivemeaningsofthenovel.

Inmypaper,Iwanttoobjectivelycommentonthenovelandtoexploreitsprogressivemeaningsofthenovel,RobinsonCrusoe,fromfivedifferentaspectswhichincludethefollowingperspectives;topursuefreelifeandindividualvalue,topraiselaborofhumanbeingandgreatcreativity,toapplyknowledgetocreatecivilizedlife,theperseveringaggressivespiritandtopushthedevelopmentofsocietyandhistoricprogress.Ibelieveanexcellentnovelcanreflectprogressivemeaningsandvaluesofallsocialsystems.IhopethatmypaperwillbeofsomehelpforreaderstoappreciatesomeEnglishoriginalnovelsfromdifferentperspective.

II.LiteratureReview

2.1Generalintroductionofthenovel

Thenovel,RobinsonCrusoe,wasbased,infact,upontheexperiencesofAlexanderSelkirkwhohadrunawaytoseain1704andrequestedtobeleftonanuninhabitedislandtoberescuedfiveyearslater.Defoehimselfwasinhislatefiftieswhenhewrotethebook,whichhasbeenconsideredtobethefirstEnglishnovel.Thestorywastoldinthefirstpersonsingularnarratorasifsomesailor-adventurerhimselftoldit.Atthebeginningofthestory,weseeCrusoeasasailor,amerchant,aplantationownerandaslavetrader.OnavoyagetoAfricatobuyslaveshemetwiththemostunfortunateshipwreck.Thenhefoundhimselfcastbytheseawavesupontheshoreofanuninhabitedisland.Hehadtostaythereandmanagedthelivehoodforhimself.Facingadversity,hehadtosolvetheproblemoffood,clothing,transportationandshelter;otherwisehewouldbestarvedtodeath.Firsthetriedhisbesttomakethebestuseofthegoodsontheshipwreck.F,hereturnedtotheshipandtooksomefoodandclothes,afewgunsandsomeammunition.Inordertoprotecthimselfhebuiltashelter.Laterhegrewbarleyandrice,domesticatedgoatsandfoughtagainstcannibalsavagescomingfromtheneighboringisland,heevenrescuedonesavagefromdeathandnamedhimFriday,whobecamehisfaithfulservant.InthehopeofreturningtoEurope,hebuiltaboat.FinallyanEnglishshipcamebyandtookhimtoEurope.ThusRobisonCrusoeendedhistwenty-eight-yearlifeonthedesertedisland.Afterhisdeparturefromtheisland,hesailedtoLisbon,andthentoBrazil.Hesoldtheplantationtheretohispartner.WithmoneyhereturnedtoEnglandandmarried.Laterhiswifedied.Hesailedbacktothedesertedislandagain,andthistimehebroughtwomenandsuppliestotheislandtoestablishacolonythere.

2.2Thecommentsofthenovel

Inthenovel,RobinsonCrusoe,theherowasanembodimentofBritishnation’scharacter.Helovesfreedomandiseagertoadventure;hisdiligence,resourcefulness,andsolitarycouragemakehimanexemplaryindividualofEnglishman.Buthislimitationisofsociety,andhisurgetosubjugateothersishighlyobjectionable.Inbringingbothsidestogetherintoonecomplexcharacter,Defoegaveusafascinatingglimpseintothesuccesses,failures,andcontradictionsofmodernman.Whileheisnoflashyheroorgrandepicadventurer,RobinsonCrusoedisplayedhisdistinctivecharacterthathaswonhimtheapprovalofgenerationsofreaders.Hisperseveranceinspendingmonthsmakingacanoe,andinpracticingpotterymakinguntilhegotitright,ispraiseworthy.Additionally,hisresourcefulnessinbuildingahouse,makingdairy,grapearborandgoatstablefromnothingisclearlyremarkable.TheSwissphilosopherJean-JacquesRousseauapplaudedCrusoe’sdo-it-yourselfindependence,andinhisbookoneducation,herecommendedthatchildrenbetaughttoimitateCrusoe’shands-onapproachtolife.Crusoe’sbusinessinstinctswerejustasconsiderableashissurvivalinstincts.Workingformanyyears,Crusoecreatedanidealkingdom,hesetashiningexampleforEnglishbourgeoisattheearlierstageofitsdevelopment.Crusoewasneverinterestedinportrayinghimselfasaheroinhisownnarration.Hedidnotboastofhiscourageinquellingthemutiny,andhewasalwaysreadytoadmithisfeelingsoffearorpanic,aswhenhefoundthefootprintonthebeach.Crusoepreferredtodepicthimselfasanordinarysensibleman,neverasanexceptionalhero.

RobinsonCrusoewaspublished,atthattime,fortheworldquicklyclaimedaproprietaryinterestinthestory.BesidestheseveneditionsprintedbyDefore’spublisherinhislifetime,therewereseveraltranslatedversionsandpiratededitions.Sincethattimesomanyeditions—oversevenhundred—haveappearedthatonecritichasclaimedthatithasbeenre-issuedmoreoftenthananybookexcepttheBible.Thestoryhasbeentranslatedintonearlyeverywrittenlanguage,andithasbeenabridgedbothforadultsandforchildren.Thestoryhasremainedpopulareversinceitspublicationandmaintaineditspositionasaworldclassic.Ithasbeeninthe21stcentury,however,thatRobinsonCrusoehasattractedtheliveliestandmostsystematiccriticalinterest.SomescholarsthinkDefoehadcreatedtheimageofatrueempire-builder,acolonizerandaforeigntrader,Crusoe,theheroofthenovel,representstheEnglishbourgeoisieattheearlierstageofcapitalismdevelopment.Beingabourgeoiswriter,DefoeglorifiedtheheroanddefendedthepolicyofcolonialismofBritishgovernment.Thenovelshowsanotherveryimportantdimensionrelatedtocolonialism:

Crusoe,thehero,issomethingofacolonistandthisnovelactsasapropagandatext.Butwecan’tdenytheprogressivemeaningsofthenovel.Ibelievetheseprogressivemeaningsarebeyondthelimitationofspaceandtime,peoplesandsocialideologies.

III.theProgressiveMeaningsoftheRobinsonCrusoe

3.1Topursuefreelifeandrealizeindividualvalue

InRobinsonCrusoe,Crusoe’sfatherhadpressedhimtobealawyer,butatfirstinhismindhewasfilledwith"ramblingthoughts"ofgoingtosea.Noadviceorentreatiescoulddiminishhisdesire.“Myheadbegantobefilledveryearlywithramblingthought,Iwouldbesatisfiedwithnothingbutgoingtosea,andmyinclinationtothisledmesostronglyagainstthewill,naythecommandsofmyfather,andagainstalltheentreatiesandpersuasions