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A review by dilfpercyshelley
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
adventurous
challenging
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
i am genuinely surprised at how low the ratings are for this. sure, robinson crusoe is a right bastard. a self righteous, arrogant, horror of a man with no thought for anyone but himself. yet still, i enjoyed the novel thoroughly. partially, even, because of how much i despised the protagonist.
in fact, what i think people should take from novels like this (ones that make you uncomfortable) is how very different the world is now, or how very different you are, and how positive that change is. indeed just because a character is bad, doesn’t make the novel bad. that uncomfortable feeling should be more prevalent in literature, in my opinion. the fact that crusoe was so blind to his own hypocrisy is a reminder to modern audiences that you are like that too sometimes. people should be not just aware but actively made to consider topics such as colonialism, racism, bigotry in general more often, and literature is a great comparative tool to achieve this.
in fact, what i think people should take from novels like this (ones that make you uncomfortable) is how very different the world is now, or how very different you are, and how positive that change is. indeed just because a character is bad, doesn’t make the novel bad. that uncomfortable feeling should be more prevalent in literature, in my opinion. the fact that crusoe was so blind to his own hypocrisy is a reminder to modern audiences that you are like that too sometimes. people should be not just aware but actively made to consider topics such as colonialism, racism, bigotry in general more often, and literature is a great comparative tool to achieve this.