Robinson Crusoe, the reflective and long-winded but adventurous castaway of Daniel Defoe’s classic story—and arguably the first English novel—has often been seen as a literary forerunner of the modern value of self-reliance. Yet despite the many and often outlandish descriptions of what Crusoe managed to extract from and build on his deserted island, his frequent acknowledgment of dependence on God’s providential supply for his many needs suggests that the author thought far more of divine grace than he did of human resourcefulness. And Crusoe’s persistent anxiety about his current circumstances or future prospects can hardly be said to promote individual pride or self-confidence based on his accomplishments. On the contrary, Defoe’s Crusoe offers a study in human nature that agrees with the Bible regarding the source and extent of human sinfulness. Bad Beginnings Though composed in 1719, Defoe set his tale of shipwreck and survival in the previous century, when both religious devotion and economic opportunity consumed the aspirations of many Europeans. It is no accident that Christian principles and a desire for wealth create conflict in the heart of the main character, for the author pits these two timely concerns against one another. Robinson Crusoe, a German immigrant to England, narrates the account of his own adventures and misfortunes and interprets them The Enemy Within: Defoe’s Crusoe, A Portrait of Human Sinfulness Robert J. Clark
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