Robinson Crusoe

As the two freed men are too weak to walk back to Robinson’s encampment, he brings beds of straw for them to sleep on down at the shore. Robinson is very gleeful with his visitors, and feels himself to be king of the island — a king who now has three subjects. He is pleased that all three men owe their lives to him, and so would be willing to sacrifice themselves for his sake.
The Spaniard tells Robinson the story of how he’d come to live with the cannibals, explaining that he too had been shipwrecked, but with sixteen other men. They lived in relative peace with the cannibals, but did not have sufficient provisions. Robinson wonders if it would be possible to join forces with these men, but he is hesitant because of the great animosity between the Spanish and the English. The Spaniard assures him that his comrades would be nothing but grateful for his help. Robinson makes the Spaniard agree to swear his men to be under Robinson’s command.
Within a month’s time, the two victims are rested and the four men begin planting and sowing crops together. Robinson has Friday and his father cut down trees, putting the Spaniard — unsurprisingly, considering Robinson’s Western bias — in charge of their work. Now that they have a supply of food for their potential visitors, Robinson orders the Spaniard to go back to the mainland and bring his fellow men back with him. Friday’s father goes with him. He waits for their return. But instead of seeing a canoe approaching, Friday and Robinson see an English boat, called a long-boat. Robinson is excited at the possibility of seeing fellow countrymen, but he is apprehensive that these may be murderers or pirates, since the English don’t have much trade established in that part of the world.
The boat lands. Prisoners are brought onto the shore. Then the men begin to explore the island. And although the prisoners are not bound, and could also run about the island, Robinson observes them simply sitting on the ground in despair. He concludes that the prisoners are so bewildered by having landed on what they believe to be a deserted island that they have simply given up. The other seamen continue to run around the place, screaming about their predicament — they are unable to dislodge the boat until the next tide. Robinson waits until dark to make his move. He wakes up the prisoners — who are set apart from the rest of the crew — and asks what sort of men they are. The men believe Robinson to be an angel, and cry with relief at the sight of him. But he corrects them, insisting that he is an Englishman and asks if he can help them.
One man speaks, telling Robinson that he was captain of the ship but that his men mutinied against him. And instead of killing him, they have determined to leave him on this island to perish. Robinson asks where the men are, and it is revealed that they are in a thicket nearby. Robinson offers to strike a deal: he says that if he wages battle against the crew, the Captain and his two supporters must pledge allegiance to him, to do his bidding, as well as give him free passage to England on board their ship if he can win it back. They agree to the conditions. Robinson provides the men with muskets, though the Captain says he is reluctant to kill all but two of the men. Robinson disagrees with this line of action, pressing the Captain to go through with the killing. The battle begins, and they bind any men who are simply wounded, indeed sparing some lives. But they haven’t captured all of them — the rest of the sailors are scattered throughout the island.

Leaving the Island

The Captain and Robinson tell each other their stories. They decide to take any crewmen who aren’t completely wedded to the idea of mutiny on the ship with them, to assist in sailing it. The Captain is worried that because his crewmen have pledged to live a life outside of the law, if he brings them back to England they will rise up against him again, since they know that they will be hung in Europe. Robinson concludes that they must lure them on board the ship and surprise them into the journey. They strip the boat of all provisions and make a hole in its bottom so as to make it unseaworthy. Now the men cannot take the boat away from Robinson’s party. They bring the boat up onto the beach. Another boat of rogue men approaches and lands. They make an effort to steal back their boat, but finding it with a gaping hole, are unable to do so. They set up a search party to look for their fellow flauters of the law. There are ten men in this party — seven who come on shore and three who stay with their boat. They won’t find their comrades, though, since Robinson has bound them and stashed them at his encampment. As the group is getting ready to set off again, Robinson, Friday and the Captain attack them. Robinson takes three prisoners of war and wins them over to his side. He now has an 8-man army: himself, Friday, the Captain and his two supporters, and the three prisoners of war. They vanquish the rogue sailors who lay down their arms in surrender and Robinson et al bind them up and send them either to Robinson’s cave or to his bower. Once the Captain and his men secure the boat back from the three still left on board, he tells Robinson that the boat and his men are his to command. Robinson is overcome with gratitude. He cannot believe his good fortune. The Captain gives Robinson the best clothes he has on board, and other presents such as liquor, lime juice, lemons, and tobacco. Robinson then sets the rest of the prisoners free upon the island, after having given them the choice to return with him to England where they will likely be hanged, or to remain there. He tells the men who will stay on the island some of his secrets for survival, and leaves some of his guns with them. He also shows them how to work with the goats, and how to make butter and cheese. The following day he boards the ship.
On leaving the island, Robinson takes the following souvenirs with him: a cap he’s made of goatskin, the umbrella he made, his parrot, and any money he had salvaged from his wreck and from the wreck of the Spanish ship. He leaves the island on December 19, 1686 — 28 years, 2 months, and 19 days after he landed there.
He arrives in England June 11, 1687 after having been gone from his native country for 35 years. He finds that his parents are dead and all of his relations except for two sisters and the two children of one of his brothers. He has little money and decides to go to Lisbon to see if his plantation still exists. Friday accompanies him. He finds his old friend the Portuguese Captain. He reports that Robinson’s partner at the plantation has been receiving Robinson’s share of the profits for all the time that he’s been gone. He says that this partner is now quite rich. The Captain says that he’s also received some part of the profits, and he calculates how much he owes Robinson, offering to pay him back in gold. Robinson is quite moved by the man’s honesty on this account. He weeps with emotion. Robinson now plans to take over the plantation, which he does with surprising ease. He also finds that the heirs to his trustees are willing to pay him back. They send lots of supplies to him, such as tobacco and sugar, as well as gold. Strangely, though, Robinson’s relief and gratitude turns to sickness and he falls ill with joy. He continues to be ill for some time until his blood is let under orders of a physician, and he begins to recover himself.

Uncomfortable Origins

Robinson now has an estate to direct, but he’s uncomfortable. He’s become used to only wanting enough to subsist on, but now he’s experiencing overwhelming luxury. He doesn’t know what to do with himself. He doesn’t trust other people, thinking they might be out to get money from him. He will only trust the old Portuguese captain. He decides to return to England, but is reluctant to go by ship. This is not surprising, given the hardship that sea travel has led him into. He decides to travel by land. He refrains from discussing his trip in detail, but does note that he witnesses an attack by a wolf — which is broken up by Friday — in France. His party is also tracked by a bear in these same parts, though here too Friday disposes of the wild beast. The entire party is attacked by a wolf pack, as well, before the end of the trip, although they are able to scare them off with pistol reports, wounding some twenty to thirty of them in the process.
After arriving in England, Robinson decides to sell his plantation because he realizes that moving back to Brazil would mean giving up his Protestantism (Brazil is a Catholic country), and reaps great profit from it. The novel comes to a quick close after this. He marries, has three children, and then his wife dies. He is seduced into trade again, however, this time in the East Indies. The novel closes with Robinson’s return to a life of adventure.

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