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摘 要

鲁滨逊漂流记从鲁滨逊的冒险经历中折射出了当时人们的价值观。笛福把鲁滨逊塑造成了一个典型的资产阶级。他深受人文主义的影响并意识到人的重要性。同时，他也希望通过奴隶贸易和殖民掠夺扩张自己的资本。作者描绘了资产阶级在自身利益遇到威胁时会采取一切手段维护自己的权力。本文试图从鲁滨逊身上所体现的人文主义和殖民主义分析笛福的价值观。

关键词：冒险; 价值观；人文主义; 殖民主义

Contents

1. Introduction 1

2. Literature Review 1

3. Reflection of the duality of bourgeoisie values in Robinson Crusoe 3

3.1 The duality of bourgeoisie values 3

3.2 Humanism reflected in Robinson 4

3.3 Colonialism reflected in Robinson 5

4. Causes of the duality of bourgeoisie values 7

4.1 Political Cause 7

4.2 Economic Causes 8

4.3 Cultural Causes 9

5. Conclusion 10

Works Cited 12

1. Introduction

Daniel Defoe (1660-1731) was called the father of English and European novels who was most famous for his novel Robinson Crusoe. He was called the father of English modern novel. In the 18^th century, with the development of feudal civilized absolution, the religious superstition also broke up the rapport between the internal logos and harmonious happy life .This consequently brought out a rather dark society where human beings turned to be unresponsive. The whole life of Defoe is exact during the period of the capitalist primitive accumulation. During this period, commerce and industry develop very fast in Britain. He thought that the most central question of a national development is to develop trade. Defoe had accepted the political ideology that objecting the autocrat and advocating the civil rights, but the limitation of his thought was also great in the certain historical background.

Robinson Crusoe was first published on April, 1717. It was based on the a true story. Alexander Selkirk, the prototype of the major character, Robinson, a Scottish sailor who had spent five years alone on an uninhabited island, which caused great interest by Daniel Defoe. He drew details from Alexander’s experience in Robinson Crusoe. He was the first author who wrote the novel in the first person singular.

Robinson Crusoe related, in great detail, the life of Robinson from 9 to his final voyage at about 35.The third son of the middle-class family wanted to become a sailor but his parent wished him to become a lawyer. He followed with the African trading vessel. Unfortunately, they were attacked by Moor pirates. Robinson escaped by the help of the Portuguese ship and went to Brazil and developed his own plantation. A few years later, he decided to sale slaves. Because of the bad weather, their ship was broken in the ocean, he became the only survivor and floated to an isolate island. He recounted his personal struggles to survive .On the deserted island, he tried to plan crops, corn and so on. He also feed domesticate goats for milk and meat. With the Bible, he got over the lonely and boring life. Twenty-two years later, a group of cannibals arrived at the island .Robinson rescued one of the victim and named him Friday. He tried to change Friday into a Christian and helped him to adapt to the civilized life. Twenty-eight years later, Robinson and Friday rescued a Spanish captain. They helped him to get back the control of his ship. In return, the Spanish captain took Robinson back to England.

2. Literature Review

Robinson Crusoe was a milestone in the British literature history. There are a lot of paper interpreted it from different aspects. Ian P .Watts integrated individualism with the history background to analysis people’s values at that time which embodied in Robinson Crusoe. James Joyce pointed out that Robinson was the true symbol of the British colonists. From his point of view, the main character reflected the typical characteristics of these colonists. They wanted to expand their through the slave trade and the plunder of colonies. There so many articles focused on Robinson Crusoe published in the past years. When Defoe’s studies flourished abroad in the European country，there were little studies on Robinson Crusoe in China. Ling Shu and Zeng Zonggong, the interpreter of this work, who wrote an article on the features of Defoe artistic creation of the novel in1832 and thought that Defoe exposed his opinion about the whole society at that time. They totally advocated the individualism and self –reliance. Xiao Qinxu positioned it as a patriarchal empire novel from the point of colonialism and wild thinking. He thought that this novel not only established the basic mod of the western patriarchal empire, but also of America cannibals carried out brutal writing.

In this paper, the author focuses her concentrations on things like what is the duality of bourgeoisie values and what caused the two totally contradictive values reflected in one person. According to the author’s writing purpose, she will organize her essay in the following train of thought. First, the author will analyze the bourgeoisie values. And then she will describe the humanism and colonialism reflected in Robinson. At last, the author will concentrate her essay on the causes of the duality of bourgeoisie values. And this section consists of three parts which contains political, economic and cultural causes. At last, the author will present the enlightenments she got from this novel.

3. Reflection of the duality of bourgeoisie values in Robinson Crusoe

In Robinson Crusoe, Defoe described the whole process that Robinson started to deploy several activities to seek fortune in the sea and finally trapped and worked hard on the deserted island. There are two contradictive bourgeoisie values, humanism and colonialism, exposed in the author’s description. The duality of the bourgeoisie values completely reflected in Robinson Crusoe’s behavior and thoughts in the book.

3.1 The duality of bourgeoisie values

The setting of this novel, precisely speaking, is the rising English bourgeoisie class who started to explore the word. During the industry revolution, with the inventions in steam power, iron-smelting and textile manufacture, the bourgeoisie rapidly enlarge their trade, domestic and overseas, further facilitated the accumulation of capital. With limitless faith in human’s ability ,they were always curiosity about the outside world and desired to prove the individual power in the face of social and nature challenge, therefore, they wanted to find a new values which could be consistent with the economic development and commercialization trend. To break down the backward society that the Christian church ruled they wanted to establish a new world of reason and human. The puritan values were totally appealed to their interests. They advocated to overcoming the obstacles and the hardship. They looked down and denounced those who didn’t work and enjoyed the entertainment. The transformation of western values had great influence on the western society, which totally displayed in Robinson Crusoe.

There are two main bourgeoisie values reflected in Robinson Crusoe, Humanism and colonialism. Influenced by the Greek spirit of humanism and the Renaissance in western society, Robinson tried to get rid of the shackles of feudalism, and sought to build up his own business on the sea. At the beginning of this novel, the author wrote:

“ my head began to be filled very early with rambling thoughts: my father, who was very ancient, had given me competent share of learning…and designed for the law, but I would be satisfied with nothing but go to sea….” ( Defoe 12)

There was a popular slogan at the renaissance time that people are born free, Robinson didn’t want to stick the old doctrines and lead leisure and ease life which his father proposed. He dreamed to go out to the sea and made fortune. From his personally experience, he truly reflected the people’s diligence, wisdom, perseverance, courage and creativity. He also described the philosophical thinking of how people continued to explore the pursuit of spirit and his own value of human existence. On the other hand, Robinson’s sailing adventure was not for the life force but is driven by the desire to make fortune on the sea. In the capitalist society, the truly freedom and democracy were not person but the capital. The money worship, individualism and colonialism were the essence of the bourgeoisie values. It was the original motivation of the bourgeois class like Robinson to expanding overseas markets, looking for the rich natural resources and human resource and raw material original place to complete the accumulation of capital.

3.2 Humanism reflected in Robinson

The whole Britain was influenced by the renaissance in the 18^th century. Especially, William Shakespeare, the great master, analyzed on the human complexity and penetrated into the character’s inner psychological, which deeply influenced Daniel Defoe. He created a main character with humanism spirit who wanted to grasp the destiny. Robinson didn’t like to follow the step of his parents and tried to sailing around the word. Though he encountered with the storm and floated to the deserted island, he first thought that there was no use in waiting. Rather than lamenting the fate and pray to god, he was reasonable to analysis his surrounding and found the useful material from the wrecked ship. He made the raft to transport the food, guns, clothe and so on to the island. His reasonable and rational actions helped him to survive on the harsh environmental conditions.

Although the humanist was rational, they were also easy to make errors. When Robinson tried to plant some wheat, he failed because he didn’t know the cultivation methods. Because he was not familiar with the weather, he almost got nothing from this land. From the carefully observation he gradually mastered the weather patterns and learned from the lessons. He succeeded to get the food in the next year. As a humanist, Robinson’s intellectual power best showed in his scientist precision of recording items. To wit, when the sun being, to us, in its equinox, was almost just over my head, for I reckoned myself, by observation, to be in the latitude of 9 degrees 22 minutes north of the line. and his notion of the date, which conveyed the message that man could exhibit his worth and dignity thought self-reliance and self-improvement. Hence, it’s the unequivocal declaration of humanism. There are lots of uncertainty in life and human’s own flaws. However, they are the people who can think, so they can judge and take rational actions to mediate these negative surface to live in an idealize harmony world.

In fact, Defoe was not a purely humanist, he also added a not totally humanism materials in his work. Due to the whole society’s development, the humanism also changed. Defoe integrated other opinions and thoughts into the humanism. In Robinson Crusoe, the changes and development reflected in the relationship between humanism and materialism. Robinson knew that money was no use on the deserted island but he didn’t let them sunk in the sea. He still delivered it from the wrecked ship and hoarded in a cave. In this matter, it could be seen that the existence of an unrealistic fantasy, he believed that he would return to the society and he make full preparation for the hypothesis. Moreover, the ideology in this book also tended to egoism from the relationship between people and the nature. When he found an animal on the shore, he would like to give some biscuits to rescue it, which showed his humanism spirit. However, when he found the animal still want to eat more food but he can’t supply. He couldn’t tolerant to share his food again. So he killed him. It is obviously that he didn’t put human and nature on an equal level. His humanism in the treatment of animal tended to the egoism. On the other hand, if Defoe only possessed the rose-tinted dreams about the humanity and depicted the better sides of human beings, the novel would loss its charm. He explored the multi-layered human nature, both the merits and flipsides.

3.3 Colonialism reflected in Robinson

What is colonialism？ It refers to the practice by which a powerful country controls another country or other countries. These colonists not only deprive the colonial people’s lands but also use other tools to make them obedient and attachment. Daniel Defoe builds up a vivid character, Robinson, a typical bourgeois in the capitalism rising period. He carefully described the colonialism, colonial expansion and cultural invasion in this book, which aroused the attention of the literary world. Especially the colonialism thoughts embodied in this novel appeal to the whole social development and this is the reason why it last popular until today.

In the novel, there are many signs revel the features of the bourgeois class. Even though Robinson was born in a fairly wealthy family and his father suggested a plain and secure lifestyle, he refused. He started to seek fortune in the sea, and during the following adventure activities, he made great profits from the slave trade. What’s more, when he escaped from the patron under the help of Xury and spent a hard time with him. He still sold Xury to a Spanish captain. Because the captain provided a reasonable price he couldn’t refused. The book also described sometimes Robinson may miss Xury, but he just remember Xury’s labor value。His behavior and thoughts completely reflected the colonist’s characteristics. But the most obviously evident was also the relationship between Robinson and Friday. On the desert island, he save the Caribbean aborigine and gave him a new name, Friday. He explained to Friday that it was used to remember the meaningful day. However, he also conveyed another meaning that you have to remember who save you and loyal to him. Therefore, he tried to teach Friday English, which was the important and emergency he needs to do. Because he wanted to establish a explicit relationship between themselves. He told Friday the meaning of the words such as: “master” before “yes and no”. From this perspective, he declared the ownership of the aborigine. He also asked Friday to accept Christian spirit because he thought that their original belief was wrong. In Robinson’s opinion, the white was superiority and their religion, the main stream of it’s culture, was also correct. He couldn’t tolerant Friday’s wrong origin belief. With his endeavor，Friday became a pious Christian. But it was irony that when he could not answer Friday’s questions, he found some excuse to avoid these questions. Whether he was a truly believe in god or just for his own purpose to become a Christian. Like other colonists, he used the religion as a tool to serve for his interests.

4. Causes of the duality of bourgeoisie values

4.1 Political Cause

In the 18^th century, the United Kingdom has become a parliamentary monarchy, the head of state is a monarch with limited powers, Britain’s democratic government was based on a constitution composed of various historical documents, laws, and formal customs which are adopted over a long time. The country putted out many policies to encourage the trade development. After the enclosure movement, more and more people circled to the city, which increase the economic. At the same time, there were also rising the bourgeois class. They gradually control the parliament, which in effect made the British system serve for their interests. The English bourgeois class, who were mainly composed of traders and colonists. They were people who had known poverty and hardship, and many of them had obtained their present social status through hard work. The main stream of the thought was self-restraint, self-reliance and hard work. People were not content with their social positions but dream of reaching the top standard of the society and possessing not only wealth and property but also fame and privileges.

It was such a background that Daniel Defoe wrote the book. Robinson Crusoe could also interpret from the perspective of social development, which witnessed the prosperity of the bourgeois class. Even thought Defoe set a desert island, a unique stage, for his main character, the reader could still find that the protagonist’s activities took on this isolated island, which deeply reflected the social features of the time. Robinson was not really loss touch with the outside world but was in a different in and out of the social environment. He also found foods, guns and other necessaries from these wrecked ship to meet up with the needs of his daily life. On the desert island, he established a capitalist society he used to live in. After examining the relationship between Robinson and Friday, readers have no difficulty in finding that when he rescued and tamed Friday, he declared himself as the master of this poor aborigine and at the last, he appointed him as the governor when more and more people lived on this island. He became a colonist from the worker. In his opinion, the slave trade and the slavery in the bourgeois society was reasonable because he was not regret turning Friday into his slave. The bourgeois ideologies and consciousness of enlightenment movement deeply rooted in his mind and acts.

At that time of Britain, class hierarchy was the personal freedom of the worship for democratic rights. It was a great gap between the lower working people and the privileged class. However, the growing policies made people believe that social justice was created by a hard working and brave social workers. Robinson was driven by the formation of bourgeois ideology. His thought was always be permeated with the capitalism shadow.

4.2 Economic Causes

The result of the fast economic development was also influenced the literature field. Defoe totally showed the readers the advanced technology development in his era. From his description, in the 18^th century, Britain had the most advanced ship and other voyage tools, which could be said that these were all own to the industrial revolution. Before the industrialization, even though people worked very hard, they lived a very frugal and ascetic life. While after industrialization, the Britain’s economy grew rapidly and social influence became greatly perceptible, there were a lot of opportunities which encouraged many people and made them felt that it was uncommon that poor people could rise from rags to millionaires. They were often inspired by an even more general desire for success in their daily life, based on the premise that a totally different condition of freedom and national growth could enable the invention and appliance of various complicated machines rather than tools in production and variation from a rural agricultural and commercial country to a progressive rural industrial society. The consequence of this revolution would change irrevocable human labor, family structure and society structure and thoughts of the individual. Moreover, the enclosure movement produced more and more labor and products. The country can’t balance the trading relationship. Too met up with the requirements of developments, they were crazy to plunder the oversea markets.

On this premise, Defoe created an adventurous navigator, Robinson. In the temptation of money, the character was not satisfied with the middle class family life of mediocrity. Despite of his parent’s opinion, Robinson was eager to make fortune in the sea. During the three voyages, he also made some profits from the slave trade and his plant. However, the last times, because of the bad weather the whole ship sank into the sea and he was the only one survivor floated to the desert island. On the island, Robinson was on the behalf of the capitalist civilization. He made the best use of the technology he learned from the capital society to survive.

To some extent, Robinson’s adventure was a business diary. He was a shrewd bourgeoisie and has the virtues and shortcomings of this class. Time is very important, so he didn’t like to play and stay away from the entertainment. What’s more, he has amazing rational self-control .when he was finished the daily’s work, he used to reflected on his mistakes and learnt from the lessons to improve himself. The original motivation and optimize the survival on the desert island, Robinson’s perseverance and indomitable matter had been idealized under Defoe’ s pen. He became the hero in the bourgeois mind and in the earliest history of European literature.

4.3 Cultural Causes

Robinson Crusoe was written in the 18^th century, at a time when the Europe was in the enlightenment movement. Due to the impact of European renaissance humanism thought, more and more people began to pursue the liberation of personality, happiness and freedom. They have pious faith in human’s ability. What’s more, there were a lot of opportunities which encouraged many people and made them felt that it was uncommon that poor people could rise from rags to millionaires. In their opinion, there was nothing can stop them to build up their business and they could succeed through working. They often encouraged by a word that where is a will, there is a way.

Knowledge and skills were necessary for the colonial activities. In the novel, Robinson was born into a merchant family. Affected by the commercial atmosphere he wanted to build up his own business. Without the worry of the material conditions, Robinson had received a well-rounded education. He broadened his horizon from the early learning, in return, which aroused his interests to go sailing around the world. Definitely, it could be said that the early education played a very important role in his four navigation and later career development. For this he could produce many necessities by himself, which provided the chances to survive on the deserted island.

Actually it was easier to find that Robinson is a totally puritans. In this novel, Puritanism was clearly served as a driving force for the emergence of capitalism. And the Puritanism spirit was implied with the individualism, competition and survival of the fittest push those ambitious men who wanted to search for the future of their own and created a right economic order in the society. In fact, most of the bourgeoisie revolution leaders were puritans. The author called Robinson that he was god to labor, the main character always full of energy and will when he was ambitious to accumulate his original capitals. In such background, the bourgeoisie always wanted to get more and more money through the establishing of their own business where they could fight and compete with many overseas traders. During the time on the island, Robinson’ s belief has changed。

Robinson Crusoe was involved in not only an adventure figure, but also a whole civilization. Defoe took Robinson as a person created by the environment, compelled by the environment and succeeded by the environment. He tried to expose all the environmental conditions at that time through documentation.

In fact, Robinson, as a 18th century individual, who seems to have gone through the developments of human civilization with all his own efforts, could not have succeeded in making a living on the desert island without having in the first place taken as much as he could from the wrecked ship of the products of human civilization of many centuries.

5. Conclusion

The thesis analyzes the duality of bourgeoisie values in Robinson Crusoe. Defoe created a modern man with humanism and colonialism, bringing the double bourgeois values into one complex character. Robinson’s life is astonishing. The main character overcome the adversity and created the splendor of his life. Though Robinson is a fictitious great person who created by Defoe, he teaches a lot of people the truth that human should confront the adversity properly. His life is full of legends. The twenty-eight years life on the island could be acclaimed as the acme of perfection. Robinson thought himself as a civilized man because he lived in a civilized bourgeois society where he accepted the good education. He is a man of new age, in which doubt and uncertain are replaced by hope and confidence. He praises human who are reasonable. They can rational thinking and take actions to conquer the harsh environment and succeed in their life. At the same time, he provided the colonialism behaviors. He felt the superiority on Friday. It is no doubt that he is very interested in possessions, power and prestige. In the end of the book he thought that the whole island and people were his property. He had the absolute dominion right on them.

In a word, this work is not the vulgar description. It enriches the key character with the historical meaning. Robinson’s experience is also the dream of people in the early capitalist society. Defoe stands on the bourgeois class standpoint to portray the outlook of the early bourgeois development and their entrepreneurial spirit. Many readers thought that Robinson, the main character, is not a flashy hero or grand epic adventurer but an ordinary sensible man, while his complexity characteristics have won him the approval of generations of readers.

Works Cited

Earle and Peter. The world of Defoe. London: A Theneum, 1997.

Hoogvelt and Ankie. Globalization and the Postcolonial World: The New Political Economy of Development. The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001.

Moll Flanders, Daniel Defoe. Random House Press, 1989.

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