Kent-Drury
English 420
1.
Find
references to travel and exploration in Robinson Crusoe. What
connections can you make to earlier literature we have read?
2.
Find
references to captivity and slavery in Robinson Crusoe. What do they suggest to you about the
period's views about these issues? What connections can you make between the
works you’ve already read and RC?
3.
Robinson
Crusoe is sometimes seen as the epitome of the economic man. Find references to
economic activity in RC. What do
they suggest about emerging views about economics and trade? How is this
connected with issues of national identity?
4.
Robinson Crusoe is sometimes seen as a spiritual autobiography. What elements of
spiritual autobiography do you see?
5.
Robinson Crusoe has sometimes been seen as the first novel. What novelistic elements do
you see? What elements don’t seem to be like other novels you’ve read?
6.
Is
Robinson Crusoe a likable character? An admirable character? Why or why not?
7.
Comment
on Robinson Crusoe’s relationships with his family, with other white colonists,
with Xury, and with Friday. What attitudes toward
other ethnicities and nationalities can you detect?
8.
Robinson Crusoe has been seen as beginning a tradition in literature that focuses on
the isolated individual and the sphere in which he or she operates. Based upon
your answers to the questions above, how would you explain its depiction of RC?
9.
Do you admire Robinson Crusoe? Why?
10.
Do you like Robinson Crusoe? Why?