Colonial Genesis - DE Book Club

Religion is one of the most important aspects of Daniel Defoe's The Life and Strange Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe of York, Mariner. It's a subject to which the protagonist and narrator comes back regularly throughout the book.

Robinson Crusoe's adventure is a colonial reproduction of the Bible's Book of Genesis. The same way Adam and Eve disobey the will of God, Crusoe disobeys the wishes of his father. As a result, he is cast away from his Eden, his life as part of society, and he is sent to a new, untamed world.

This weighs heavily on his conscience: "I had terrible reflections upon my mind for many months, as I have already observed, on the account of my wicked and hardened life past." Until he can tame his new environment and work hard enough to obtain deliverance from his original sin, Crusoe must remain on the island.

Robinson Crusoe eventually repents and even converts Friday. By doing so, he wins back God's providence. He comes back to a prosperous life in society the same way humanity is promised to win back its place in the kingdom of God.

Read about the narrative of Robinson Crusoe

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