Daniel Defoe: summary of "Robinson Crusoe" for the reader's diary

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Daniel Defoe's novel about Robinson Crusoe is known to everyone. Even those who have not read it remember the story of a young sailor who ends up on a desert island after a shipwreck. He has lived there for twenty-eight years.

Everyone knows a writer like Daniel Defoe. "Robinson Crusoe", a brief summary of which makes you once again convinced of his genius, is his most famous work.

For more than two hundred years, people have been reading novels. Lots of parodies and sequels. Economists build models of human existence based on this novel. What is the popularity of this book? The story of Robinson will help answer this question.

Summary of "Robinson Crusoe" for the reader's diary

Robinson was the third son of his parents, he was not prepared for any profession. He always dreamed of the sea and travel. His older brother fought the Spaniards and died. The middle brother is missing. So the parents didn't want to let goyoungest son at sea.

Father with tears asked Robinson to simply exist modestly. But these requests only temporarily reasoned with the 18-year-old guy. The son tries to win the support of his mother, but this idea is unsuccessful. For another year, he tries to take time off from his parents, until in September in 1651 he sails to London, because of the free passage (the captain was the father of his friend).

Robinson's Sea Adventures

Already on the first day a storm broke out at sea, Robinson repented in his soul for disobedience. But this state was dispelled by drinking. A week later, an even more severe storm hit. The ship sank and the sailors were picked up by a boat from a neighboring ship. On the shore, Robinson wants to return to his parents, but "evil fate" keeps him on the chosen path. A summary of "Robinson Crusoe" for the reader's diary shows what a difficult fate fell on Robinson.

In London, the hero met the captain of a ship going to Guinea, and is going to sail with him, he becomes a friend of the captain. Robinson very soon regrets that he did not become a sailor, so he would have learned to be a sailor. But he gets some knowledge: the captain is happy to work with Robinson, trying to pass the time. When the ship returns to England, the captain dies, Robinson sails to Guinea themselves. This expedition is unsuccessful: their ship is captured by Turkish pirates, and our hero turns into a slave of the Turkish captain. He forces Robinson to do all the homework, but does not take it to the sea. In this part, the novel "The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe", a summary of which describes the whole life of the protagonist, showsthe determination and leadership of a man.

The master sent a prisoner to fish, and one day, when they were at a great distance from the shore, Robinson persuades the Xuri boy to escape. He prepared for this in advance, so there were crackers and fresh water, tools and weapons in the boat. On the way, the fugitives get their own living creatures, peaceful natives give them water and food. They are later picked up by a ship from Portugal. The captain promises to take Robinson to Brazil for free. He buys their boat and the boy Xuri, promising to return his freedom in a few years. Robinson agrees with this. A summary of "Robinson Crusoe" for the reader's diary will further tell about the life of the hero in Brazil.

Life in Brazil

In Brazil, Robinson receives their citizenship, working on his own plantations of tobacco and sugar cane. Plantation neighbors help him. Plantations needed workers, and slaves were expensive. After listening to Robinson's stories about trips to Guinea, the planters decide to bring slaves to Brazil secretly by ship and divide them among themselves. Robinson is offered to be a ship's clerk in charge of buying Negroes in Guinea. "The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe", a summary of this work further reveals the recklessness of the protagonist.

He agrees and sets sail from Brazil on September 1, 1659, 8 years after leaving his parental home. On the second week of the voyage, a severe storm began to batter the ship. He runs aground, and on the boat the command is given into the hands of fate. A large shaft overturns the boat and, miraculously saved, Robinson falls on land. A summary of "Robinson Crusoe" for the reader's diary further talks about Robinson's new home.

Miraculous Rescue - Deserted Island

He alone escapes and mourns for his dead friends. The first night, Robinson sleeps in a tree, afraid of wild animals. On the second day, the hero took from the ship (which brought closer to the shore) a lot of useful things - weapons, nails, a screwdriver, a sharpener, pillows. On the shore, he puts up a tent, transfers food, gunpowder into it and makes a bed for himself. In total, he was on the ship 12 times, and always took something valuable from there - tackle, crackers, rum, flour. The last time he saw a pile of gold and thought that in his condition they were not at all important, but he took them anyway. The novel "The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe", a summary of its further parts, will tell about later life on the island.

That night the storm left nothing of the ship. Now Robinson was waiting for the construction of safe housing overlooking the sea, from where they could expect rescue.

On a hill, he finds a flat clearing and pitches a tent on it, enclosing it with a fence of trunks driven into the ground. This house could be entered by a ladder. In the rock, he broke a cave and used it as a cellar. All the work took him a lot of time. But he quickly gained experience. Daniel Defoe's "Robinson Crusoe" summary of this novel further talks about Robinson's adjustment to a new life.

Adjusting to a new life

Now he was faced with the task -survive. But Robinson was alone, he was opposed by the world, unaware of his condition - the sea, the rains, the wild deserted island. To do this, he will have to master many professions and interact with the environment. He noticed and learned everything. He learned to domesticate goats, make cheese. In addition to cattle breeding, Robinson took up farming when grains of barley and rice sprouted, which he shook out of the bag. The hero sowed a large field. Next, Robinson created a calendar in the form of a large pillar, on which he put a notch every day.

The first date on the pillar is September 30, 1659. From that moment on, his every day counts, and much becomes known to the reader. During Robinson's absence, the monarchy was restored in England, and Robinson returns to the "Glorious Revolution" of 1688, which brought William of Orange to the throne.

Diary of Robinson Crusoe, summary: continuation of the story

Among the not-so-necessary things that Robinson grabbed from the ship were ink, paper, three Bibles, spyglasses. When his life improved (three cats and a dog from the ship still lived with him, then another parrot appeared), he started a diary to ease his soul. In his diary, Robinson describes all his affairs, observations regarding the harvest and the weather.

An earthquake forces Robinson to think about new housing, as it is dangerous to stay under the mountain. The remains of a ship after the crash sail to the island, and Robinson finds tools and building materials on it. The fever knocks him down andhe reads the Bible and heals as best he can. Tobacco-infused rum helps him recover.

When Robinson recovered, he explored the island, where he lived for about ten months. Among unknown plants, Robinson finds melon and grapes, and then makes raisins from the latter. The island also has a lot of living creatures: foxes, hares, turtles, as well as penguins. Robinson considers himself the owner of these beauties, because no one lives here anymore. He puts up a hut, strengthens it and lives there, as in a country house.

Robinson has been working for two, three years without straightening his back. He writes all this in his diary. So he recorded one of his days. In short, the day consisted of Robinson reading the Bible, hunting, then sorting, drying and cooking the caught game.

Robinson looked after crops, harvested crops, cared for livestock, made gardening tools. All these activities took a lot of time and energy from him. With patience, he brought everything to the end. Even baked bread without oven, s alt and yeast.

Building a boat and walking in the sea

Robinson did not stop dreaming about the boat and departure to the mainland. He just wanted to get out of bondage. Robinson cuts down a large tree and cuts a small boat out of it. But he never manages to lower it into the water (since it was far in the forest). He endures failure with patience.

Robinson spends his leisure time updating his wardrobe: he sews a fur suit (jacket and trousers), a hat and an umbrella. Five years later, Robinson builds a boat and launches it into the water. Having got out into the sea, he travels around the island. The current carries the boatopen sea, and Robinson with great difficulty returns to the island. This is how D. Defoe describes the adventures of Robinson Crusoe. The summary of this novel shows the loneliness of the hero and his hope for salvation.

Traces of savages in the sand

Because of fear, Robinson does not go to sea for a long time. He masters pottery, weaves baskets and makes a pipe. There is a lot of tobacco on the island. On one of the walks, a man sees a footprint in the sand. He is very frightened, returns home and does not go out for three days, thinking whose trace it is. The hero is afraid that they might be savages from the mainland. Robinson thinks that they can destroy the crops, disperse the cattle, and eat it itself. When he leaves the "fortress", he makes a new pen for the goats. The man again discovers traces of people and the remains of a feast of cannibals. The guests were back on the island. For two years, Robinson remains on one part of the island in his home. But then life returns to a calm course. This will be discussed in the next part of the article with a summary ("Robinson Crusoe"). Daniel Defoe describes all the affairs of the hero in small details.

Saving Friday - a savage from nearby lands

One night a man hears a gunshot - the ship gives a signal. The whole night Robinson burns a fire, and in the morning he sees the fragments of the ship. From anguish and loneliness, he prays that someone from the team will be saved, but only the cabin boy's corpse comes ashore. There are no survivors on the shipof people. Robinson still wants to get to the mainland and wants to take some savage to help. For a year and a half, he comes up with plans, but cannibals scare Robinson. Once he manages to meet a savage whom he saves. He becomes his friend.

Robinson's life becomes more pleasant. He teaches Friday (as he called the rescued savage) to eat broth and wear clothes. Friday turned out to be a good and loyal friend. This is stated in the novel "The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe", the summary of which can be read in one breath.

Escape from imprisonment and return to England

Soon the guests are coming to the island. A team of rebels on an English ship brings the captain, assistant and passenger for reprisal. Robinson frees the captain and his friends, and they pacify the rebellion. The only desire that Robinson voices to the captain is his delivery to England with Friday. Robinson stayed on the island for 28 years and returned to England on June 11, 1686. His parents were no longer alive, but the widow of his first captain was still alive. He learns that an official from the treasury took his plantation, but all the income is returned to him. A man helps his two nephews, prepares them for sailors. Robinson marries at 61 and has three children. This is how this amazing story ends.