Your Problematic Survivalist | Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe | Review [CC]

[@WildeBookGarden]

haha gotta love when the book's title does the summary for you! Well-articulated and thoughtful review, Claudia! I think it's definitely possible to enjoy elements of a book on a story-telling level while also discussing its historical context and the implications of its themes. I would even argue that it's *necessary* to include both in order to give a completely honest review!

[@SpinstersLibrary]

Yes, absolutely, the whole work needs to be discussed and you can't really separate the narrative from the context.

[@letty536]

You made everything clear for me, I have been doing a lot of research about this story and got confused and mix up many sequences, but now all my thoughts are on the right track thank you!

[@parlabaneisback]

11:42 'Enjoyment of a text is not the same as endorsement of its politics' - well said!

[@SpinstersLibrary]

Though I should add that consumption of problematic texts needs to be accompanied by a kind of questioning and dialogue with the issues raised, something I hope I accomplished in this video :)

[@parlabaneisback]

@@SpinstersLibrary On that point. You queried the naming of Friday (not a name you'd give a human, therefore less than respectful, is hopefully a fair summary of your view). Yet, people today are named after days of the week; and wouldn't your point require some research into the views of first names at the period the text was written in order to prove its disrespect? There were all sorts of weird first names then (especially in religious sects such as Puritans), and its not clear to me what the general atitudes to given names were at the time. It may be that Friday was a relatively benign choice.

[@SpinstersLibrary]

There is no evidence that Friday was at all used as a human name in the 17th or 18th centuries.

[@neenah7376]

I really think you did an excellent job with this review. I loved it. I would love to give this book a gander.

[@SpinstersLibrary]

Thank you so much! I hope you give it a go some time, I got a lot out of it :)

[@josmith5992]

I read this twenty five years ago in college so can't remember much I'm afraid. Having said that, I really appreciated your thoughtful review Claudia and it has actually made me want to reread the book to see what I make of it now.

[@SpinstersLibrary]

Thank you! I hope you enjoy the book if you decide to reread it :)

[@AlexBlackReads]

When you were describing the story, I was honestly surprised how much I remembered from the movie/children's abbreviated version. Hadn't thought of it in years though, so the discussion on racism and politics was fascinating and not anything I'd thought about for years.

[@SpinstersLibrary]

I'm sure many people will only know the watered-down, chilld friendly version. Definitely worth a read of the original if you're interested in these historical political issues

[@tortoisedreams6369]

Excellent! Awesome! This is so good, one of your best reviews ever! As someone who enjoys classics, I think we read older books both in terms of the differences of those times to our own, & endeavour to also enjoy the story on its own terms. Each reader performs that balance for herself. I read this when young, may've been an abridged version. "Edible turtles?" You didn't say this was horror. Seriously, wonderful review, a real contribution, what BT strives to be.

[@SpinstersLibrary]

Thank you for your lovely comment, I did put a lot of effort into this script and am so glad you appreciate it :) Haha, turtles are said to be quite the delicacy, so who knows...?

[@sophie2846]

Thank you for this video! I really liked your thoughts on the book, especially the comparison of Friday and Poll, whilst putting it in relation to the colonial times.

[@golamshahriarsumon9051]

A great review. I am astonished at your power of critical evaluation.

[@SpinstersLibrary]

Thank you, glad you enjoyed it

[@venkataramanat41]

Namaskar. Thank you for genuine review. At first look it appears as an adventurous story. If delve deeper, the Political and Colonial ideas and pop up. Daniel Defoe it's a good documentation of his times. Jai Hind.

[@ButOneThingIsNeedful]

[Most of my comments won't be this long.] Thoroughly enjoyed your review, which I listened to in its entirety. Frankly, I like you as a book reviewer, though I have only recently discovered your channel. They have depth, and I like that you give the books an overall rating at the end. Here are a couple bits of response that I had to your comments on Robinson Crusoe. 1) Those old, extended book titles! Who cares about spoilers when the whole plot is outlined before page 1?! Glad we don't do that anymore. 2) I appreciated that you attempted some balance in handling the issue of ethics and ideology of a bygone time with which we disagree on one hand, and the literary merits nevertheless on the other. The near-sighted self-righteousness of our modern era in this respect often grates on me (perhaps this is because of moral convictions of my own at variance with much of today's status quo). But of course I agree with you on the British superiority issue, and it reminded me of a passage I remember reading in Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World, where he describes a faithful black companion on the journey as being "as strong as a horse, and nearly as smart" (!!), no doubt thinking nothing of it. 3) The theological angle actually really interested me, and I wondered if it was developed even more than you touched on. Perhaps I'll have to read to find out. :)

[@SpinstersLibrary]

Haha, don't worry, I like reading long comments :) I think you should read the book, because the religious aspect is a pretty big part of the story and of Robinson's character development. There are many intricacies surrounding his own faith and the way years of isolation make him reflect on his life choices, that I think you would enjoy if you are interested in that aspect of the story.

[@ButOneThingIsNeedful]

@@SpinstersLibrary I'll add it to my list. Thank you. (I've now subscribed, by the way.)

[@lydia-eu4ei]

U've saved my exam ❤ thank u miss 🥰

[@SpinstersLibrary]

Good luck!

[@Nyledam89]

This was a great review! I loved how you put it into the context of the time and were still able to enjoy it. The audiobook sounds like a great solution. I read the physical book a couple years back and it can get quite slow at some points. I really like this project. E.T.A, Hoffmann is next, right?

[@SpinstersLibrary]

Thank you! Yes, Hoffmann next, probably in April. Did you want to buddy read it?

[@Nyledam89]

@@SpinstersLibrary Oh, we can if you want to. That would be fun. :) Fräulein von Scuderi right? Are you on Voxer, so that we could talk about it?

[@katakiss6858]

Hi, I have just found your review, and I must admit that it is a piece of art :)) or at least, a pretty critical and overviewing. It helped me a lot to recall both the plot (which was not as difficult) as to see through the main issues, such as colonialization, religion, and sort of hierarchy amongst the characters. (exams are coming up..) Subscribed to you!

[@SpinstersLibrary]

Thank you, I'm glad this helped, and good luck in your exams!

[@panchitaobrian1660]

when I read this book (being 5-6 year old, as a self-respecting Soviet child you couldn´t read it later in your life. I mean, you had to prepair yourself to World and Peace, mistaikingly translated to English as War and Peace) - I also enjoyed the survivalist part of it most of all. And when Friday came into the story, it became weird, sadist, capitalistic and colonial - all like our dear combined West loves it.

[@jellointhewind8712]

Failure to note Robinson himself is a slave for several years, as well as the apparent deep brotherly love and empathy he has for Friday.

[@ALovelyJaunt]

Great review! I had to pop over here after watching your Jan wrap up. I think your approach to the colonialism and therefore embedded racism and religious prejudice was thoughtful and articulate. I find Robinson’s journey to salvation (and religious dreams) fascinating as well. I also think the themes around the essential value of things which you touched on is very interesting. Robinson is constantly listing items from the ship or of his herds and crops. It is essential to the worldview of this time because they viewed wealth as originating from the ground: farming, natural resources, etc. Which of course spurs the colonialism- you must have more land. And hence Robinson’s tiny kingdom. And all of this is tied in with Robinson’s pursuit of a higher class, which his father warns him against and which God providentially denies time and again. But one theme which I think is also central to the plot is his fear and paranoia! Robinson is constantly building up bulwarks to his various homes, fearing that wild beasts live on the island. Even the first time he sees a footprint on the island he is extremely alarmed! I haven’t made any conclusion as to why the paranoia is so prevalent yet, though. What do you think? Oh and the ending! So odd! Anyway, I’ve gone on for several paragraphs. Better leave off here! Haha! Great review! Thank you for putting together your thoughts!

[@SpinstersLibrary]

Thank you for your wonderful comment! Robinson's concern with his safety on the island, almost a paranoia, struck me as a bit weird - why put so much time and effort into building fences and planting walls of trees, when at first he had no indication that any human other than himself had ever set foot on the island? I wonder what Defoe's intention was in portraying this fear of external violence.

[@paulcityrocker]

@@SpinstersLibrary If I was marooned in this way, fear would be my overriding emotion. Defoe captures that natural human response perfectly. It's not at all weird.

[@LuminousLibro]

I love this in-depth review! I'm wondering though, why you are so careful around the word "savages"? I mean, the people described are cannibals. If they behave in a violent and savage manner, isn't it normal and correct to refer to them as "savages"? Not sure why that is a problem. The word "savage" is defined as "a brutal or vicious person." Sounds like the right word to describe the cannibals in the book.

[@SpinstersLibrary]

The idea of ritualistic cannibalism among native populations during the colonial era is by and large made up by European invaders as an excuse to invade and colonise parts of the world that were already inhabited, and enslave natives. Robinson Crusoe very much perpetuates that idea with the way he describes the natives as savages (both of Friday's nation and their enemies), and I wanted to make sure to distinguish and clearly define the way that word is used in the context of the book. Hope that clears it up :)

[@LuminousLibro]

@@SpinstersLibrary Ah, thank you for that explanation! Happy Reading!

[@Ozgipsy]

I scour KZbin for good literary analysis and review. This was solid, the context as an apologia wasn’t required though, it’s one of the two great books of empire. The slavery view is slanted I believe, it lacks cultural context.

[@ManoverSuperman]

I think in criticizing Defoe’s protagonist we need to duly consider whether he is, in of himself, a critique of the self-indulging tendencies of absolutism, a political philosophy far from irrelevant in his time. Notice the key terms Defoe uses in his prose, words like “absolute right”, “dominion” etc. Crusoe could then possibly be seen as not merely a pious Christian with Puritan/Presbyterian leanings, but a subject through which the vanity of divine right and the notion of natural right to power and hierarchy is exposed. Remember that Defoe was a Dissenter who suffered political persecution at the hands of his opponents multiple times throughout his life, and it was those enemies (mostly of the Tory persuasion) who most nearly held to the kind of philosophy that Crusoe eventually comes to embody on the island. But then again, Robinson Crusoe should not be limited to being a mere fictionalized hypothetical response to the contemporary political and social theory of the day. Crusoe himself is a mixed bag, a chimera of different proclivities. This is simply due to his being an actually well-written character in one of the first literary works to be properly designated a novel. So maybe he has the faith of the Puritan with the politics of a Royalist because Defoe had an axe to grind against both in certain aspects. Or Maybe Defoe was simply trying to give the public what it craved. After all, he did live by his pen, though he died in debt, as poor perhaps as Robinson Crusoe on his island when shipwrecked.

[@nowsheen9600]

Can u give your view on the treatment of women in Robinson Crusoe

[@rangergxi]

I'd say that it is wrong to represent Friday as a slave. He's a servant but also a close friend. Pretty much every relationship in the 17th century had to be fitted into some kind of ranking system. The book definitely advocated for colonialism but it also condemned its worst excesses (aggressive mass murder)... aside from slavery of course.

[@mischr13]

settler americans used to say it was ok that they had slaves because they were "nice" to them and treated them like "family". they still OWNED someone who did not have freedom to do whatever they wanted. being someones slave and their friend is not mutually exclusive and it honestly probably does a lot of psychological damage to that person that they feel any positive feelings towards the person that owns their freedom

[@panchitaobrian1660]

I feel bad about people (English speakin people, not Russian like me) who only read Robinson Crusoe when they have to - for their university studies or job project or like that. Guys, it´s kinda too late. It´s like reading comics when you are grown up not when you are 3 year old.... Oh, wait!....

[@ssa6227]

It is the survival part that makes this story so everlasting. I know slavery part is most disturbing for modern people but I think you should judge people in the times they lived. We might be seen as savages by future people. I liked the 1997 Brosnon take where he starts with making him slave but then learns to respect him and apologizes for his behavior. Also in the end it is not Robinson but Friday who saves Robinson. So they reversed the white savior angle. My be in the future it will be woman may be lesbian or something who knows. But story will go on.

[@nowsheen9600]

Can u plz give your opinion on the treatment of women in Robinson Crusoe? I m bit confused.

[@brileyvandyke5792]

Why can’t we just read old literature with an understanding that people thought differently then than from today? Who knows? posterity will look at 21st century literature as “problematic “ and ridiculous because of our politics. It’s unfair to expect anyone in the 18th century to anticipate political understanding of the 21st. Just enjoy the story, be calm and carry on!

[@SpinstersLibrary]

You seem to have problems understanding nuance, so I won't trouble you by repeating what I already said in the video. But it's so funny you're telling a historian that people in the past thought differently. I know mate. That doesn't change the capability of readers of today to look at works of the past through the lens of contemporary thought and discuss them as such, even within historical context.

[@brileyvandyke5792]

There you go again, being judgmental and insulting others opinions. You don’t seem to understand the nuances of grace, and I shan’t trouble you the lesson.

[@TheJellicle1]

Side note - my cats found this video fascinating :D

[@SpinstersLibrary]

Aww, maybe they're interested in 18th century classics? :P

[@mikekrazoun289]

interesting !

[@vincentandlolav5183]

Oh joy, a woke review of an early 18th century novel. Here's a news-flash, darling; all of history is 'problematic'. But doesn't that righteous self-flagellation feel good!

[@SpinstersLibrary]

Sorry, what's woke about this video?

[@contemporaryconundrums93]

We should all live by this book and the Scripture.

[@gunderaodeshmukh9979]

Gud 1 👏

[@panchitaobrian1660]

oh wow. Young Brits cannot even read their own classic literature. They have to listen to audio books :)