Robinson Crusoe

In Robinson Crusoe, the sea is a driving force that subjects men, beasts, and land to its storms, current and ebbs, and to a point represents God in the novel. Crusoe first goes to sea unconcerned about thoughts of God, yet after his hardships he returns home a man of Christian ways, albeit with some doubts. According to Crusoe’s logic, God’s providence works just as the sea will toss a ship, killing all passengers, with indifference. On the island, as Crusoe trusts more in providence, the island symbolizes God’s refuge. Just as Crusoe was cast away, lost at sea, he had previously led a wicked life, by his own account. When encountering his first storm on his virgin voyage, Crusoe prays to God to spare his life, so Crusoe may “[l]ike a true repenting Prodigal, go home to my father” (5). Defoe links, through the story’s structure, Crusoe’s experiences at sea to Crusoe’s thoughts of God.

Twelve days after his arrival on the uninhabited island, Crusoe sets a cross on the shore, marking the day he arrived: “30th of Sept. 1659. Upon the sides of this square post, I cut every day a notch with my knife, and every seventh notch was as long as the rest” (46).