Comparative Analysis of Daniel Defoe’s ‘Robinson Crusoe’ and J. M. Coetzee’s ‘Foe’

Comparative and critical analysis of Daniel Defoe’s ‘Robinson Crusoe’ and J. M. Coetzee’s ‘Foe’

This blog is the part of Thinking activity task of unit-2 Foe by J.M. Coetzee of Paper no. 203 The Postcolonial Studies. Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe and J.M. Coetzee's Foe are two novels that, while separated by centuries, share a common ideas the exploration of human existence on a deserted island.

However, the two novels offer different interpretations of this solitary experience. Defoe's work is a classic tale of survival, self-sufficiency, and the triumph of the individual, while Coetzee's is a postmodern deconstruction of the colonial narrative, questioning the very nature of storytelling and the representation of the Other.

The Island as a Metaphor : 

In both novels, the island serves as a microcosm of the world, a space where the characters can be isolated from society and forced to confront their own mortality and humanity. However, the way in which the island is perceived and utilized differs significantly.

Defoe's Island:

• A blank slate, a space to be conquered and cultivated. The very idea of imperialism is associated with it. 
• A symbol of the New World, a frontier to be explored and exploited. Crusoe  was well-educated (civilized), in command of knowledge and skill, and created a miracle on the desert island.
• A place where Robinson can impose his will and create a society in his own image. Robinson’s colonization and civilization of the isolated island, the wild animals and the “barbarous” people. And the process and ways of colonization were described in great detail to instruct the English people to go abroad to conquer and rule the world.

Coetzee's Island:

• A liminal space, a place of uncertainty and ambiguity.
• A site of trauma and suffering, both physical and psychological.Coetzee disclosed the fact that being alone too long on the desert island, Cruso became old on his island kingdom.
• A space where the past and the present intertwine, and where the boundaries between fiction and reality blur.

“He put some few white petals and buds from the brambles that were at the time flowering on parts of the island in a little bag to make an offering to the god of the waves to cause the fish to run plentifully, or performing some other such superstitious observance” - Susan Barton 

The Protagonist: A Study in Contrasts : 


Robinson Crusoe:

Benedict Anderson (1991) defined nation as:

" It is an imagined political community—and imagined as both inherently limited and sovereign. It is imagined because the members of even the smallest nation will never know most of their fellow-members, meet them, or even hear of them, yet in the minds of each lives the image of their communion."

Daniel Defoe contributed to form the national imagination of the English people, and constructed “Englishness” He was  resourceful and determined individual who uses his intelligence and skills to survive. He was symbol of European colonialism and the Enlightenment project, a figure who embodies the ideals of self-reliance and individualism. The character Robinson in Robinson Crusoe speaks English, the language spoken and read by the English people. Robinson colonized Friday with language. “Robinson disdained to ask Friday about his native language, but named him “Friday". 

Cruso (in Foe):

In the Foe Cruso is more complex and ambiguous character.He is the figure of decline and decay, haunted by the past.He represent  limitations of individual agency and the power of external forces. J. M. Coetzee depicted Cruso as foolish, superstitious, uncertain, pessimistic, to deconstruct the Euro-centrism represented by Robinson. Cruso is inconsistent, uncertain, self-contradictory and self-undermining in his words. 

“The stories he told Susan were so various, and so hard to reconcile one with another, that Susan was more and more driven to conclude age and isolation had taken their toll on his memory, and he no longer knew for sure what was truth, what fancy”

The Role of the Other: Friday and His Counterpart

Friday (in Robinson Crusoe):

Robinson tamed Friday with force. He used his gun to kill a goat.  Friday is passive and grateful recipient of European civilization.A symbol of the colonized subject, easily assimilated into the dominant culture.

“Friday began to talk very well, and understand the names of almost everything I had occasion to call for, and of every place I had sent him to, and talked a great deal to me” 

Robinson negated Friday’s religion and thus erased his cultural identity. Robinson civilized Friday in lifestyle. He converted Friday from Cannibalism and changed his eating habits. He taught Friday to eat bread and drink milk, and the cannibal Friday

Friday (in Foe):

In the Foe Friday is silenced and marginalized figure, stripped of his voice and identity. By switching Friday from a Caribbean boy in Robinson Crusoe to a Negro in Foe, and depicting him as a black slave whose tongue has been cut by the slave-traders or his master Cruso, Coetzee reminded the Africans of their history. Friday a  representation of the trauma and violence of colonialism. He challenges to the traditional narrative of the noble savage.

Analysis of Colonial Connotations : 

• The Myth of the Noble Savage:

The "Noble Savage" is a romanticized idea of indigenous peoples as inherently good, innocent, and living in harmony with nature.This myth was often used to justify colonial expansion, as it suggested that Europeans had a moral duty to civilize and Christianize these "primitive" peoples. While Crusoe initially portrays Friday as a noble savage, he quickly begins to "civilize" him, teaching him English, Christianity, and European customs. This process of assimilation reinforces the idea that European culture is superior and that indigenous cultures are in need of improvement.

Coetzee subverts this myth by presenting Friday as a victim of colonial violence and exploitation. His tongue is cut out, silencing his voice and denying him agency. This challenges the notion that indigenous peoples are passive or grateful for colonial intervention.

• The Economic Exploitation of the Colony: 
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Colonialism was driven by economic motives, and the exploitation of resources and labor was a central aspect of this process.Crusoe establishes a plantation on the island, cultivating crops and raising livestock. He also engages in trade with passing ships, demonstrating the economic potential of colonial ventures.Coetzee's novel highlights the darker side of colonialism, exposing the violence and exploitation that often accompanied it. The island becomes a site of both physical and psychological trauma, as the characters struggle to survive in a harsh and unforgiving environment.

• The Role of Religion: 

Religion played a significant role in justifying colonial expansion and shaping the relationship between colonizers and colonized. Crusoe uses his Christian faith to justify his actions, believing that he is carrying out God's will. He sees himself as a missionary, bringing the light of Christianity to the "heathen" natives. Coetzee's novel questions the role of religion in colonialism. The characters' religious beliefs are often ambiguous and contradictory, reflecting the complex and often contradictory nature of faith.

Expanding on the Postcolonial Critique

#Coetzee's Deconstruction of the Colonial Myth: 

J.M. Coetzee's Foe offers a powerful critique of the colonial myth perpetuated by Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe. By deconstructing the traditional narrative, Coetzee exposes the violence, exploitation, and silencing of indigenous voices that often underpinned colonial encounters.

#The Silencing of the Colonized Voice: 

One of the most striking aspects of Foe is the silencing of the colonized voice. Friday, the indigenous character, is depicted as a victim of colonial violence, his tongue cut out, rendering him unable to speak. This physical silencing mirrors the broader silencing of indigenous cultures and histories under colonial rule. Coetzee's novel highlights the power of language to both empower and oppress, and how the denial of language can be a form of cultural genocide.

#The Ambiguity of the Authorial Voice: 

In Foe, Coetzee challenges the traditional notion of the author as an omniscient and authoritative figure. The novel blurs the lines between fiction and reality, raising questions about the reliability of the narrator and the truth of the story being told. Susan Barton, the narrator, is herself a complex and unreliable figure, whose account of events is often contradictory and self-contradictory. This ambiguity reflects the uncertainty and fragmentation of the colonial experience, as well as the difficulty of recovering a truthful history.

Both Robinson Crusoe and Foe explore themes of isolation, survival, and the human condition. While Defoe's novel romanticizes the colonial experience, Coetzee's deconstructs it, exposing the violence, exploitation, and silencing of indigenous voices.

Thank You.

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References : 

GRIN - Daniel Defoe’s “Robinson Crusoe” and J.M. Coetzee’s “Foe”: Characters in Comparison. www.grin.com/document/21433.

GRIN - Daniel Defoe’s “Robinson Crusoe” and J.M. Coetzee’s “Foe”: Colonial Imagination and Its Postcolonial Deconstruction. www.grin.com/document/120711.

Han, Wenju. “Construction and Deconstruction of Imagined Community—A Comparative Study of Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe and J. M. Coetzee’s Foe in Light of Nationalism.” Journal of Language Teaching and Research, vol. 8, no. 6, Nov. 2017, p. 1141. https://doi.org/10.17507/jltr.0806.15.