The Protestant work ethic in Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe
The Protestant work ethic in Daniel Defoe's “Robinson Crusoe”
Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe has become the classic adventure story for children. But closer reading of the original text reveals a novel of enormous significance. It is much more than an adventure tale. Robinson Crusoe represents the heroism of the character through protestant work ethic ( puritan work ethic ) and salvation from hardship through God and religion. The main focus of Robinson Crusoe’s existence is work. Throughout the whole adventure he is divided between adventuring and creating , between the impulse to make profits and the impulse to make a life.
As I said Defoe makes clear that a man's power over himself and nature depends upon ceaseless labor. But in order to fulfil his task he needs conditions to do so. That’s why one of Crusoe’s first goals is to become the master of the island.
In the beginning of the novel he achieves some success in mastering his situation, overcoming handicaps and controlling the environment. He is shipwrecked on a deserted island and he makes it his own home. Without having any tools he constructs a shovel, a table, and a chair. All these things made with hard working prevent him from being a savage. One of his major concerns after being shipwrecked is his food. He is worried about not having anything to eat “anything to eat or drink to comfort me.” He soon supplies himself with food. And every next step of acquiring new type of food is his next step to mastery on the island. He tames goats, cultivates raisins, corn, rise. Thus he integrates the island into his life. He even tames a wild parrot and becomes a master of his own faith and life. Crusoe bilds himself a home which is another tough task for him but he finds prosperity. This is related to Max Weber’s work The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism: work hard and God will reward you. And this is what he does. He works constantly whatever it is. He creates a whole new world and despite being out of the society he remains social figure. In his attempt to master the island he even teaches his companion Friday that his name is “master” and after that he teaches him to say “yes” and “no”. The character’s daily tasks include even marking the passing days on the island. For this purpose he creates a makeshift calendar and on it he marks not the passing of the days, but the days he has spent on the island. This is a kind of calendar in which the basic figure is he. Similarly, Crusoe keeps a journal in order to record all his daily activities whatever they are, sometimes even nothing more than gathering a few pieces of wood. But this calendar keeps him aware. Thus he will never loose count of time and notion about the things he does.
