During his
many years stranded on a deserted island,develops a faith in a Christian God who spared his life
and watched over him as he sought to survive. However, even before his faith develops, Crusoe
shows his Protestant work ethic in how industriously he exploits the resources he finds on the
island. Early readers would have understood this as living out the Biblicalof the talents, where
God expects us to multiply whatever gifts he gives us. Crusoe also naturally assumes
"dominion" over the island as his rightwhich is part of a theology that God
specifically gave the earth to humans, which Crusoe would have derived, if unconsciously, from
the Biblical book of Genesis.
Crusoe also naturally assumes he is superior,
as a white European, to the dark-skinned natives he encounters. This is a racist theory, which
he compounds by naturally assuming Friday should serve him and learn from him as the superior
person. He never once thinks that he should serve Friday or that he has anything significant to
learn from him.
As for colonialism, the book is virtually a textbook study in
how Europeans exploited "new" lands and native people for their own benefit, assuming
they had a right to the land as their own, especially if it was not cultivated in the European
manner, and assuming they were doing the native people a great benefit by enslaving them and
teaching them European ways. Crusoe simply assumes Friday is a "savage" who must learn
his ways and wait on him as lord and master. He never thinks of the relationship as one between
equals, because he simply can't conceive of native people as equals. He thinks of the island as
"his" as well, and he enjoys imagining himself as its lord.
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