Slavery
is a common theme in . Crusoe himself becomes a slave owner, owning a sugar
plantation in Brazil which relies on slave labor for its cultivation. Earlier in the story,
Crusoe's ship is attacked by Moorish pirates. Crusoe is captured and made a slave by the pirate
captain. He's not exactly thrilled at the prospect. After all, he must have some idea as to how
degrading and miserable the life of a slave can be. But then Crusoe is treated quite well by his
captors, performing mainly light duties aboard ship. He certainly isn't forced to experience the
kind of back-breaking toil of a slave in a sugar plantation.
Yet Crusoe still
yearns to be free. As a white European, he probably feels that slavery is something that should
only happen to the so-called lesser races. It's shameful and undignified for a member of a
privileged race to be reduced to the status of a slave. In order to regain that privileged
status, then, it's necessary for Crusoe to escape. After two years of servitude, that is
precisely what he does with the help of Xury, a young boy. Once they are rescued, Crusoe
actually sells Xury as a slave to a Portuguese captain, who helps him to purchase a sugar
plantation in Brazil. Whatever Crusoe may have felt about his own captivity, it's patently
obvious that he has no moral qualms about the institution of slavery
itself.
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