Thinking Activity
Comparative Study of Daniel Dafoe's 'Robinson Crusoe' and J. M. Coetzee's Foe
This blog is written is response to the thinking activity on Comparative study of Daniel Dafoe's 'Robinson Crusoe' and J. M. Coetzee's 'Foe' assigned by Megha ma'am
Introduction:
'Foe' is a novel written by J. M. Coetzee which is a satirical reinvention of Daniel Dafoe's 'Robinson Crusoe'. Before doing the comparative study of both the novels, one point should be noted here is that 'Robinson Crusoe' talks about colonialism whereas 'Foe' is a postcolonial novel. Let's first have a brief introduction of both the novels.
Robinson Crusoe:
"Robinson Crusoe" is a novel written by Daniel Defoe in 1719 - in the early 18th century. The story revolves around the main character, Robinson Crusoe, who embarks on a sea voyage but ends up stranded on a remote, uninhabited island after a shipwreck.
Robinson Crusoe was a man who really wanted to go to the sea, but his parents wanted him to be a lawyer. He ignored their wishes and went on a sea voyage. His first journey was full of disasters, including being captured by pirates. Eventually, he found himself on an island near Venezuela. On this island, he learned to survive by making things and growing food. He met some cannibals but decided not to harm them. Instead, he saved a man named Friday and taught him English and Christianity. Later, some Spaniards arrived on the island, and Crusoe helped them. When a mutiny happened on an English ship, he struck a deal to help the loyal crew take back the ship. After many years on the island, Crusoe finally left and returned to England. His family thought he was dead, and he didn't get any inheritance. He went to Portugal to get his wealth from Brazil, and he and Friday had one last adventure as they fought off hungry wolves in the mountains. In the end, Crusoe's story is about survival, adventure, and learning to live with others from different backgrounds.
Foe:
"Foe" is a novel written in 1984 by J. M. Coetzee, a Nobel Prize-winning author from South Africa. The story is built around the original plot of "Robinson Crusoe." However, "Foe" is told from the perspective of a castaway named Susan Barton, who arrives on the same island where "Cruso" and Friday are already living their adventures. It's similar to "Robinson Crusoe" in that it's a story within a story, with Susan Barton narrating her experiences in England as she tries to get the writer Daniel Foe to help her turn her tale into a popular book. The novel primarily explores themes related to language and power. When it was released, it faced criticism in South Africa for being seen as politically irrelevant. In his Nobel Prize acceptance speech in 2003, Coetzee revisited the themes of "Robinson Crusoe" in his work.
In the novel "Foe" by J. M. Coetzee, a woman named Susan Barton is shipwrecked on an island where she meets a man named Cruso and a guy named Friday. They've been on the island for a while. Cruso has lost his ability to speak, and they live there peacefully. Eventually, they are rescued, but Cruso dies on the way back to England.
Back in England, Susan wants to write about her time on the island, but she struggles to make it interesting. She asks a famous writer, Daniel Foe, for help, but he wants to change her story and make it more about a mother searching for her lost daughter. They also become romantically involved, but Foe is more concerned about his own problems than writing Susan's story. Then, a person shows up, claiming to be Susan's missing daughter, which adds a new twist to the story. So, the book is about Susan's efforts to tell her island adventure, her relationship with Daniel Foe, and the unexpected return of her daughter. It explores themes of storytelling and power.
Comparative Study:
If we are comparing both the works, following differences stands out clearly:
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