Foe and Robinson Crusoe
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Basically an extension of Daniel DefoeÆs Robinson Crusoe, J. M. CoetzeeÆs Foe recounts the story of Susan BartonÆs experiences on a deserted island with Cruso and Friday and her attempt to get Foe to write an account of these experiences. In CoetzeeÆs story we see a transformation of colonialism and its ideology in Defoe into one of existential meaninglessness in Foe. In Robinson Crusoe, the tale of the shipwrecked Crusoe and his eventual self-sufficiency and relationship with the savage Friday, we see the typical elements of European colonialism and ethnocentrism. In Foe, we see that disenfranchised groups, like women and blacks, are provided a voice that is denied them in Robinson CrusoeÆs ethnocentric perspective. Nevertheless, with no overriding ideology or ethnocentric view, CoetzeeÆs novel shows the transition from realism to postmodernism in its portrayal of both the uncivilized and civilized world as lacking in meaning. As such, we see that the prevailing belief that drove colonialism in DefoeÆs era, that white, Christian, civilized society was superior to black, indigenous and uncivilized society, is rendered neutral in CoetzeeÆs existential world where neither society offers man much meaning. The historical practice of colonialism was driven by an ideology of superiority, fostered by a belief that English (i.e. white and civilized) society and its culture and religious beliefs were superior to those of uncivilized in
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alities that it has in DefoeÆs novel. In CoetzeeÆs work the wasteland remains a wasteland and cannot become the locus for some mythic transfiguration.ö
The black-and-white environment of Robinson Crusoe becomes blurred in the world closer to modern sensibilities portrayed by Coetzee in Foe. In Robinson Crusoe, Crusoe maintains that ôGod was every where, and was able to protect me,ö (Defoe, p. 129). It is this belief in manifest destiny or superiority of values that led to many of the atrocities committed in the name of colonialism. However, in Foe we see that the world created by Coetzee is not one with readily visible black and white distinctions. There are no characters who feel superior in this novel, only those who understand that the distinctions between individuals and concepts are often blurred by perspective, experience, and culture. For instance, we see that in Robinson Crusoe there is little doubt that the author views Friday as being saved by the superior forces of civilization. In Foe, however, we see that the distinctions of civilized and uncivilized are not so readily made or even, perhaps, possible to make in relation to human limitations to make such distinctions. For example, Susan has a difficult time w
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Approximate Word count = 2537
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page)
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