Character of Robinson Crusoe

Robinson Crusoe is a restless wanderer. He is a portrait of Defoe  himself. The novel is popular because of Robinson. He is a rich and complex character. He suffers from sea fever. We find the spirit of his wandering inclination in the following line.

                   

                                       All these miscarriages were procured by my apparent obstinate                                                    adhering to my foolish inclination of wandering abroad.

            
        His wandering thirst is not quenched even at the fag end of his life inspite of the horrifying dangers on the sea and the loneliness of the island.

             Robinson expresses feeling of guilt and repentance for his wrong resolutions.

                     

                                     "I resolved not to think of going abroad anymore but to settle 

                                     at home according to my father's desire. But Alas! a few dats  

                                     wore it off "

            He is a blend of spiritualism and materialism. On the one hand he prays to God and reads Bible and on the other hand he wishes for money. He become religious only in his later life.

           

           The novel is full of his money- matters, and his worldliness. While sailing for Guinea for the first time, he collects 40 pounds from his relatives and earn 260 pounds in Brazil. He wants to become a planter because he has seen planters flourishing . When he sees cannibals enjoying a feast in human flesh, he wants to kill them. Therefore he is a partisan. He is a coward. He feels frightened to death during ship wreaks and storms. One of his chief virtues is his ingenuity.

Loneliness on the solitary island causes tears in his eyes. He knows that he is in the hands of cruel forces of nature. Robinson is an expert planner of strategy. He shows his ingenuity in planning release from slavery in Salley. He is able to protect and preserve himself because he doesn't loose the presence of his mind. It is evident in the encounter with the cannibals. He is religious too. When he is imprisoned in the lonely island for 28 years, he turns religious. He thanks God for saving his life. He reads the Bible regularly. He makes Friday religious. Robinson is generous. He helps the poor widow and gives her 100 pounds. He sends her one hundred pounds to comfort her in her poverty and promises to give her more. He helps his two sisters by sending them 100 pounds each. He praises his partner for his industry and helps him. He returns 872 moidores to be distributed among the poor and the monastery. His besetting sin is only a flaw. His sin us that he robbed his parents of their deep love.