Robinson Crusoe: The Power of Gratitude

This book is a great relief. I'm so grateful that I have to read this book this month, when I feel a bit depressed by so many tasks that seem endless. Moreover, I read and watch books and films that give the idea how “weary, stale, flat and unprofitable seem to me all the uses of this world.” Well, yes, Hamlet is one of them. And then, there's Lupin. And also Euripides' The Trojan Women. Those books make me gloomy and sad, and give my heart so much pain just by thinking about them. Hamlet more than the others. That's why I'm so happy to read how cheerful Robinson Crusoe is. The book kindles again in me the idea of goodness in men and the grace and mercy of God, instead of despair and hatred.

Robinson Crusoe is the name of the main character in the story. When he was young, he was hungry for adventures and despite his father's advice, he set out for the sea. But he was not destined to be a sailor. He went from bad to worse every time he sailed to sea. Once, he set himself in Brazil, and owned a plantation. But the adventurous soul still rages inside him that he set out again to the sea, and this time, the sea was not so merciful to him.

He was shipwrecked and landed in an uninhabited island. There he had to strive to live. But for me personally, it's the best adventure that he had in all his life. He hunted, tamed goats, sew, made candles, canoes, and potteries. He even became a farmer, and learned all trades he needed to stay alive and make the best of his condition. But the most important thing is, in that island, he learned to be content with what he had and not to overly focus on his miserable condition. Instead, he learned to be grateful for what he had and to get closer to God. Reading about his thoughts and anxieties during his life on the island brings me into deep contemplation. His life there makes me think about the things most important in my life.

After his solitary life, he found out that the island is frequently visited by savages, who used it as a ceremony place of some kind, where they would take their prisoners and eat them up there. Euh. It made Crusoe so frightened, but in time, he could get one of their prisoners to his side. His name was Friday. This man later became his most trustworthy servant and friend, most loyal and faithful to him. Not long after he saved two other prisoners, a Spanish and another native. Then more came. This time some Englishmen who at last brought him back to his homeland – not without much trouble.

At last, quoting the book, “I might well say now, indeed, that the latter end of Job better than the beginning.” Crusoe found out that his friends and business partners had been loyal and honest to him. He ended up being rich and happy, grateful with all that he had – except perhaps still a thirst for adventures somewhere in the corner of his heart.

This book is a lesson of gratitude, of contentment, and of positive thinking. This book shows us what we really need compared to what we think we need, what really precious compared to what people think precious. The book also teaches us to believe in people, to believe that even the most strange people and different from us are the same deep inside. That people keep goodness inside them. I love it.

I will put and analyse some quotes from the book in later weeks. The book is most incredible in its imagination, its thrill and excitement, and its moral lesson. Again, I'm so happy to finish the book. It will stand high in my regards, always.