ROBINSON CRUSOE

Crusoe had to live a life already arranged for him by his father and by the constraints of the English society. In order to escape from them, he travelled and travelled until one day he found himself on an island after a shipwreck. When he had to face with his new reality, he prioritized his sense of individuality over his family. He became than, what he ever asked for (an individual life, based on his principles): he was self-sufficient and learnt how to survive. Robinson stated that he could be a better person because this kind of experience could bring Crusoe closer to God, given that he couldn’t commit sin: being alone made him detached from lust or pride. When he returned to England, he noticed immediately the struggles he had to withstand because of money.

Nonetheless there are some problems with Robinson's valuing of individuality over society: he wanted freedom for himself but he didn’t care for others’ freedom (in fact, there was no problem for him to sell Xury, and Friday was treated as an inferior servant).

He felt loneliness when he was in Brazil and was totally alone when he was on the island. He had animals as his companions but he felt the necessity of human companionship. In the end Robison came back to England and turned his haven of individualism into a society.

Society may curb the individual independence, but it offers a precious companionship.