General Comments

I just have general unrelated comments on the book. My first comment is really about something that probably only I'll find interesting, but I thought I'd mention it anyway. I actually really enjoyed that Robinson Crusoe's Birthdays, viz. (I'm not sure if I'm using it correctly but I've read it so many times, it's constantly popping up in my head) the day he was born and the day he was saved from the shipwreck and lands on the deserted island happens to both occur on September 30th. I don't find it interesting only because of the "Days as Fatal or Fortunate" factor but because it happens to be my birthday as well. My birthday generally is so uninteresting I have a tendency to milk out whatever interesting happened on that day, even if it is fictional (after all Defoe did choice September 30th from all other days).
I was also reflecting about the importance of Crusoe's religious rebirth in relation to this being one of the first English novels. I personally find the religious parts of the book to be the most boring and annoying; the parts I could do without. That got me to thinking that perhaps those parts contributed to the success of Robinson Crusoe as a first novel. After all during that time, people only read serious writings, and true stories, therefore if people were going to read a fictional account there must be something worthwhile for the reader. Therefore, Crusoe may have been able to pass as a more exciting way to teach people important religious lessons. Obviously stuffy aristocrats would probably look down upon the trivialization of religious teachings, but I think the middle class, which Crusoe was meant for, would enjoy it.
Another thing that bothered me about the book is that Crusoe never attempted to figure out Friday's real name, but just decided to name him himself. I guess that provides more insight to how the Westerners considered the natives viz. (I can't stop!) their lifestyle is so inferior it's worthless in comparison. There's contrasting views to the way Crusoe considers the natives, at the one hand he acknowledges that their human and that he shouldn't kill them without just cause. And then on the other hand, when they threaten a fellow white Christian, the all deserve to die. Plus, when he decides to make a native a companion he doesn't even bother to find out what his name is, and one of the first words he teaches him is 'master.' I'm not sure why the fact that Crusoe instantly named him Friday without any consideration to whether the native had his own name bothers me so much, but it does.