An Analysis of the Adventures of Robinson Crusoe

The Adventures of Robins Crusoe is the most famous novel of Daniel Doe， which portrays Robinsons struggle of survival in the deserted island. During the days of looking for necessity and building up a shelter， Robinson overcame various difficulties—extremely bad environments and inner terror. As far as I am concerned， the novel manifests the theory raised by Freud that personality is composed of three elements including id， ego and superego.

According to Freuds psychoanalytic theory， id is the most primitive of the three structures， is concerned with instant gratification of basic physical needs and urges.  In the novel， id is the major reason to drive Robinsons behavior especially at the first week on the deserted island. When encountering the great storm at the sea， Robinson was trapped in enormous terror of death. Fortunately， he succeeded to swim to the shore. Doe describes the inner activity of Robinson by using such sentences： For sudden joys， like griefs， confound at first. Robinson felt joyful because he just got rid of death， while to his grievance， he was alone on the deserted land. Definitely， id represents the deep and vital desire of Robinson and motivates him to survive.

The ego is the organized part of the personality structure that includes defensive， perceptual， intellectual-cognitive， and executive functions. In the novel， Robinson is described as a brave man with rebellious spirit and intelligence. He is an egoist and a resister to his fate. Before Robinson started his voyage on the sea， his father told him the great danger of sailing. Great passion toward the voyage and exploration encourages him to overcome the fear and becomes a significant part of his personality. At the same time， Freud concedes that as the ego attempts to mediate between id and reality， it is often obliged to cloak the commands of the id with its own preconscious rationalizations， to conceal the ids conflicts with reality. This point also manifests itself in the plot of novel. Faced with the lack of food and habitation， Robinson suffered from the horror and worries almost every second， meanwhile， he also needed to stay optimistic. Such kind of struggle is more vividly described in detail in the novel. Besides， Robinson listed all the difficulties and good things that he was facing， which played an important role to stay optimistic： I am cast upon a horrible， desolate island， void of all hope of recovery. But I am alive; and not drowned， as all my ships company were. This is the apparent feature that he took advantages of his ego to face the music and preserve the hope inside.

Super-ego reflects the internalization of cultural rules， mainly taught by parents applying their guidance and influence. Furthermore， the manifestation in the novel is what Robinson received in his school years and his religious belief and moral standards rooted in his heart. The obvious manifestation is that Robinson saved Fridays life. When Robinson was threatened by savages but he was still willing to help the poor Friday flee away. It was his kindness and moral standard that encouraged him to giving his hand to others who may become a hidden threat. Such kind of superego acts in a social manner even against the id. Suppose that Robinson didnt rescue Friday， he would get found by others one day and also save a quite amount of necessity without any worries of being attacked by him. Such behavior is totally following the principle of id， which is almost out of personal basic need. However， Robinson gave up such kind of selfish idea and behaved as a gentleman who is very compassionate. Super-ego can defeat the impulsion of id， and polish the personality. On the other hand， religious belief is another crucial part of Robinsons super-ego. Such kind of religious belief guides him to fight against the defect of himself. Id and superego always contrast to each other. Ego mediates the conflict and keeps balance between Id and superego. The confrontation between Id and superego almost exists in Robinsons heart all the time. When Robinson became badly sick and out of the hope to survive， he considered his poor conditions is Gods verdict to him. Because of his desperate for living driven by Id， Robinson was reluctant to accept the death penalty from God. However， his devout religious belief which can be considered as the superego forced him to confess his past ignorance of Gods power. It is his ego that mediated the contradictory between primitive desire and strict religious belief. Robinsons ego is more compliant and full of self-restraint.

To conclude， Robinson Crusoe is a vivid character which is successfully created by Doe， and Doe portrays all the aspects of his personalities by lots of description of his mental activities. Therefore， the eagerness of id， his brave intelligent ego and the superego of moral standards make Robinson tangible in this novel.

【作者簡介】於欣，河北大学。