This paper is an attempt to examine the seeming opposition of religion vs. self-interest with respect to the character of Robinson Crusoe. I will venture to demonstrate that in the novel, Defoe illustrates the contradictions with which Crusoe must contend as he strives to please God while ensuring his own survival in the world. In part, I will endeavor to show that a distorted sense of Puritanism as well as the existing colonial mindset exacerbated this opposition, and resulted in what I propose to be Defoe's (possibly retroactive) imposition of a religious justification for Crusoe's actions.

Crusoe's journey in the canoe exemplifies the reality of his life in that, although he longs to please and obey God, he must also contend with his instincts for self-preservation, looking to himself as his own savior. When Crusoe finally reaches land after a tumultuous experience at sea in his canoe, he...