By Nicolás Ordax
Robinson Crusoe is a classic adventure story written by Daniel Defoe, which we read in the first term of this school year.
Robinson Crusoe is a half-German British man, born in Cork, where his father is a well settled man. Ever since he was a boy, he had wanted to go to sea and lead an adventurous life, but his father wants him to be merchant like him. So, disobeying his orders, Robinson goes to London by sea with a friend. After a stormy day, he feels bad and wants to go ashore, but once in London he boards a ship to Africa. There, some Turkish pirates make him prisoner, but he escapes and gets rescued by a Portuguese ship, which takes him to Brazil. In Brazil, he uses his money to buy a sugar plantation, but one day he decides to go back home, so he embarks on a ship and goes to sea. Unfortunately, the ship sinks and he finds himself alone on dry land. He is on an island. The first days are bad, but he manages to get some food and tools from the ship. Once he has these, he builds a fortress with a big fence. After that, he decides to have a look around the island and explore it. He finds some goats, among other things. He makes tools, sows corn and even makes bread; he also makes a canoe. One day, while on the beach, he sees a man’s footprint. He soon discovers who it belongs to. A group of cannibals comes to the island to eat their prisoners. When Robinson sees this he decides to attack them and saves a young man, whom he calls Friday. They also help a Spaniard at one point. Robinson and Friday live together on the island for a few years. One day they see a big ship anchored on the shore and a boat coming to the beach...
I think Robinson Crusoe is an interesting book; it has lots of adventure and is very impressive too. In my opinion, the best part, or at least the one I liked the most, is where he makes tools and other things. It is a book which I recommend to any reader, as I am sure he or she will like it. The only problem is that the beginning is a little bit boring.
