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Concetti Chiave

  • The term "Utopia" originates from Greek, meaning "no place", and was first coined by Thomas More to describe an ideal society.
  • Literature has depicted Utopian concepts through works like Plato's Republic, Bacon's New Atlantis, and Campanella's City of Sun.
  • In Robinson Crusoe, the protagonist's struggle and adaptation reflect bourgeois values, transforming isolation into a self-made utopia.
  • The novel's narrative shifts to a utopian vision when Crusoe attempts to impose Western values on Friday, mirroring colonial attitudes.
  • Critics, including James Joyce, have labeled the novel as utilitarian, though it also portrays Friday as a sympathetic and intelligent character.

Indice

  1. Origini del termine utopia
  2. Utopia nella tradizione mitologica
  3. Robinson Crusoe e l'utopia
  4. Critiche e interpretazioni di Robinson Crusoe

Origini del termine utopia

The etymology of this word has its roots in ancient Greek: οὐ ("not") and τόπος ("place") that means "no place". This term was coined by Thomas More, it’s an imaginary island described in his Utopia (1516) as enjoying perfection in law, politics.

There's a pun, probably on purpose, with the English homophone word "eutopia", place of ideal welfare, because they are pronounced the same way.

Utopia nella tradizione mitologica

The concept of Utopia took place in mythological tradition: the Greek poet Hesiod, around the 8th century BC, in his poem “Works and Days”, explained that prior to the present era there were four age of humankind.

The first recorded Utopian proposal is Plato's Republic and we find several examples in literature of all time of Utopia, to the New Atlantis by Francis Bacon and The City of Sun by Tommaso Campanella from 1984 by George Orwell and Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury.

Robinson Crusoe e l'utopia

At first, Crusoe complains about his loneliness but, reflecting the bourgeois value of resourcefulness he begins to build a shelter and all manner of furniture. Exactly halfway through the novel, Crusoe finds a footprint that scares him. It's realize someone's living in the island. He sees a tribal party of so-called "savages". They pratice cannibalism and Crusoe saves one of their victims, which he names Friday (it happened on Friday).

When Robinson takes with him Friday, the novel becomes utopian. The protagonist tries to recreate the social hierarchy of his country on the island, subduing the black youth and implicitly recognizing the superiority of the whites. The English man soon teaches the customs and habits of the British bourgeoisie to the indigenous. Friday becomes a slave converted to Christianity and learns English, his aboriginal name is replaced with a day of the week.

Utopia is realized in the attempt of Robison to impose on a native the western lifestyle, disregarding its origins and its nature. Crusoe from shipwrecked becomes the island's owner and the novel celebrates the values of the puritan mercantile bourgeoisie.

Critiche e interpretazioni di Robinson Crusoe

Robinson's behavior seems despotic towards the slave and for this reason many scholars have criticized the work. James Joyce despises the novel considering it the manifesto of utilitarianism.

Actually Defoe doesn’t write a novel to glorify individualism and from the novel emerges a sympathy towards Friday, considered very intelligent and more sensitive than Robinson. Friday inspires also Rosseau in the myth of "Noble Savage".

Domande da interrogazione

  1. ¿Cuál es el origen etimológico de la palabra "Utopía"?
  2. La palabra "Utopía" tiene sus raíces en el griego antiguo: οὐ ("no") y τόπος ("lugar"), lo que significa "ningún lugar". Este término fue acuñado por Thomas More.

  3. ¿Cómo se manifiesta la utopía en "Robinson Crusoe"?
  4. En "Robinson Crusoe", la utopía se manifiesta cuando el protagonista intenta recrear la jerarquía social de su país en la isla, imponiendo el estilo de vida occidental a un nativo, Friday, y celebrando los valores de la burguesía puritana mercantil.

  5. ¿Qué crítica se hace al comportamiento de Robinson hacia Friday?
  6. El comportamiento de Robinson hacia Friday es considerado despótico, ya que lo subyuga y lo convierte en un esclavo, lo que ha llevado a muchos estudiosos a criticar la obra por su representación del utilitarismo.

  7. ¿Qué perspectiva ofrece Defoe sobre el personaje de Friday?
  8. Defoe muestra simpatía hacia Friday, considerándolo muy inteligente y más sensible que Robinson, lo que inspira a Rosseau en el mito del "Buen Salvaje".

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