LITR / CRCL 5734: Colonial & Postcolonial Literature

Student Text-Dialogue Presentation 2008

Thursday, 24 April: Lucy (through 164; complete)

·        Dialogue between Robinson Crusoe & Lucy:

leader: Karen Daniel

In her 2001 discussion, Kasi Hlavaty asserts that “Of course the roles of dominants and subordinates seems also to be expressed, especially in colonial literature, in the parent/child relationship.” 

Both protagonists in our novels refuse to conform to the rules of the society they inhabit, leaving home despite the objections of their parents.  Crusoe is primarily going against the wishes of his father who predicts his doom and unhappiness if he insists on going to sea.  Lucy, on the other hand, is rebelling against the society in which she grew up, and seems to use her mother as a symbol of all about it that she abhors; therefore, her mother’s objections mean nothing to her. 

Both narratives contain themes of oppression and rebellion; however, the respective functions of the protagonists after they resettle are different.  While their tales of leaving home are similar, they roles they subsequently assume are not.

Crusoe himself becomes an oppressor, specifically of Friday:

          Page 163 “and first, I made him know his name should be Friday, which was the day I sav’d his life; I call’d him so for the memory of the time; I likewise taught him to say Master, and then let him know that was to be my name.”

Conversely, Lucy is oppressed once again, this time by Mariah. Though she runs away, leaving her mother behind, she ends up finding a surrogate to fill the role, and forms the same love/hate relationship with her that she had previously held with her mother:  

Page 58 “the times that I loved Mariah it was because she reminded me other mother.  The times that I didn’t love Mariah it was because she reminded me of my mother.”

Question 1:   Friday remains silent in relation to being controlled, seeming to almost relish his role, while Lucy is vocal and rebellious about her situation.  Do you think this is a result of the post-colonial period which allows the “other” to find a voice?

Question 2: Both Crusoe and Mariah seem oblivious to their roles as oppressors.  They both feel that they are acting in the best interests of Friday and Lucy.  Do you think they metaphorically represent the ignorance of colonizers and Imperialist nations in thinking that it is ok to oppress someone if it is for their own good?