Chapter 28

In this chapter, Ian Watt's views on the novel Robinson Crusoe being classified as a myth are discussed. Watt begins his excerpt by describing the the three great myths of our civilization; Faust, Don Juan, and Don Quixote. All three of these myths exhibit a single-minded pursuit by a character including one of the characteristic aspirations of Western man. Faust, the single-minded pursuit of knowledge, Don Juan the single-minded pursuit of women and Don Quixote, the single-minded pursuit of chivalric ideal. Watt believes Robinson Crusoe can easily be compared to all three of these as his story is also based on the single-minded pursuit of something, in his case, the pursuit of achievement and enterprise. According to Watt, Robinson Crusoe, deals with three important themes found in modern civilization; back to nature, the dignity of labor, and the pursuit of economic gain. Not only do Crusoe's adventures reflect all three of these, but they also teach reader's to accept these values. In most cases, the readers tends to become one with the characters they see in movies or read about in books, therefore readers naturally accept the values put forth in Robinson Crusoe. Watt also points out an interesting assertion he made. "It is not an author, but a society that metamorphoses a story into a myth". He believes it is the public who has turned Robinson Crusoe into a myth, as it reflects the public's deeply held but unconscious beliefs and values. Writers often times have a good idea of what they are writing about, but they cannot perceive how the public will respond to it.