Daniel Defoe's acclaimed novel, Robinson Crusoe, is not only a great adventurous novel, but an amazing reflection of Defoe's moral beliefs, personal experiences, and political battles with the English monarchy. Throughout the course of this novel, references to defoe's own experiences come up again and again. In addition to these numerous references, the general story line of Robinson Crusoe tells a similar story to that of Defoe's actual life; slightly reminiscent of the prodigal son theme.
             Daniel Defoe used realism to enhance his novel. While many critics agree with this statement, some think that he should have been more accurate with his realism. Critics also found the book to be very enlightening and beneficial to read and they found that it appealed to a very wide variety of people including the rich and poor, and the young and old. Last but not least, some critics found that it showed lack of ability to create characters and events.
             Daniel Defoe was born to James and Mary Defoe in St. Gates, London in 1660. His family were all Dissenters, also known as Presbyterians. He had a very good education and his father hoped that he would become a minister, but he chose to become a merchant after he graduated from his schooling. Defoe's mother died when he was just ten years old, then his father sent him to a boarding school (Moore 1). He was then educated at the Morton Academy,a school fo dissenters(Harvey 215) ,where "he was a very good student, and his teacher, the Reverend Me. Norton himself, would later show up as a character in some of Daniel's fiction."(www.pinkmonkey.com) One year later he married Mary Tuffley, daughter of another dissenter, and also became involved in the Duke of Monmouth 's rebellion, which was attempting to take the throne from James II". The rebellion ended up a failure and as a result three of Defoes former schoolmates were caught and hanged, but Defoe narrowly...