the mental condition of Crusoe

What was the mental condition of Crusoe at his discovery of cannibals and the shore spread with human skulls and bones?

 

Ans. One day when exploring the island Robinson Crusoe came across a sight that left him aghast. He found a portion of the shore littered with human skulls and bones as well as the remains of fire. He found a place where fire had been made and a circle dug in the earth where the cannibals sat round to feast upon the flesh of human being. Now the mystery of the foot-print became clear to Crusoe. He learnt by guessing that there were savage cannibals living in some other island nearby. From there they would come now and then to that side of Crusoe's island with some prisoners to feast upon their flesh.

 

One day, he was stunned to see a fire on his side of the island. He saw from a look-out two canoes coming to the shore and a group of cannibals landing the shore. Crusoe did not dare approach them. When the tide returned, they left with their canoes. Crusoe was horrified at the sight of savages. He wanted to destroy the savages when they would return.

 

When Crusoe reached his habitation, he thanked God for casting him on the side of the island where such inhuman spectacles were not seen. He felt blessed by God that the cannibals did never visit his side of the island. He resolved to remain concealed himself in his castle. He kept himself hidden in his circle for two years. He no longer went to his boat lest he should fall in the hands of the savages. He no longer fired his gun lest any of the cannibals should hear it at the shore. He became more and more cautious about his life. He used to walk about with a gun in his hand, a pistol in his belt and a naked sword hanging beside it.

 

Night and day he thought of nothing but how to destroy the cannibals and save their victims. But he did not know how he could fight against thirty savages with their bows and arrows. He thought of attacking the savages with his guns keeping himself in an ambush. He kept close watch over the sea and prepared himself to attack them from a thicket of trees.

 

But then a new idea came to his mind. He asked himself what authority he had to be the executioner of those men whom God suffered so long unpunished. He also thought that those cannibals were not criminal in the same way as those Christians were not murderers who killed their prisoners. He thought that it would not be just for him to attack them unless they had done any harm to him. He concluded that his duty was to prevent them from killing others and to attack them only in self-defence. Again, he thought he was wrong in his bloody scenes of destroying those innocent cannibals who did no harm to Crusoe. He decided that he ought to have left them to the justice of God. He thanked God for his revelation of truth that he should not lay his hand upon the cannibals unless he had a clearer call from him to do so.

 

The novel is steeped in moral vein. Crusoe began to reflect. He asked himself what right he had to kill the savages who had done him no harm. He argued if the victorious of the Christian society can kill the prisoners of war, what is the injustice when the cannibal savages kill the defeated victims and eat them.