I finished the last 65 pages.
When you finish a book, summarize the ideas that were significant to you in the last section you read.
Compared to the first 190 pages or so, this section moved along quickly with a lot of action. But there were fewer "ideas" than in previous chapters. It was like Defoe had made his theological points and now wanted to bring the plot to a close. And he does bring the plot to a close by resolving all the conflicts, although he seems to resolve the problem of Crusoe's being shipwrecked on an island by a device that we'd call deus ex machina. (That means solving the problem by a surprise that doesn't seem to flow from situation.)
A ship arrives by surprise (of course, any ship would be a surprise), but in this case the ship's crew is in mutiny and are attempting to maroon the captain and officers on the island, which they assume to be uninhabited. Crusoe sees this as his best chance to escape. He rescues the captain, and they overpower the crew who have taken them to the island. Then through a variety of means Crusoe and the captain trick the rest of the mutinous crew and overpower them as well. Of course the captain is so thankful that he takes Crusoe back to Europe, along with Friday.
The denouement of the story also seemed contrived. I'm not sure why Defoe even wrote that last episode of fighting off wolves in the mountains. It seemed far too contrived and unrealistic.
When they arrive in Europe they are in Spain, not England. Crusoe looks up some old friends and finds he has become rich during his 27 year exile. He decides to go to England, and because he is afraid of sailing he goes by land. That means traveling over the Pyrenees Mountains in the winter. The travelers encounter a huge, huge pack of wolves and a bear that they fight off. But they finally make it to safety and then to England.
Crusoe settles down to live on his income from the Brazilian estate. Finally, out of boredom or want of adventure, he assays to go again to the island to see how the men are doing whom he left (they are the mutinous crew and some Spaniards from the mainland). It has turned out well for these men as well, and it all ends happily ever after.
Conclude by making a personal recommendation. Is this a book you'd recommend to other readers. If so, why? If not, why?
I think the book is one that anyone who wants to be "well read" should read. But it is a book only students of literature will enjoy. It is a historically significant book being one of the first English novels and a prototype other similar works. But to be honest, it is not a book many today will find readable. It is filled with tedious detail and introspection and very little action, except for the last section. It was no doubt fascinating to the readers of the early 1700s, but today most readers do not have the patience for it.
Nevertheless, it is a book I was glad to have read.
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