The Narrator and Narratee in Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe: A Narratological Reading

This paper tries to address the issue of the relationship between narrator and narratee in Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe. The realistic novel in question has been the source of inspiration for many literary and cinematic works. It is still on the reading lists in universities and also read for pleasure. Readers of different times seem to have divergent experiences of the novel. This could be related to the idea that Defoe creates a narrative style which seems to assume different narratees at different points in the narrative. Also, there is often assumed a close relation with the reader and the theme of spiritual adventure seems to attract everybody. The original readers of the novel were relatively satisfied with the ending while modern readers seem to disagree. This does not apply just to the ending. Many modern readers find the religious and moral values of the novel questionable. This paper tries to look into this special relation between the narrator and different narratees in order to shed some light on the significance of this relation stylistically and thematically.

The Narrator and Narratee in Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe: A Narratological Reading Keywords:

Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe , Narrator , Narratee , Narratology , Reader-response criticism