The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe · Chapter
X: Tames Goats explained
Crusoe continues his solitary life on the island, focusing on practical improvements such as making earthenware, baskets, and a tobacco pipe.
What happens
Crusoe continues his solitary life on the island, focusing on practical improvements such as making earthenware, baskets, and a tobacco pipe. He builds a smaller canoe after his first failed attempt, and sets out on a voyage around the island. He is caught in a dangerous current and nearly lost at sea, but manages to return safely, gaining a new appreciation for his island home.
Themes in this chapter
Self-Reliance and Individualism
Crusoe's solitary efforts to improve his living conditions—making tools, building a canoe, and navigating the sea—highlight his self-reliance and resourcefulness.
Mastery Over Nature
Crusoe's attempts to control his environment, from taming goats to constructing a seaworthy boat, demonstrate the theme of human dominion over the natural world.
Providence and Divine Justice
Crusoe's reflection on his near-disaster at sea leads him to acknowledge Providence, as he sees his safe return as a divine reprieve.
Characters to notice
- Robinson Crusoe
Reflects on his solitary condition, improves his craftsmanship, builds a canoe, and undertakes a perilous voyage around the island.
- Poll
The parrot returns to Crusoe, greeting him with familiar phrases and providing companionship.
Key passages
“I had now had enough of rambling to sea for some time, and had enough to do for many days to sit still and reflect upon the danger I had been in.”
After his dangerous voyage, Crusoe decides to stay ashore and contemplate the risks he faced.
Crusoe's temporary retreat from seafaring after a harrowing experience.
“I improved myself in this time in all the mechanic exercises which my necessities put me upon applying myself to; and I believe I should, upon occasion, have made a very good carpenter, especially considering how few tools I had.”
Crusoe became skilled at various crafts out of necessity, believing he could have been a competent carpenter despite limited tools.
Crusoe's self-taught craftsmanship and adaptability.
“Thus, we never see the true state of our condition till it is illustrated to us by its contraries, nor know how to value what we enjoy, but by the want of it.”
People only understand their situation when they experience its opposite, and they appreciate what they have only when they lose it.
Crusoe's philosophical reflection on gratitude and perspective after nearly losing his island.