There is a unique litery writing in the history of British Literature—desolate island literature.

In those literary works, the main character is set on an isolated, desolate island, and the
island is not only the core of the story, but the outerspace as well. Desolate island literature,
with its unique charm, plays a very important role in the history of Western Literature. From
the point of view of realism and romaticism, island literature sings praises of human heroism
and courage in combating with the nature. As a result, island literature is loved for centuries
by readers both old and young.In the later half of the 20th century, literary critics began to
give their attention to the colonial ideology publicized in island literature. During this period,
one that was comparatively influential and widely adopted by critics was the theory of
postcolonial criticism, which provided a special perspective to the study of literary writings,
especially island literature.In this thesis, one representative writings of British desolate
island literature, Robinson Crusoe, is studied with the perspective of post-colonial criticism.
Robinson Crusoe was written by Daniel Defoe in the year 1719. Daniel Defoe lived in the
period of fast development of capitalism in England, therefore his works, to some extent
reflected the spirit features of the then rising bourgeoisie, ever since its publication it
became one of most popular novels in the world literature. For years people, especially,
literary critics, have paid extensive attention to heroism shown in the main character of the
book. But if we read it with the perspective of post-colonial theory, we find that Robinson
Crusoe also displays a trend of colonial ideology.My thesis, borrowing the theory of post-
colonial criticism, tries to analyze the novel from five chapters:Introduction part is a general
introduction about desolate island literature, post-colonial theory and the latest studies
carried out home and abroad on the novel Robinson Crusoe. Then follow the research
methods and literary innovation applied in the thesis.In PartⅠ, the thesis introduces the
background of the writing. The thesis provides the social changes in Britain and British
colonial expansion in early times, which is to help the readers have a better understanding
of the society in the times when Daniel Defoe lived.In PartⅡ, the thesis analyses the
colonial activities of Robinson Crusoe by telling the readers Robinson Crusoe's colonial
prerequisite, motivation and his protestant ideology.In PartⅢ, the thesis explores Robinson
Crusoe's image of a colonist. Robinson Crusoe has all the characteristics of a colonist. He
is a true colonist.In PartⅣ, the thesis states that Robinson Crusoe changed the Aborigine-
"Friday" and the embarrassment after his change.In PartⅥ, the thesis shows that Daniel
Defoe demonizes the aborigines living in Africa and America. This is a kind of colonial
strategy.In Conclusion, the thesis discourses that after a close study of these literary works,
we hope that we can have better understanding of the history and the real nature of
colonialism, and also we hope this close-reading of the English classics may be of some
help in realizing and protecting the characteristics of our own culture and our national
identity.