For So I Call Him Now The Colonial Desire to Name Things and Daniel Defoeas Robinson Crusoe

Author : Suravi Roy

Abstract :Written and published in the early eighteenth century, Robinson Crusoe is an instance of the colonial and imperial tendencies of the Eurocentric world. The text is an unapologetic expression of European arrogance and prejudices. The depiction of the encounter between the colonizer and the colonized, as portrayed through the various interactions that Crusoe had with the people of different races is appalling. It only served to reinforce the stereotypes that colonization generated. This paper would like to specifically explore the process of naming that Robinson Crusoe engages in, when he names the man, he rescues from the cannibals “Friday”. The paper will examine the novel through the lens of the postcolonial theory to understand what the implications of such practices are on the history and identity of the colonized.

Keywords :Names, Orientalism, Other, Postcolonial, Representation.

Conference Name :International Conference on English Literature and Linguistics(ICELL-25)

Conference Place Pune, India

Conference Date 12th Jul 2025