Johnson's Morality and Robinson Crusoe

In Johnson’s Rambler No. 4, he argues that books and works of fiction which glorify people with bad morals are teaching people that they should imitate the glorified bad morals. Instead of showing people being rewarded for bad behavior, Johnson thinks that authors of fiction should show bad people being punished and good people being rewarded in order to encourage people to act in a morally good way. We used Fantomina, with its greatly immoral characters who receive very little punishment for their actions, as the sort of book that Johnson was condemning in. On the other hand, I thought that Robinson Crusoe would be a good example of a book that teaches morality in the way that Johnson thought fiction should. In fact, the preface of the book states: “The Story is told with Modesty, with Seriousness, and with a religious Application of Events to the Uses to which wise Men always apply them to the Instruction of others by this Example, and to justify and honour the Wisdom of Providence in all the Variety of our Circumstances.” Clearly, Defoe is conscious of the instructive elements of his fictional work.

One major example of this is the consequences of Crusoe’s decision to go to sea against his father’s wishes. As Brett pointed out in his post, Crusoe constantly questions his decision to leave home, and the turbulent sea changing between story and calm becomes a metaphor for the turmoil going through his head as he sometimes regrets his decision and sometimes embraces it. The story shows Crusoe doing something wrong – being disobedient to his parent – and also the consequences for this wrongful action – mental turmoil, and on a metaphoric level the turbulent sea is also a consequence of his disobedience. Another example of the moral instructiveness is Crusoe’s religious feelings, which help him get through the hardships he goes through. Also, Crusoe’s perseverance in the story allows him to survive. Both of these examples show Crusoe being rewarded for his good behavior.

According to Johnson, this is exactly what fiction should be doing. People who imitate the actions of characters in fictional works they read would not want to imitate Crusoe’s disobedience because of the bad consequences the story shows. They would also want to imitate Crusoe’s religious feelings and his perseverance, because these positive traits yield positive consequences. Whether or not Johnson’s ideas about morality and fiction are relevant, Robinson Crusoe conforms to Johnson’s ideas of what fiction should be.

Character Development

The role of fiction in society has always been an interesting one. Fiction, whether it be the novel, television, movies, or even just stories told amongst friends, has always been able to catch our attention. However, fiction is more than just something that entertains us. Fiction has also been an outlet to express the values of the author and beyond that of society as a whole. And as Samuel Johnson indicates in the Rambler, as fiction more closely imitates real life we must face the problem of potentially grouping behind the wrong characters.
Johnson's view on fiction is fairly clear. When the works of fiction concern characters who are not easily identifiable with readers, there is no risk of the reader idolizing the wrong character. As he puts it, "In the romances formerly written, every transaction and sentiment was so remote from all that passes among men, that the reader was in very little danger of making any application to himself". However, at the time Johnson is writing, this is undergoing a change. The fiction of Johnson's time is becoming much more realistic. He warns that "young spectators fix their eyes upon [the characters] with closer attention, and hope, by observing his behaviour and success, to regulate their own practices". Because of this, Johnson argues that writers have to be careful in how they portray their characters. They need to be careful so as when depicting vice in their characters, they do not make these characters, but rather those full of virtue, the ones who find success. In essence, Johnson is asking that the "bad guys" don't win.
While I certainly agree that fiction in whatever form can set examples for people, I am not completely in agreement with Johnson. True, bad practices should not be encouraged, but if the work of fiction is to imitate life, one must stay true to life. Vice is not something to strive for. However, everyone has their bad habits. Most everyone has had an instance in which some wrong action of theirs worked in their benefit. Furthermore, one has to believe in the people, in the readers. One has to believe that readers will not judge the outcome of the action, but the action itself, and figure out which behaviors are right and suitable in society. The object of art is to imitate life, and therefore you cannot hide everything bad in the world. However, it is also on the reader to determine which actions are appropriate.