Friday by Michel Tournier (Book Analysis) E-Book

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• Herausgeber: BrightSummaries.com
• Kategorie: Bildung
• Serie: BrightSummaries.com
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 32

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2018

Beschreibung

Unlock the more straightforward side of Friday with this concise and insightful summary and analysis!

This engaging summary presents an analysis of Friday by Michel Tournier, a retelling of Daniel Defoe’s classic novel Robinson Crusoe. Like Defoe’s 1719 novel, Friday recounts the adventures of Robinson Crusoe after he is shipwrecked on a desert island, where he eventually comes into contact with a young native whom he dubs “Friday”, after the day they met. Although Robinson initially considers Friday an inferior, like in Defoe’s novel, he eventually develops a deep respect and friendship for him, and casts off the trappings of civilisation to live in harmony with nature. Michel Tournier was a French writer who won a number of prestigious literary prizes, including the Prix Goncourt, and was elected to the Académie française in 1972.

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• Key themes and symbols
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Leseprobe

MICHEL TOURNIER

FRENCH WRITER

Born in Paris in 1924.Died in Choisel (France) in 2016.Notable works:The Erl-King (1970), novelFriday and Robinson (1971), young adult novelGemini (1975), novel

Michel Tournier was a French writer who began his career as a translator and radio journalist, working with major French newspapers such as Le Monde and Le Figaro. His debut novel, Friday, was published in 1967 and was awarded the Académie française’s prestigious Grand prix du roman that same year. This success was followed by the publication of The Erl-King, which won the Prix Goncourt in 1970. He was made a member of the Académie française in 1972, and held the position until his retirement in 2010. He continued to write novels, novellas, short stories and essays in the intervening years.

Tournier’s style was influenced by German literature, and particularly by the work of Günter Grass (German writer and artist, 1927-2015), whose novels aim to examine history in a different light and imbue it with an almost mythical aura. Likewise, Tournier’s work blends fantasy and realism, and often constitutes his own take on significant historical, mythological or religious events. For example, he retells the Biblical story of the three wise men in The Four Wise Men (1980), and rewrites the French folk tale of Bluebeard in Gilles and Jeanne (1983).

FRIDAY

ROBINSON CRUSOE’S STORY RETOLD

Genre: novelReference edition: Tournier, M. (1997) Friday. Trans. Denny, N. Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press.1stedition: 1967Themes: shipwreck, island life, civilisation, survival, solitude, hope

Michel Tournier’s debut novel Friday was published in 1967. It tells the story of Robinson Crusoe, the only survivor of a shipwreck, who is washed up on a desert island where he needs to learn how to survive. He then meets Friday, a native whom he saves from his peers.

This novel is a retelling of Robinson Crusoe (1719) by Daniel Defoe (trader, spy and writer, 1660-1731). Tournier’s goal was to emphasise the philosophical aspects of this popular tale by focusing on the relationship between the two main characters, namely Robinson and Friday.

In 1971, Tournier published Friday and Robinson, a simplified version of the novel aimed at younger readers.

SUMMARY

THE SHIPWRECK

The story begins on 29 September 1759, on board a ship called the Virginia. Robinson, a 22-year-old Englishman who is hoping to make his fortune in America, is having his fortune told by the ship’s captain, Van Deyssel, as a storm rages outside. Suddenly, the ship founders and sinks.

Robinson wakes up on a beach and sees that the Virginia has run aground on the shore. He decides to explore the island he has washed up on and has an encounter with a billy goat, which he kills in fright. He then finds his way out of the forest and discovers a cave. When he reaches the highest point on the island he realises that it is deserted, so he decides to name it the Island of Desolation. Robinson returns to the beach and lights a fire in the hope of attracting attention and being rescued. He spends several days waiting for someone to see his signal, but eventually realises that no one is coming. He therefore decides to search the Virginia, and finds several tons of explosives, among other things, which he unloads onto the beach. He also finds the ship’s dog, Tenn. However, Tenn is spooked by the sight of him and runs away, and does not return for several days.

Robinson is determined to escape from the island and decides to build a small boat, working tirelessly until it is finished. In his spare time, he reads the Bible he has found on board the Virginia