"Friday intreating the Gun not to kill him" [Plate 8] — Illustrated Edition of "Robinson Crusoe" (1818)

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Friday intreating the Gun not to kill him

1818

Hand-tinted copper-engraving

8.1 cm high by 5.2 cm wide, framed

Pages: ii, 195 p., [12] leaves of illustrations

Source: Illustration for Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe, facing page 133 [Plate 8].

[Click on image to enlarge it.]

Illustrations of children’s editions

Scanned image and text by Philip V. Allingham.

You may use these images without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one.]

Passage Illustrated

I soon found a way to convince him that I would do him no harm; and taking him up by the hand, laughed at him, and pointing to the kid which I had killed, beckoned to him to run and fetch it, which he did: and while he was wondering, and looking to see how the creature was killed, I loaded my gun again. By-and-by I saw a great fowl, like a hawk, sitting upon a tree within shot; so, to let Friday understand a little what I would do, I called him to me again, pointed at the fowl, which was indeed a parrot, though I thought it had been a hawk; I say, pointing to the parrot, and to my gun, and to the ground under the parrot, to let him see I would make it fall, I made him understand that I would shoot and kill that bird; accordingly, I fired, and bade him look, and immediately he saw the parrot fall. He stood like one frightened again, notwithstanding all I had said to him; and I found he was the more amazed, because he did not see me put anything into the gun, but thought that there must be some wonderful fund of death and destruction in that thing, able to kill man, beast, bird, or anything near or far off; and the astonishment this created in him was such as could not wear off for a long time; and I believe, if I would have let him, he would have worshipped me and my gun. As for the gun itself, he would not so much as touch it for several days after; but he would speak to it and talk to it, as if it had answered him, when he was by himself; which, as I afterwards learned of him, was to desire it not to kill him. [Chapter XIV, "Friday's Education"]

Facing Page of Text

. . .well as himself. Many days elapsed before he ventured to touch it, but he spoke to it as though the weapon had been capable of understanding and answering him. Robinson Crusoe learnt afterwards that he was entreating it not to kill him.

The same evening Crusoe skinned the kid, cut it up, and put some of it to stew in an earthen pot upon the fire. Having taken the broth himself, he gave a part of the flesh to Friday who, seeing Robinson Crusoe eat it, began to taste it likewise/ He liked it, but seemed to think it very strange that Crusoe should season his victuals with salt. In order to make his master understand how disagreeable this was to his palate, he put some grains of salt into his moth, spit it out gain, and made a thousand wry faces, and afterwards rinced [sic] his mouth with fresh water. Having regaled him with this kind of food, Crusoe wished, on the following day, to feast him with a piece of meat; this he did by tying a . . . . [page 133]

Commentary

At first reading, this seems like an odd scene to place in a children's book, but the target audience was one with not much more sophistication in terms of technology than Friday after Crusoe's rescuing him. The intention behind the illustration, therefore, must be to motivate a discussion with child-readers about the appropriate care and handling of firearms, which in the hands of the incautious constitute a considerable threat.

Robinson Crusoe, bearded and in his "island dress," has now been on the island by himself eighteen years. In this hand-tinted engraving he has recently rescued the young aboriginal whom he has dubbed "Friday" from the day of his deliverance from the cannibals. Although Friday should logically be depicted as a Carib Indian, the anonymous illustrator has given him a Negro's skin colour, but an South American aboriginal's long hair. In contrast, Cruikshank's depiction of Friday's captors, despite their darkened bodies against the fire, suggests by their long hair that they are South American aborigines.

Related Scenes from Stothard (1790), Cruikshank (1831), and Gilbert (1860s)

Left: Stothard's 1790 realisation of the consequence of the rescue scene, an illustration of which Phiz was probably aware, Robinson Crusoe and Friday making a tent to lodge Friday's father and the Spaniard (copper-plate engraving, [Chapter XVI). Right: Sir John Gilbert's contemporary illustration focussing just on Crusoe and the captive, Robinson Crusoe rescues the Spaniard (1860s).

Above: Cruikshank's suspenseful but static illustration of Crusoe and Friday's scouting the cannibals' position, Crusoe and Friday watch the Cannibals from hiding (1831). [Click on the images to enlarge them.]

Reference

Defoe, Daniel. The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe. A new and improved edition, interspersed with reflections, religious and moral. Adorned with engravings. London: J. Harris, 1818.

Last modified 15 February 2018