'Foe' by J.M. Coetzee

'Foe' by J.M. Coetzee

South African author J. M. Coetzee, a Nobel laureate, released his novel Foe in 1986. It tells the story of Susan Barton, who ends up stranded on the same island where "Cruso" and Friday are already surviving. Foe gives a new twist to the classic Robinson Crusoe, following Barton’s perspective on everything going on. The book explores big ideas, like the power of storytelling, how stories can both captivate and control, questions around identity, issues of slavery, and the line between what’s real and what’s imagined. Some readers saw Foe as a strong statement against apartheid, while others thought its stance wasn’t all that clear.

Comparative and Critical Analysis of Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe and Foe by J.M. Coetzee

Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe is considered one of the earliest novels, introducing readers to the concept of survival on a deserted island. Written in the 17th century, the story reflects a world where patriarchy was the norm—men held the power, and women were seen as possessions. Set during a time of colonization, the story comes from the viewpoint of Crusoe, a middle-aged white man, which emphasizes the dominant social and racial attitudes of the time.

J.M. Coetzee’s novel Foe, written in 1986, takes Robinson Crusoe and gives it a new twist. While there are a lot of similarities, Coetzee’s approach is fresh—he includes a female character, Susan Barton, along with a new setting and modern take on the story. Instead of Crusoe narrating, Foe follows Susan, who offers her perspective on the island life that Defoe’s story explores. Even though the two books were written hundreds of years apart, Foe uses the original Robinson Crusoe story to show a more current view of social norms and beliefs.

Colonialism and Power Dynamics

Defoe’s novel is often thought of as one of the first examples of colonial literature. Crusoe’s attitude toward Friday and his control over the island show a sense of superiority typical of colonial thinking, with the colonizer portrayed as “civilized” and powerful. This reflects a very Eurocentric way of seeing the world.

In Foe, Coetzee flips this by narrating from the perspective of Susan Barton, who contradicts Crusoe’s story. Friday is silent in Foe, symbolizing how colonized people were often denied a voice. Coetzee uses this to criticize the way colonial narratives tend to erase or twist the experiences of oppressed people, shedding light on the injustice of these power dynamics.

Voice and Silence

In Robinson Crusoe, Crusoe is the only narrator, telling his story from a Western, individualistic perspective, and he speaks for Friday, who never gets his own voice. This highlights how colonial stories often ignore or erase the viewpoints of the colonized. Coetzee’s Foe adds Susan Barton as a new character, someone who questions Foe (a fictionalized version of Defoe) about changing her story to match his ideas. Friday’s silence is a big theme in Foe, symbolizing how history often leaves out the voices of marginalized people. Coetzee suggests that silence in a story can be as powerful as spoken words, challenging who really has control over narratives.

The Role of Women

Robinson Crusoe focuses on the male adventure story, leaving little room for women. This reflects the colonial times when women’s roles in stories like these were usually overlooked. Coetzee changes this in Foe by making Susan Barton the main character, offering a female perspective that wasn’t there in Defoe’s original. Susan struggles to have her story told accurately, as Foe constantly edits it, which shows how women’s voices often get lost or altered to fit dominant ideas. By reimagining the characters, Coetzee shows how colonial stories often misrepresent marginalized voices, whether they’re women or colonized people.

Conclusion

Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe and J.M. Coetzee’s Foe give us two very different takes on colonialism, storytelling, and identity. Coetzee’s Foe questions the Eurocentric view of Defoe’s work by showing how important it is to include the voices of the marginalized in history and literature. Through Foe, Coetzee argues that whoever controls the story often shapes our understanding of history and reality itself.