The Construction Process

       Robinson Crusoe built a new civilization from the remnants of a sunken ship and the primitive supplies of the island. From the ship, Crusoe rescued a number of very useful materials, such as cables, masts, planks, and sails. He also recovered a number of tools and supplies from the cabins of the ship. He found hammers, nails, axes, and saws, among other supplies.
       Crusoe built his shelter using vernacular construction techniques of the time. His double layered tent was constructed in the usual manner, each tent made up of two uprights supporting a crosspiece.

The wall fortification - two rows of stakes cut from the ship's masts support stacks of the ship's cable in the manner of a fagot shack wall.
       Over time, Crusoe builds a structural roof over the cabin, similar to a fallen tree shelter. Using tree trunks and wooden poles from the ship as rafters, and supporting them on the face of the rock, he covers the roof with wooden planks and grass. Crusoe extends his fortification by creating a second wall out of brushwood between the trees that encompass the shelter and fagot wall.

      For the bower, Crusoe produces a standard wick-up shelter. This is the first of his structures to resemble a traditional framed house. Thin lumber creates the frame of the bower - four perpendicular walls - and a flat roof. The frame is held together with braided rope, which Crusoe produced from straw. It is then covered with straw and grass to provide shelter. He also develops a number of sheds and apartments in this same fashion.
       Another construction aspect to consider is the cave. Crusoe builds his first wall around a small recess in the rock face. He finds the rock loose and soft enough to burrow in to. Over time, as he requires more shelter, Crusoe burrows a tunnel leading into the rock and back out on the other side of the fortified wall. In the tunnel, he hollows out a number of small cellars in which to store supplies and food.

Final Drawings

Below are the final architectural drawings of the Robinson Crusoe House study.

Elevations 1:50

Stage 1

Sections 1:50

Tent with cave section

Cave section with details

Cave section with roof addition

 Plans 1:50

Stage 1

Stage 2

Stage 3

Stage 4

Stage 5

Stage 6 

Stage 6 with first shed

Stage 7 with outer wall

Final stage with wall fortifications

Topographical Site Circumstances

Thesis Statement

The circumstances of Defoe as an author and a puritan, accompanied by the plot of the novel itself, influence the manner in which Crusoe as a character is motivated to create and construct his shelters.  Defoe’s knowledge and understanding of construction would dictate the manner that the shelters would be constructed by Crusoe’s character in the novel. Defoe’s puritan views would also add an idealistic interpretation of what Crusoe’s shelters and lifestyle would be portrayed as. Crusoe’s hard working mentality, and his constant strive for improvement are examples of this, and are prevalent throughout the story. The external pressures of the island would also affect how the shelters would come to be, influencing how they might protect Crusoe against the elements and other threats, or how they would be constructed from the materials in the surroundings. The progression and “renovation” of his shelters, as well as the construction of new elements, such as the Bower would also portray Crusoe’s inclination to strive for more comfort after having his basic needs met. This evaluation of the narrative draws many parallels to the hierarchy of needs and how Crusoe responds to his ascent on that hierarchy. Defoe’s symbolizes the construction of a civilization on a savage island, by building Crusoe’s character up in a progression of developments on the shelters themselves.

Purpose and Function

           Within Crusoe’s story, some of Crusoe’s shelters exist to provide him shelter while others exist for another reason altogether but nonetheless functions as Crusoe’s shelter. The setting of the story allows for the flexibility of overlap between purpose and function in certain shelters while also allowing for purpose and function to be distinct in other shelters. The following is an examination of the purpose and the functions of each of Crusoe’s shelters.

The Tree

            Like most other plants on the island, the purpose of the tree is to produce oxygen from carbon, reduce soil erosion and distil water. Even though trees also commonly provide shelter for animals but the boxthorn does not because its thorns do not make it an ideal habitat for small animals. However, when Crusoe arrives on the island, the tree functions as most secure shelter he can find in his exhaustion. A branch from the tree is also cut off and used as a truncheon for defence.

The Hut of Crates

            After Crusoe began salvaging from the ship, he needed a place to store and gather the inventory and at the same time, he also needed proper lodging for the night. At the same time, Crusoe also did not have the time to spend on creating a proper shelter because his first priority was to retrieve items from the ship. The hut of crates made for the best solution to the problem, as it was easy to construct and functioned well to store his inventory while providing him with a roof overhead.

Crusoe in his fortification with Friday and a goat

The Fortification

            Once Crusoe has finished salvaging from the ship, the makeshift hut no longer sufficed as a shelter. Crusoe needed a shelter that was far more secure and stable than the one he was currently staying in. The intention for the fortification was that it would be a secure shelter that could protect Crusoe from the dangers on the island while providing a view to the sea for any prospective rescuers. The shelter was very well fortified and fulfilled its purpose of providing security and surveillance of the sea. In addition to achieving these objectives, the tedious construction of the fort wall and the carving of the cave also helped him escape from the depression of isolation before he picked up the bible. When Friday and the Spanish crew are introduced into the narrative the fortification also functions as a seal of his authority; the fortification not only demonstrates his survival abilities to others but grants him the authority to choose who is allowed access to shelter and who is not.

The Bower

            The bower was built with the intention of being a pleasure place and a second shelter where Crusoe may enjoy his days away from his fortification.  Furthermore the grapes in the valley tended to spoil by the time they reached his first habitation; therefore Crusoe needed a place where he could dry them first before he brought them back to the fortification. The bower serves all these purposes well but also later goes to become Crusoe’s main plantation given the fertile land that it is situated on.

The Cave

            While the purpose of the cave is not entirely clear, given the location of the island, it is likely that the cave was formed as a result of lava flow.  Functionally, it became Robinson Crusoe’s refuge from the cannibals. The cave is not formally a shelter of Crusoe’s but does become a place where Crusoe may perform day-to-day activities without the notice of the cannibals.

Crusoe’s Changing Perceptions of the Fortification

Crusoe reading the bible in his habitation. The

painting illustrates the closest the habitation got to

becoming a home.

Over the series of events that occur on the island, Crusoe’s perception of his shelter against the hill continues to change. Depending on the circumstances, Crusoe’s title for the shelter changes from the tent to fortification to habitation to castle to apartment and is sometimes a mix of one or more of these titles.

            After Crusoe first sets down the stakes and pitches the tent, he refers to the shelter as the tent or the habitation. At this stage, the shelter is a place that Crusoe can return to and store things in.  Once the wall is completed, the shelter title remains the same but within the book, the focus is less on the shelter than it is on the wall. Defoe gives more detail to the wall and its construction than he does to the tent. The emphasis on the wall demonstrates Crusoe’s desperate desire for security but also demonstrates that the wall is more important to Crusoe than the tent. The tent provides Crusoe with storage and minor protection from the elements whereas the wall is a mark of property that also functions to resolve Crusoe’s insecurities towards the potential dangers of the island. Furthermore, the wall is an essential element of a shelter and it is only after the completion of wall that the shelter’s function as a shelter is finalized. Therefore, while the wall is not the shelter itself Defoe often makes reference specifically to the wall rather than the entire shelter.

In addition, the wall also changed the title of the habitation to the fortification.

Similar to the wall, once Crusoe progressed well into the creation of a kitchen and storage within the rock, the cave became another element of the shelter that he would refer separately to.

              Once Crusoe had become accustomed to life on the island, especially after the construction of the bower, the shelter was more often referred to as the habitation instead of the fortification. Presumably, Crusoe has developed some degree of comfort and even though the shelter is far from what he might consider home, it has at least become a lodging that he returns to.

            Upon finding the footprint in the sand, Crusoe immediately develops insecurities about his shelter and moves on to build an even stronger wall outside of the original. During this time, the shelter becomes his castle. This title may originate both from the increased fortification but also from the sense of ownership and authority that Crusoe has gained after the long years on the island. Crusoe feels that the shelter is like a castle that is keeping intruders out of his territory and defending him from the way of harm.

            Following the defeat of the cannibals and rescue of the Spanish crew, Crusoe has further developed his cave to provide shelter for the growing number of residents. With the development of more rooms within the cave, Crusoe precedes to call his shelter an apartment. The apartment label not only develops from the fact that more rooms exist within the shelter but also because the Spanish Captain and Crusoe are almost equal in terms of authority.  Crusoe’s lack of dominating authority also means that while the property can be considered his, his residents are not his subjects and therefore the shelter can no longer be considered a castle.

            While the Crusoe’s multiple shelters are consistently undergoing physical changes as a result of his change in needs and circumstances, there also exists a conceptual change in Crusoe’s shelters.

Crusoe's Construction

Fagot wall construction for Crusoe's original-coast shelter 

 "In this half-circle I pitched two rows of strong stakes, driving them into the ground till they stood very firm like piles, the biggest end being out of the ground about five feet and a half and a sharpened on the top. The two rows did not stand about six inches from one another. Then I took the pieces of cable which I had cut in the ship, and laid them in rows one upon another, within the circle, between these two rows of stakes, up to the top, placing other stakes in the inside leaning against them, about two feet and a half high, like a spur to a post; and this fence was so strong, that neither man or beast could get into it, or over it."

Crusoe's double layered tent inside the fagot wall.

"I made me a large tent… I made double, viz., one smaller tent within, and one larger tent above it, and covered the uppermost with a large tarpaulin, which I had saved among the sails"

Roof which Crusoe constructed on top of his shelter to protect him and his supplies from the weather.

"Strong pale of posts and cables; but I might now call it a wall, for I raised a kind of wall up against it of turfs, about two feet thick on the outside, and after some time—I think it was a year and a half—I raised rafters from it leading to the rock, and thatched or covered it with boughs of trees."

The bower Crusoe constructed after coming upon a lush valley during  his exploration of the island. This bower serves Crusoe as both a backup shelter and a summer cottage.

The Cave Retreat

             Being frightened by the cannibals, Crusoe seeks the woods for a better enclosure for his goats. However, Crusoe still fears that the cannibals may find him and so he refrains from any loud or noticeable activities such as chopping wood, lighting a fire or firing his musket. Crusoe’s problems are solved when he comes upon a secluded cave.

Location

The cave is found within the vicinity of his pasture in the woods.

The Shelter

To Crusoe, the cave is a place that people would never dare venture into if they could find it and so he believes that it is safe refuge from the cannibals. The cave is small upon entry but after crawling through a narrow passage, it opens up to large twenty-foot tall cavity covered with glimmering stones. This cavity provides Crusoe with a kitchen and workspace that is out of the reach of the cannibals.