If you are a Sincere and Serious aspirant, you must have felt that `the UPSC journey is a purely personal affair`. Most of the time, we have to battle all alone, survive various storms and lightnings, endure the pain of being alone in this arduous path. The best skill we should learn to persevere till the end is to `talk with the self and comfort the soul`. When you start exploring a friend inside you, you will start seeing many things in a Clearer and Certain way. You will see the purpose of life in every point of time. One such character is Robinson Crusoe. His ship breaks in the midst of the Sea. He had to live all alone in the deserted island for 28 years. In that phase he explores various dimensions of life.
The book Robinson Crusoe is a pioneer of English classic fiction published in 1719. It’s written in the tone of an autobiography with a simple language. You will feel the different perspectives of life every time you read that book. Definitely you will grow, you will evolve as a better person as you read the pages of the book. We at Team InsightsIAS strongly recommend you to keep this book in your Shelf.
I had a dismal prospect of my condition; for as I was not cast away upon that island without being driven, as is said, by a violent storm, quite out of the course of our intended voyage, and a great way, viz. out of hundreds of leagues, out of the ordinary course of the trade of mankind, I had great reason to consider it as a determination of Heaven, that in this desolate place, and in this desolate manner, I should end my life. The tears would run plentifully down my face when I made these reflections; and sometimes I would expostulate with myself why Providence should thus completely ruin His creatures, and render them so absolutely miserable; so without help, abandoned, so entirely depressed, that it could hardly be rational to be thankful for such a life.
But something always returned swift upon me to check these thoughts, and to reprove me; and particularly one day, walking with my gun in my hand by the seaside, I was very pensive upon the subject of my present condition, when reason, as it were, expostulate with me the other way, thus: ―Well, you are in a desolate condition, it is true; but, pray remember, where are the rest of you? Did not you come, eleven of you in the boat? Where are the ten? Why were they not saved, and you lost? Why were you singled out? Is it better to be here or there?‖ And then I pointed to the sea. All evils are to be considered with the good that is in them, and with what worse attends them.
Page no.: 41/199, Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
I learned to look more upon the bright side of my condition, and less upon the dark side, and to consider what I enjoyed rather than what I wanted; and this gave me sometimes such secret comforts, that I cannot express them; and which I take notice of here, to put those discontented people in mind of it, who cannot enjoy comfortably what God has given them, because they see and covet something that He has not given them. All our discontents about what we want appeared to me to spring from the want of thankfulness for what we have.
Page no.: 86/199, Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
