A Review of Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe

A Review of 'Robinson Crusoe' by Daniel Defoe Have you ever wondered what you would do if you washed up on a deserted island? Daniel Defoe dramatizes such an experience in Robinson Crusoe! Daniel Defoes Robinson Crusoe was inspired by the story of Alexander Selkirk, a Scottish sailor who went to sea in 1704. Selkirk requested that his shipmates put him ashore on Juan Fernandez, where he remained until he was rescued by Woodes Rogers in 1709. Defoe may have interviewed Selkirk. Also, several version of Selkirks tale were available to him. He then built on the story, adding his imagination, his experiences, and a whole history of other stories to create the novel for which he has become so well-known. Daniel Defoe In his lifetime, Defoe published more than 500 books, pamphlets, articles, and poems. Unfortunately, none of his literary endeavors ever brought him much financial success or stability. His occupations ranged from spying and embezzling to soldiering and pamphleteering. He had started out as a merchant, but he soon found himself bankrupt, which led him to choose other occupations. His political passions, his flare for libel, and his inability to stay out of debt also caused him to be imprisoned seven times. Even if he wasnt financially successful, Defoe managed to make a significant mark on literature. He influenced the development of the English novel, with his journalistic detail and characterization. Some claim that Defoe wrote the first true English novel: and hes often considered to be the father of British journalism. At the time of its publication, in 1719, Robinson Crusoe was a success. Defoe was 60 when he wrote this first novel; and he would write seven more in the years to come, including Moll Flanders (1722), Captain Singleton (1720), Colonel Jack (1722), and Roxana (1724). The Story of Robinson Crusoe Its no wonder the story was such a success... The story is about a man who is stranded on a desert island for 28 years. With the supplies hes able to salvage from the wrecked ship, Robinson Crusoe eventually builds a fort and then creates for himself a kingdom by taming animals, gathering fruit, growing crops, and hunting.The book contains adventure of all sorts: pirates, shipwrecks, cannibals, mutiny, and so much more... Robinson Crusoes story is also Biblical in many of its themes and discussions. Its the story of the prodigal son, who runs away from home only to find calamity. Elements of the story of Job also appear in the story, when in his illness, Robinson cries out for deliverance: Lord, be my help, for I am in great distress. Robinson questions God, asking, Why has God done this to me? What have I done to be thus used? But he makes peace ​and goes on with his solitary existence. After more than 20 years on the island, Robinson encounters cannibals, which represent the first human contact hes had since being stranded: One day, about noon, going towards my boat, I was exceedingly surprised with the print of a mans naked foot on the shore, which was very plain to be seen on the sand. Then, hes alone - with only the brief far-off view of a shipwreck - until he rescues Friday from the cannibals. Robinson finally makes his escape when a ship of mutineers sail to the island. He and his companions help the British captain to take back control of ​the ship. He sets sail for England on December 19, 1686after spending 28 years, 2 months, and 19 days on the island. He arrives back in England, after being gone for 35 years, and finds that he is a wealthy man. Loneliness and the Human Experience Robinson Crusoe is the tale of a lonely human being who manages to survive for years without any human companionship. Its a story about the different ways that men cope with reality when hardship comes, but its also the tale of a man creating his own reality, rescuing a savage and fashioning his own world out of the untamed wilderness of a desert island. The tale has influenced many other tales, including The Swiss Family Robinson, Philip Quarll, and Peter Wilkins. Defoe followed up the tale with his own sequel, The Further Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, but that tale was not met with a much success as the first novel. In any case, the figure of Robinson Crusoe has become an important archetypal figure in literature - Robinson Crusoe was described by Samuel T. Coleridge as the universal man.

Ultraviolet Radiation - Definition of Science Terms

Ultraviolet Radiation - Definition of Science Terms Ultraviolet radiation is another name for ultraviolet light. It is a part of the spectrum outside the visible range, just beyond the visible violet portion. Ultraviolet Radiation Definition Ultraviolet radiation is electromagnetic radiation or light having a wavelength greater than 100 nm but less than 400 nm. It is also known as UV radiation, ultraviolet light, or simply UV. Ultraviolet radiation has a wavelength longer than that of x-rays but shorter than that of visible light. Although ultraviolet light is energetic enough to break some chemical bonds, it is not (usually) considered a form of ionizing radiation. The energy absorbed by molecules can provide the activation energy to start chemical reactions and may cause some materials to fluoresce or phosphoresce. The word ultraviolet means beyond violet. Ultraviolet radiation was discovered by the German physicist Johann Wilhelm Ritter in 1801. Ritter noticed invisible light beyond the violet portion of the visible spectrum darkened silver chloride treated paper more quickly than violet light. He called the invisible light oxidizing rays, referring to the chemical activity of the radiation. Most people used the phrase chemical rays until the end of the 19th century, when heat rays became known as infrared radiation and chemical rays became ultraviolet radiation. Sources of Ultraviolet Radiation About 10 percent of the light output of the Sun is UV radiation. When sunlight enters the Earths atmosphere, the light is about 50% infrared radiation, 40% visible light, and 10% ultraviolet radiation. However, the atmosphere blocks about 77% of solar UV light, mostly in shorter wavelengths. Light reaching the Earths surface is about 53% infrared, 44% visible, and 3% UV. Ultraviolet light is produced by black lights, mercury-vapor lamps, and tanning lamps. Any sufficiently hot body emits ultraviolet light (black-body radiation). Thus, stars hotter than the Sun emit more UV light. Categories of Ultraviolet Light Ultraviolet light is broken into several ranges, as described by ISO standard ISO-21348: Name Abbreviation Wavelength (nm) Photon Energy (eV) Other Names Ultraviolet A UVA 315-400 3.103.94 long-wave, black light (not absorbed by ozone) Ultraviolet B UVB 280-315 3.944.43 medium-wave (mostly absorbed by ozone) Ultraviolet C UVC 100-280 4.4312.4 short-wave (completely absorbed by ozone) Near ultraviolet NUV 300-400 3.104.13 visible to fish, insects, birds, some mammals Middle ultraviolet MUV 200-300 4.136.20 Far ultraviolet FUV 122-200 6.2012.4 Hydrogen Lyman-alpha H Lyman- 121-122 10.1610.25 spectral line of hydrogen at 121.6 nm; ionizing at shorter wavelengths Vacuum ultraviolet VUV 10-200 6.20124 absorbed by oxygen, yet 150-200 nm can travel through nitrogen Extreme ultraviolet EUV 10-121 10.25124 actually is ionizing radiation, although absorbed by the atmosphere Seeing UV Light Most people cannot see ultraviolet light, however, this is not necessarily because the human retina cant detect it. The lens of the eye filters UVB and higher frequencies, plus most people lack the color receptor to see the light. Children and young adults are more likely to perceive UV than older adults, but people missing a lens (aphakia) or who have had a lens replaced (as for cataract surgery) may see some UV wavelengths. People who can see UV report it as a blue-white or violet-white color. Insects, birds, and some mammals see near-UV light. Birds have true UV vision, as they have a fourth color receptor to perceive it. Reindeer are an example of a mammal that sees UV light. They use it to see polar bears against snow. Other mammals use ultraviolet to see urine trails to track prey. Ultraviolet Radiation and Evolution Enzymes used to repair DNA in mitosis and meiosis are believed to have developed from early repair enzymes that were designed to fix damage caused by ultraviolet light. Earlier in Earths history, prokaryotes could not survive on the Earths surface because exposure to UVB caused adjacent thymine base pair to bind together or form thymine dimers. This disruption was fatal to the cell because it shifted the reading frame used to replicate genetic material and produce proteins. Prokaryotes that escaped protective aquatic life developed enzymes to repair thymine dimers. Even though the ozone layer eventually formed, protecting cells from the worst of the solar ultraviolet radiation, these repair enzymes remain. Sources Bolton, James; Colton, Christine (2008). The Ultraviolet Disinfection Handbook. American Water Works Association. ISBN 978-1-58321-584-5.Hockberger, Philip E. (2002). A History of Ultraviolet Photobiology for Humans, Animals and Microorganisms. Photochemistry and Photobiology. 76 (6): 561–569. doi:10.1562/0031-8655(2002)0760561AHOUPF2.0.CO2Hunt, D. M.; Carvalho, L. S.; Cowing, J. A.; Davies, W. L. (2009). Evolution and spectral tuning of visual pigments in birds and mammals. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 364 (1531): 2941–2955. doi:10.1098/rstb.2009.0044