“Hitherto I had paid as little attention to Friday's life as I would to that of a dog or any other stupid beast, less, indeed, because I had a horror of his mutilated state which made me push him out of my mind, and gasp. when he came near me." (Coetzee 32) Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay This passage was noteworthy because it brought out a consistent feature between Susan's narrative and that of Robinson Crusoe. Furthermore, these few sentences included one major theme and the implication of a larger issue pertinent to Foe's time period. Based on what was literally happening in the chosen paragraph, Susan expressed her personal perspective on Friday, their relationship, and interactions. However, her perspective on him may be distorted by the fear of what his mutilation represented – the cut out tongue, discussed further in the following paragraphs. Overall, this passage related to themes of suppression and highlighted the narrative struggles between Crusoe and Susan. Susan's apathy towards Friday was only slightly colder than Crusoe perceived him. Although Crusoe mentioned, from his point of view in his tale, that he was like a father to Friday. However, there was evidence from the way Friday was treated that showed that Susan and Crusoe's perspectives did not differ too much as Friday was second class to them, “[Crusoe speaking] [Friday] knew no other master. He follows me in everything." (Coetzee 37). The significance of that example led to one of the main themes of the novel and, as discussed in the lesson – the suppression of narrative – represented by the way in which the voices of racial minorities and women were excluded in the well-known tale of Robinson Crusoe. Friday's mutilation, as described in the passage, was deleted from Crusoe's tale, perhaps because it was not important to Crusoe. Susan, having privilege between Friday and Crusoe, took note of this detail because she was more sensitive to narrative rights, which Crusoe took for granted. Susan's fight for her story to be heard along with Friday's perpetual silence were symbolism of the voices repressed during that time period. This passage also implied a larger issue raised in this novel. Susan's coldness towards Friday may represent the European majority's perspective towards racial minorities in that time period. Friday's cut out tongue may be symbolic of social pressure to shun those who had less power due to their unknown past or background; what Friday's mutilation represented was something that terrified Susan, and that was the reason for her coldness towards him. Perhaps Friday's disability also reminded Susan of her struggles and limited power in society. Another theme included in this passage was the rare agreements between Susan and Crusoe's narratives, particularly concerning Friday. Crusoe and Susan both saw Friday as a servant, not as an equal, as this passage implied, but their perspectives on him were very different. Susan viewed Friday as a victim who wanted to tell the truth; he even suspected that it was Crusoe who had cut out Friday's tongue, ""[Susan speaking] Is it the truth, Friday?" I pressed him, looking deeply into his eyes: 'Did Master Crusoe cut out your tongue?'" (Coetzee 68). Crusoe, on the other hand, saw Friday as someone happy, even grateful, to be under his rule, and that Friday had to work for, 1987.