Guest post: "Saved" by Alexander Ipfelkofer

Are we truly ever saved?

Jun 21, 2023

Occasionally on “when hope writes” I’ll publish guest posts by brilliant artists and writers. If you want to be a guest blogger on my Substack, please connect with me on Facebook, LinkedIn, or my website.

Today I’m sharing a reflective, refreshing retelling of Robinson Crusoe through the perspective of Friday by the marvelous, masterly writer, photographer, and human

Alexander Ipfelkofer

Tales from the Defrag

The Exercise

During my Creative Writing studies at Cambridge, we did this exercise I liked and never had done before: Write no more than 500 words from the POV of a bystander or secondary character from a famous work of fiction.

I was stumped. What to choose? So many possibilities. I was contemplating Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe (1719). Which character? Friday is no bystander but in the end, I found myself coming back to this character above all other choices, and I thought, most will have read the book. So, let’s give it a try. None of the participants had read the book, as I found out afterwards.

Friday’s POV

What to write? What is Friday’s point of view? Has there been any work done on that subject? I did not want to go down that rabbit hole, so I avoided research and tried to rely on memory, aided by the fact that I had read the novel to my son some months prior. Turns out there was a movie called “Man Friday” (1975) with Peter O’Toole, which I watched afterwards. If you have seen it, let me know what you think.

Where to start? The moment of rescue (p. 198-201) was an obvious choice as it marks the beginning of the relationship between Robinson and Friday, Master and Slave (or Servant, for the Depeche Mode fans out there).

I could then perceive that he stood trembling, as if he had been taken prisoner, and had just been to be killed, as his two enemies were. I beckoned to him again to come to me, and gave him all the signs of encouragement that I could think of; and he came nearer and nearer, kneeling down every ten or twelve steps, in token of acknowledgement for saving his life. I smiled at him and looked pleasantly, and beckoned to him to come still nearer; at length he came close to me; and then he kneeled down again, kissed the ground, and laid his head upon the ground, and taking me by the foot, set my foot upon his head; this, it seems, was in token of swearing to be my slave forever.

—DEFOE, Robinson Crusoe (p. 199-200, Penguin Popular Classics)

Robinson Crusoe is often hailed as the first English novel, and its story will be familiar to many, albeit, I shall not assume, you, dear reader have read it, but I hope nonetheless that this little tale of a cannibal being rescued by a shipwrecked sailor, this tale of survival, struggle, friendship and faith does appease you, regardless of the creative liberties I took from the original text, which is available in the Public Domain, should you be so inclined, having piqued your curiosity, to (re-)discover this timeless story.

Friday’s Journal

Day 1

A strange man saved my life today. He killed my captors without touching them. When he bared his teeth at me, holding out one hand and his magic deathstick in the other, I could do nothing but lay my head on the ground so he can step on it with his foot. He did not eat me. I am grateful.

Day 3

The pale deathstick man with the wild, wiry beard brought me to where he lives. He speaks in a tongue I do not understand. He keeps repeating the same words, gesturing. I do the same, but he does not grasp our language. I am curious but I fear if I anger him, he will kill me. I must learn his ways.

Day 7

It has been a week. I learn, I observe, I am obedient. I am thankful for food and shelter. I am alive and he is eager to teach. He expects me to learn. Maybe he is good man, maybe he will not kill me with his deathstick. He is quick to anger. I must not eat flesh of the man. It is upsetting him.

Day 30

I understand more and more. He named me Friday, yet he never asks my name or anything about my life. I wonder about my family. Will I ever see them again? Master is a strange creature. He does not remember if it was Friday when he saved me. He thinks so. Time has no meaning here, yet he insists on counting days. I, too, count every day not kill by deathstick.

Year 1

Master’s God more powerful than Benamuckee, I believe. Master’s God hears everything even from far above the sky, yet Benamuckee sitting up on the mountain hears nothing. Why does Master not ask his God to bring him home? Master says God works in mysterious ways. Which ways I ask, Master does not seem to know. Maybe Master makes it all up, but I say nothing.

Year 3

I am Friday, I no longer eat man flesh. I am Christian and Master says I am good Christian. I say to Master but Christians are also Cannibals. He frowns. I say how priest gives body and blood of Christ to Christians to eat and drink. So, every Christian is cannibal. Master was not happy with me, says it is not really flesh. Why say so then? He says I do not understand.

Many talk, I nod and agree many times. Master not easy to argue with and when running out of answers, pretends not to hear. When we speak of Devil, he again does not explain. God is more powerful than the Devil he says, yet God allows Devil to live. Devil is evil I say, must die, God let Devil do evil things. Why? Master says God is merciful and forgives everyone if we repent.

I look at Master, he really believes, I can tell but then, I say, God will forgive the Devil, too.

I found it difficult to add another perspective to the original text, retelling the same story without sounding too similar, while still staying true to the source text. What do you think? Does it give a new perspective to the original text?

Here’s the last passage from above as found in the book:

“Yes, yes,” says I, “Friday, God is stronger than the devil, God is above the devil, and therefore we pray to God to tread him down under our feet, and enable us to resist his temptations and quench his fiery darts.” “But,” says he again, “if God much stronger, much might as the wicked devil, why God no kill the devil, so make him no more do wicked?” I was strangely surprised at this question, and, after all, though I was now an old man, yet I was but a young doctor, and ill qualified for a casuist or a solver of difficulties. And at first I could not tell what to say; so I pretended not to hear him, and asked him what he said. But he was too earnest for an answer to forget his question; so that he repeated it in the very same broken words as above. By this time I had recovered myself a little, and I said, “God will at last punish him severely; he is reserved for the judgment, and is to be cast into the bottomless pit, to dwell with everlasting fire.” This did not satisfy Friday, but he returns upon me, repeating my words, “‘Reserve at last,’ me no understand; but why not kill the devil now; not kill great ago?” “You may as well ask me,” said I, “why God does not kill you and I, when we do wicked things here that offend Him. We are preserved to repent and be pardoned.” He mused awhile at this. “Well, well,” says he, mighty affectionately, “that well; so you, I, Devil, all wicked, all preserve, repent, God pardon all.”

—DEFOE, Robinson Crusoe (p. 214-215, Penguin Popular Classics)

Why rewrite this from the perspective of Friday? How does this help your own writing? As the idiom goes, there are always two sides to every story. That holds true for the characters in our stories, too. One never knows what one might find unless one is willing to put on that other pair of slippers. Food for thought.

What a unique and poignant take on the classic! Alexander Ipfelkofer gave voice to Friday, and with utmost care and mindfulness to the character’s personhood and experience. For more narrative goodness at Tales from the Defrag, I highly recommend you read the following mind-blowing flash fiction pieces: