One of the elements that made Friday's success or wild life is the presence

of Robinson and Friday. Indeed, the characters of Friday or the wild life allow
Michel Tournier to approach complex themes brilliantly as we will see later.

The Characters of Friday or Wild Life:

The narrative is centered around two main characters: Robinson and Friday.
Two secondary elements also play a small role: Tenn, the dog survived from
"Virginia" and Andra, a small goat that Friday collected and cared for.

The book is composed of two main parts separated by the arrival of Friday
which is the central element of the book (chapter 13). The first part puts
Robinson in action alone and the second sees the relationship between
Robinson and Friday evolving.

Robinson:
We know that before the shipwreck, Robinson is married, has two children
and is a native of England. It seeks to organize trade between England and
Chile. Although there is no portrait of him in the book, one immediately sees
the impression of "knowing" him. This is because we share our thoughts and
reactions.

Although most of his actions are constructive, he sometimes experiences

moments of depression: he is discouraged when he is in the mud and he
wants to abandon everything when he is in the cave.

The relationship between Robinson and Friday:

This relationship is very ambiguous and evolves as the book progresses.

After the liberation of Friday, we witnessed his submission to Robinson, the

"white liberator". The colonist exercises his power over the Indian and
inculcates the model of European civilization.

The second part of the book is composed of two sub-parts. The first shows
an unbalanced relationship: Robinson learns many things at Friday with
many enumerations while the Indian does not teach him much. However, it
will be noted that Friday became the main character and Robinson takes up
less place in history. There is an opposition between the two protagonists:
on one side Robinson is serious while on the other side Friday keeps a great
freedom of spirit and likes to laugh, play, laze ...
The second sub-part following the explosion of the barrels of powder causes
a reversal of situation: Robinson learns to be free whereas it is a natural
behavior for Friday. However, it is Robinson who observes and learns and not
Friday inculcates.

This relationship can be observed in the use of objects. For Robinson,

objects serve to recreate civilization whereas in the case of the Indian, they
serve to express his joie de vivre. The explosion reveals differences in
behavior: Robinson tries to recover what can still be used while Friday
destroys the remaining objects per game.

Conclusion of this analysis of the characters of Friday or wild life:

It can be said that each of the two protagonists is deeply marked by the
civilization he has known. First of all, the behavior of the two characters of
Friday or the wild life is contradictory and then begins to converge towards
the way of life of Friday with finally a reversal of situation.

Orphaned Robinson will be returned to the cosmos.

Moreover, if the figure of the goat often intervenes in the myth of Dionysos,
it is
Because she is her favorite victim for sacrifices. Despite his injuries,
Forced him to stand still in his hammock for three days, Friday
"Was constantly talking about finding the beast he had baptized Andoar and
who appeared
Inspire him with an admiration mingled with tenderness "(VLP, 195).

The wind
The arrival of the new era of cosmic union, announced by the destruction of
The old order, is symbolized by the conversion of the goat Andoar into a
wind harp and
In kite. The powerful and melodious slab of the great goat sacrificed,
sympllOnie
Instantaneous and cosmic, is inscribed entirely in the moment (VLP, 227);
it's a
Dionysian music in the image of this eternal and renewing present of the
solar reign.
For me now, the cycle has narrowed to the point where it merges with
The moment. The circular movement has become so rapid that it is no
longer distinguished
Of immobility. [...] Time froze at the moment when the
Shards. Hence, is it not in eternity that we have settled,
Friday and me? (VLP, p.219)
Andoar, with his "Semitic Patriarch's Mask," with the "Ringed Beard" (VLP,
196), is a symbol of Governor Robinson: "Andoar was me. This old lonely
male
And stubborn with his patriarch's beard and his fleeces sweating with
lubricity. This telluric fauna
Bitterly rooted of its four forked hoofs in its stony mountain,
(VLP, 227). The conversion of the goat into a wind harp symbolizes the
death
Of Robinson telluric while its metamorphosis in kite presages the ascent
Spiritual of elementary Robinson at the Solar City. "Earth. Tree and wind
Celebrated in unison the nocturnal apotheosis of Andoar "(VLP, 209).
This symbolic conversion of geotropic Robinson into being wind takes up the
Metaphor of Robinson larva turned butterfly that crosses the novel,
encapsulating the
Initiatory journey of the protagonist. This comparison is first
Moment of innocence that occurs with the suspension of time use on the
island
Carried out by stopping the clepsydre:

The wind phase

The arrival of the new era of cosmic union, announced by the destruction of
The old order, is symbolized by the conversion of the goat Andoar into a
wind harp and
In kite. The powerful and melodious slab of the great goat sacrificed,
sympllOnie
Instantaneous and cosmic, is inscribed entirely in the moment (VLP, 227);
it's a
Music dionysieque in the image of this eternal and renewing present of the
solar reign.