Department of English

This thesis compares the pedagogical methods used in the two didactic island narratives Ḥayy Ibn Yaqẓān and Robinson Crusoe. Although these narratives were produced in distinct historical moments they share commonalities in their design that provokes readerly investigation of contradictions. Through an allegorical interpretation of each narrative I examine the procedure each character undergoes as he becomes self-aware of his relationship to other humans, divine craftsmanship, and the metaphysical world. How do deserted island settings in these narratives become locations of autodidacticism, or self-learning, that consequently encourage social critique? I claim that these narratives generate models of critical and independent thought for contemporary readers. To buttress my claim I identify the points of institutional critique and anti-binary thinking exhibited in each narrative. I apply theories of the novel, self-reflection, conquest, learning and teaching to my close readings to illustrate how the process of dialectical reasoning is active. The final analysis finds that these texts use self-critique, exemplified by both characters and narrators, to help us readers continually re-envision effective methods of practicing pedagogy.