Due to the series of unfortunate events experienced, author Daniel Defoe uses a more melancholy and somber tone for the majority of the story. There were many times when Robinson had a more negative and pessimistic view of the situation during his nearly 30 years of living on a small island, which is understandable from the reader's perspective. These circumstances made the tone darker, as demonstrated by the passage: “Very ill. Scared almost to death by my sad condition: being sick and no help. I prayed to God, with all my thoughts confused" (Defoe