...Daniel Defoe I chose to write about and present the great writer Daniel Defoe. My interest for Defoe comes from his well-known novel, Robinson Crusoe which is a book read by most people and even has a TV-program inspired by the book. My curiosity for the background of the novel was the main reason why I chose to work with Defoe. Daniel Defoe, born Daniel Foe, was born in London somewhere between 1659 and 1661 and was the son of the butcher, James Foe. In his early years Defoe had a great desire to travel. In order to satisfy this desire he has to devote 35 years of his life to a business in socks. He travelled a lot and took part of many great adventures. But then his life turned, a difficult bankruptcy led him to start writing. At the same time he changed his name to Defoe. In 1697 he released An Essay upon Projects, a work that showed Defoe's practical orientation and his belief that Englishmen living conditions could be improved by such as better roads, health care and child care. Defoe became involved in political debate and got the opportunity to show his great talent as a journalist, satirist and poet. During the years 1704-13 Defoe worked as an editor of the political magazine The Review and practically continued the remaining of his life in journalism. When Defoe was around 60 years old he began to write the work that made him into a portal figure in the realist novel's history. In 1719-22 he published Robinson Crusoe, a fictional story inspired by reports of the...
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...Daniel Foe, or as he changed his name to Defoe later in his life was a man who lived an interesting life. He was a merchant, a spy, and then an author. Defoe spent much of his life involved with political matters. His life and everything he did was for either politics or for personal gain by looking like he knew what he was doing. Defoe’s life is an interesting tale of a man who tried to look like he fit in, and looked the part perfectly. Defoe’s life will be analyzed in four parts his early life, his adult life, his worldview, and his accomplishments. Daniel Defoe’s early life was spent having very interesting events around himself for him to witness. The first was the Great Plague of London in 1655, then the next year his parent’s house and two others in his neighborhood survived the Great Fire of London, and the next year the Dutch attacked London again. When he was 10 he was being taught at Reverend James Fisher’s boarding school in Dorking Surrey. When Defoe was 14 he attended the dissenting academy in Newington Green in London. Defoe’s early life was interesting, and set him up to have an interesting personality and view of the world. Defoe’s adult life is where his life’s story gets interesting, and shows how well his skills of fitting into a situation...
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...John Doe * Ms. Smith * English IV Honors * 12 December 2010 * The Guide to Survival * Daniel Defoe’s novel depicts a young Englishman who is shipwrecked on his journey from Brazil. Crusoe becomes joyful after years on the island, calling himself “the king.” Saving the life of a man that the cannibals have come to feast upon, he finds companionship. Naming him Friday, Crusoe takes responsibility for him, educates him but still considers him as a slave. Despite being accustomed to living on a plantation, he adapts to island life. When Crusoe returns later to the island, he finds that the island is an imperial colony governed by Spaniards. When mental toughness is challenged, adaptation to the environment with courage and happiness are the key to survival. * In Robinson Crusoe, Crusoe says “And now I have Difficulties to struggle with, too great for even Nature itself to support, and no Assistance, no Help, no Comfort, no Advice; then I cry’d out, Lord be my help, for I am in great Distress” (91). After Crusoe makes this statement, he becomes independent and figures out the ways of survival by surveying the island as he becomes healthier and starts to mark the days that he has been stranded. He learns that he cannot give up if he wants to see the light of another day. When people are put into a different environment then they are used to, they do not learn to adapt which leads them to an unsuccessful survival point. Change of life styles is the...
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...Take a risk and Survives The paper is LI-256 final paper; I decided theme is “Take a risk and Survives” I choose the two stories are The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain and Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe. They have different plot, different author, different setting and different protagonist. But they have same theme, this is human of adventurous and stronger survival ability. “Robinson Crusoe” is the representative work of Daniel Defoe. It is a famous and impartment literature. The story talk about us a retire life. In navigation, Robinson riding in a boat ran aground near the island, the seaman and passengers were all drowned, but only Robinson was lucky to survive and the waves roll him on the beach in island. The protagonist Robinson that used strong will and unremitting efforts tenaciously survive on the island about 28 years. He experienced limited risk; he was to overcome the fear of living alone and no water of pain. He wins he own spiritual despaired and over back to home by British ships. The story is divided into three parts; the first part is about “Robinson” three nautical experiences. The second part is the main body of the novel, written survives experience in the island. The third part is written after he left the island. “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” is American writer Mark Twain long novel. It published in 1876. The background is St. Technetium town and it is near the Mississippi River in the United States. The story...
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...Foe Thesis Coetzee’s “Foe” reinvents the story of Daniel DeFoe’s classic novel, “Robinson Crusoe”. Though the classic is recreated to include a woman, the myth that is “Robinson Crusoe” seems to be merely a setting as the novel revolves around the narrator and her experiences. The book is narrated by Susan Barton, a “newcomer”, cast away on the same island as “Cruso” and Friday. Through Susan’s interactions with fellow castaways, and later with the former author, Foe, himself and her daughter, “Susan” we see a pattern emerge. It is one that speaks of her struggle and a journey to claim her own identity and ultimately her voice amidst oppressive male-dominated European colonialist society. This becomes especially apparent as Susan’s obsession to uncover Friday’s truth reflects her own feelings of inadequacy and eventually helps to reveal her authenticity by awakening her ability to speak. Susan Barton, born to an English mother and a French father, has a daughter by the same name. The daughter is abducted by an Englishman ''and conveyed to the New World.'' [pg. 10] Susan searches for her in Brazil, but in Bahia the trail goes cold. She remains there, searching for her daughter for two years, then sails for Lisbon. During the voyage, a mutiny ensues, the sailors kill the captain and abandon Susan, setting her adrift in a small boat. She is cast ashore on an island, where she is found by Friday and brought to his master, Cruso. Cruso, an Englishman in his mid-sixties, isn’t...
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...Investigating Religion as a Theme “I began now seriously to reflect upon what I had done, and how justly I was overtaken by the judgment of Heaven for my wickedly leaving my father’s house, and abandoning my duty,”(6).’ Throughout the world literature classic Robinson Crusoe, author Daniel Defoe effectively uses religion as a main theme. The main character, Crusoe, is dependent on his religion throughout the novel. Crusoe believes God has helped him when he has made bad decisions. Some may argue that Crusoe used luck to get through these intense situations. The truth is that Crusoe’s belief in religion is bluntly evident throughout the entire novel. Crusoe wouldn’t have made it through his first voyage without his belief in God. Throughout the first pages of the book it seems as though praying is all that he does. He prayed to God like a slave prays for freedom. Crusoe relied very heavily on his belief to carry him through his fear of shipwreck. “In this agony of mind I made vows and resolutions, that if it would please God here to spare my life this one voyage, if I ever got my foot upon dry land again I would go directly home to my father,”(7).’ This quote shows how Crusoe depends on God. If Crusoe did not have a strong belief in God, then why would he make these promises? Some may argue that Crusoe is just a lucky man. This argument is wrong, because Crusoe states throughout the novel how much he relies on God. Could luck alone save Crusoe from terrible storms, lions...
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...One could be forgiven for believing that the words ‘fiction’ and ‘novel’ mean one and the same thing. The main reason for this confusion is that both of them have a common denominator; they both tell a story. In the novel, we have the theatre of life and for over two centuries it has been the most effective agent of the moral imagination. Though it has never really achieved perfection in form and its shortcomings are numerable, nevertheless one experiences from it not only the extent of human variety, but also the value of this variety. Fiction existed right from the first time man told a story and thus it is in this respect only, that it is similar to the forerunner of the novel as we know it today, which is any work of fiction in England written before 1670. Novelists express their conscious conclusions about life as they experience it and these manifest themselves not only in the characters they create and their interaction with each other, but also in the way they make them react or respond to the various situations in which they find themselves and in what they say within these situations. They are relatively free to choose their material, but their conclusions about life and the nature of their novels are dependent on their innate personality, as this affects not only the way in which they present their characters, but also our own understanding and response to their inherent values and behaviour. In this sense, novelists can be seen as mediators between their characters...
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...THE ART OF FICTION by Henry James [Published in Longman's Magazine 4 (September 1884), and reprinted in Partial Portraits (Macmillan, 1888); paragraphing and capitalization follow the Library of America edition.] I SHOULD not have affixed so comprehensive a title to these few remarks, necessarily wanting in any completeness, upon a subject the full consideration of which would carry us far, did I not seem to discover a pretext for my temerity in the interesting pamphlet lately published under this name by Mr. Walter Besant. Mr. Besant's lecture at the Royal Institution--the original form of his pamphlet--appears to indicate that many persons are interested in the art of fiction and are not indifferent to such remarks as those who practise it may attempt to make about it. I am therefore anxious not to lose the benefit of this favourable association, and to edge in a few words under cover of the attention which Mr. Besant is sure to have excited. There is something very encouraging in his having put into form certain of his ideas on the mystery of story-telling. It is a proof of life and curiosity--curiosity on the part of the brotherhood of novelists, as well as on the part of their readers. Only a short time ago it might have been supposed that the English novel was not what the French call discutable. It had no air of having a theory, a conviction, a consciousness of itself behind it-of being the expression of an artistic faith, the result of choice and comparison. I do...
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...significant part of their lives in England, or Scotland, or Wales, or Northern Ireland (or Ireland before 1922)]. However, given the nature of the subject, this guideline has been applied with common sense, and reference is made to novels in other languages or novelists who are not primarily British where appropriate. Portrait of Samuel Richardson by Joseph Highmore.National Portrait Gallery, Westminster, England. Contents [hide] 1 Early novels in English 2 Romantic period 3 Victorian novel 4 20th century 5 Survey 6 Famous novelists (alphabetical order) 7 See also 8 References Early novels in English[edit source | editbeta] See the article First novel in English. The English novel has generally been seen as beginning with Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe (1719) and Moll Flanders (1722),[1] though John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress (1678) and Aphra Behn's Oroonoko (1688) are also contenders, while earlier works such as Sir Thomas Malory's Morte d'Arthur, and even the "Prologue" to Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales have been suggested.[2] Another important early novel is Gulliver's Travels (1726, amended 1735), by Irish writer and clergyman Jonathan Swift, which is both a satire of human nature, as well as a parody of travellers' tales like Robinson Crusoe.[3] The rise of the novel as an important literary genre is generally associated with the growth of the middle class in England. Other major 18th century English novelists are Samuel Richardson (1689-1761)...
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...Eden Robinson: Incorporating her beliefs into her work A value is something that someone individually believes is important, Eden Robinson has demonstrated 3 of her values from the characters in her novel as well as her life. Loyalty is showing constant appreciation and support towards someone or something. Spirituality is the state of being spiritual and believing in spirits and supernatural people or objects. Determination is when someone decides that something is so important to them that no matter what pulls them down they will preserver to pull themselves back up. It is clear that Eden Robinson incorporates several aspects of her own life into the novel Monkey Beach, which became evident throughout the exploration of Robinsons values of loyalty, and determination. Throughout the novel Monkey beach and Robinson’s life it has become clear that Robinson is a loyal person and values loyalty. Robinson values loyalty as she has grown up with and chooses to embrace her large knowledge of her culture. A fact is that Robinson was, “Born at Haisla Nation Kitamaat Reserve, daughter of a Haisla father and Heiltsuk mother grew up in Kitamaat territory on British Columbia's central coast.” (Canadian encyclopedia 1) Robinson left her hometown when she went to university but, “after many years of travel and city life, Robinson returned to Kitamaat Reserve in 2003.” (Canadian encyclopedia 1) She did not need to come back to the Kitamaat territory, her career as an author had begun but instead...
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...Joshua Clarke Prof. Bisla ENG 333 5.8.2014 How Natural is the Supernatural Horace Walpole's The Castle of Otranto makes frequent use of supernatural effects. The novel's uses of the supernatural are a perfect example of its predecessor status as the first gothic novel, as well as question the purpose for all of its supernatural occurrences. Is it God punishing those deserving of the sentence? Or is it all just a very big coincidence and in our characters’ imagination? Most of the supernatural incidents in the novel are directed towards the themes of succession and inheritance. They revolve around the issue of establishing the rightful heir to the seat of Otranto. Because of the murderous actions of his grandfather Don Ricardo, who poisoned the previous rightful owner Alfonso the Good, the current prince Manfred has ruled over the region contrary to the precepts of genealogical law. In fact, many of the ghostly occurrences relate to exposing the usurper Ricardo before establishing Theodore, the rightful heir, onto the throne. The apparitions are portrayed in a bizarre and exaggerated manner, allowing the story to take on a rather surreal, unbelievable route where it is safe to say that spiritual vengeance is being exacted on those “got away with it”. This is apparent in the opening scene, when Manfred discovers that his only son has been crushed to death under a giant helmet which appears to have fallen out of the sky. It would later be discovered that the helmet is similar...
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...This essay presents a brief overview of the development of the nineteenth century English novel. Transition and Transformation: One could be forgiven for believing that the words ‘fiction’ and ‘novel’ mean one and the same thing. The main reason for this confusion is that both of them have a common denominator; they both tell a story. In the novel, we have the theatre of life and for over two centuries it has been the most effective agent of the moral imagination. Though it has never really achieved perfection in form and its shortcomings are numerable, nevertheless one experiences from it not only the extent of human variety, but also the value of this variety. Fiction existed right from the first time man told a story and thus it is in this respect only, that it is similar to the forerunner of the novel as we know it today, which is any work of fiction in England written before 1670. Novelists express their conscious conclusions about life as they experience it and these manifest themselves not only in the characters they create and their interaction with each other, but also in the way they make them react or respond to the various situations in which they find themselves and in what they say within these situations. They are relatively free to choose their material, but their conclusions about life and the nature of their novels are dependent on their innate personality, as this affects not only the way in which they present their characters, but also our own understanding...
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...“Disgracing himself” This novel, “Disgrace” by J.M. Coetzee was such an outrageous novel for me. David Lurie was our main character; he was involved throughout the whole entire novel. David Lurie has many superior changes that occur to him in his life. As, we analyzed David Lurie is the main character in the novel, he acknowledges many terrific experiences, some were quite shocking and extremely intense. The author of this novel makes David Lurie’s personality seem very doubtful. There are many significant changes in David Lurie, especially how his personality creates new a character for him. Many major changes occur to David Lurie’s life, these affect him a positive manner. The changes occur and teach him not to make similar mistakes as previously has done. Living in the life of David Lurie is quite surprising. David is a brilliant man; he’s a college professor. He isn’t any ordinary human being; he’s a freak with a sex addiction. The part that was most shocking for me was that he pays prostitutes for sexual intercourse. This is completely wrong, why pay for sex? Being a professor is quite a difficult career since you must respect your students. David isn’t feeling himself; Melanie brings change into his life. She makes him feel so much active and younger; bring more sexual fantasies into his life. David struggles to grab Melanie’s attention, even while he’s teaching in a class session. Melanie keeps on teasing this vulnerable old man on. He displays his cockiness throughout...
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...In J.M Coetzee’s Disgrace, it is a very powerful novel that has many unfortunate events all taking place in South Africa. J.M Coetzee wanted to really outline the topic of racial oppression in South Africa and interlink it with very grim themes that are very raw and brutal. There are many themes in the novel ‘Disgrace’’ such as sex, family (relationship between David and his daughter Lucy), violence, men and masculinity, and women and power. In this essay, my main focus is the theme of women and power and the injustice they face in their society. This essay will also briefly explain how the men’s perspective towards women can be viewed as degrading and immoral. It is an intense theme, the text represents a male dominated society and women are followers. It outlines the idea that men do not value women, they have very little respect for them. It also emphasizes the idea that men hold a lot of power compared to women. However, throughout the novel the characters, especially David, they change. He is represented as an arrogant man, feels superior. Throughout the novel, his character tends to change; he becomes powerless in the sense that he loses everything, his job, and reputation and not to mention his dignity. David Lurie is an intriguing character; he is a professor teaching romantic poetry and has so much passion for literature and arts as well as culture but the irony is that his personal life is led by ignorance, this is evident in the way he objectifies both Melanie and...
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...Brtlt20a.wpd Lesson 20a: The Victorian Novel (Day: 168-170) The Victorian reading public firmly established the novel as the dominant literary form of the era. Virtually the entire literate population consisted of novel-readers. Herbert Spencer, that rigorous apostle of science, exempted George Eliot's works works from his general condemnation of "mere" novels; Newman and Arnold were avid readers of fiction; and Darwin stated in his Autobiography that to him novels were "a wonderful relief and pleasure." Carlyle, however, dourly excluded the novelist from the category of the hero as writer. Amazingly, Tennyson compared the novel to verse drama and gave it higher rating: "I am of the opinion that if a man were endowed with such faculties as Shakespeare's, they would be more freely and effectively exercised in prose fiction with its wider capabilities than when "cribbed, cabined, and confined" in the trammels of verse." Certainly the novel may well be termed the most distinctive and lasting literary achievement of Victorian literature. At the outset of the Victorian period no one, except possibly Thackeray, considered the novel a significant art form. By 1853, however, Clough, writing in the North American Review, recognized that cultured readers had turned their attention from poetry to the novel. By the century's end the novel had completely triumphed over poetry as aesthetic and spiritual nourishment for English readers. The novel by this time claimed writing...
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