Daniel Defoe

Daniel Defoe (c.1659 – 24 April 1731[1]), born Daniel Foe, was an English writer, journalist, and pamphleteer, who gained enduring fame for his novel Robinson Crusoe. Defoe is notable for being one of the earliest proponents of the novel, as he helped to popularise the form in Britain, and is even referred to by some as one of the founders of the English novel. A prolific and versatile writer, he wrote more than five hundred books, pamphlets, and journals on various topics (including politics, crime, religion, marriage, psychology and the supernatural). He was also a pioneer of economic journalism.

Early life

Daniel Defoe has been reported to be born in the parish of St. Giles Cripplegate London. The date and the place of his birth are uncertain with sources often giving dates of 1659 to 1661. His father, James Foe, though a member of the Butchers' Company, was a tallow chandler. In Daniel's early life he experienced first-hand some of the most unusual occurrences in English history: in 1665, 70,000 were killed by the plague. On top of all these catastrophes, the Great Fire of London (1666) hit Defoe's neighbourhood hard, leaving only his and two other homes standing in the area. All of this happened when Defoe was very young and by the age of about thirteen, Defoe's mother had died.His parents were Presbyterian dissenters; he was educated in a Dissenting Academy at Newington Green run by Charles morton, and is believed to have attended the church there.

Defoe entered the world of business as a general merchant, dealing at different times in hosiery, general woollen goods, and wine. Though his ambitions were great and he bought both a country estate and a ship, he was rarely free of debt.In 1692, Defoe was arrested for payments of £700 though his total debts may have amounted to £17,000. His laments were loud, and he always defended unfortunate debtors, but there is evidence that his financial dealings were not always honest.

Mature life: political activities

Daniel Defoe had been early on interested in politic issues and so show his first essays and essays.From 1697 to 1698, he defended the right of King William III to a standing army during disarmament after the Treaty of Ryswick (1697) had ended the Nine Years' War (1688–97). Defoe's pamphleteering and political activities resulted in his arrest and placement in a pillory on July 31, 1703, principally on account of a pamphlet entitled The Shortest-Way with the Dissenters; Or, Proposals for the Establishment of the Church, purporting to argue for their extermination. Defoe spent three days in the pillory, until Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford and Mortimer, brokered his release in exchange for Defoe's co-operation as an intelligence agent. Not all of Defoe's pamphlet writing was politically oriented. One pamphlet entitled "A True Relation of the Apparition of One Mrs. Veal the Next Day after her Death to One Mrs. Bargrave at Canterbury the 8th of September, 1705," deals with interaction between the spiritual realm and the physical realm. It was most likely written in support of Charles Drelincourt's "The Christian Defense against the Fears of Death" (1651). It describes Mrs. Bargrave's encounter with an old friend, Mrs. Veal, after she had passed away. It is clear from this piece and other writings, that while the political portion of Defoe's life was fairly dominating, it was by no means the only aspect.

Major Works

Robinson Crusoe tells the story of his life on an island for 27 seven years. He learns to survive for more than 20 years there, until one day he finds a human foot print which is not his, and he's scared to death by the discovery: he knows he's surrounded by canibal barbarians living on the opposite shore of the island. Soon after, he witnesses a human sacrifice, but one of the preys escape from this slashing. Robinson rescues him, and names his new servant 'Friday', in honor of the day he saved him. Friday is taught to speak English and is introduced to the Bible, the only book Robinson found in his sunk ship. Friday tells his master of the region where he used to live: there were white bearded people, like Robinson himself, that remains abandoned after another shipwreck. Yet another event unfolds when another ship, victim of a mutiny, arrives in the island. Crusoe and Friday help the Captain and the prisoners to retrieve the ship, finally escaping from the island with the help of these men. Back in London again, Crusoe learns of the new life and the new civilization that has evolved since he was left ashore in an island, 27 years ago.

Moll Flanders tells the story of an orphanaged girl who is born in Newgate Prison and must make her way in life by her wits and her beauty. Fate manages to kill, destroy, or to eliminate all of Moll's husbands, lovers, caregivers, and friends by means such as incest, chicanery, or imprisonment. Over all adversity Moll manages to triumph until , at the end of her life, Moll is living in comfort in London with her true love, Jemy. Both lament their former sins and wild ways and choose to "spend the remainder of our years in sincere penitence for the wicked lives we have lived." Main Characters: Moll Flanders - the narrator and heroine of the book . Her escapades to procure wealth and her adventures as her circumstances change provide the plot of the novel. Jemy - Moll's fourth husband, her true love, who is as much a con artist as Moll. Defoe Moll's Brother/Husband - Moll's third husband who takes her to live in Virginia and, after several years of marriage, is revealed to be her half brother. Robin - Moll's first husband who dies after only five years of marriage. The Draper - Moll's second husband who escapes prison and flees to France after being arrested for bad debts. The Bank Clerk - Moll's fifth husband who dies from grief over the loss of his money. The Governess - the pawnbroker who encourages Moll in her life of thievery.

Roxana: The Fortunate Mistress concerns the story of an unnamed "fallen woman", who takes on various pseudonyms, including "Roxana," describes her fall from wealth thanks to abandonment by a "fool" of a husband and movement into prostitution upon his abandonment. Roxana moves up and down through the social spectrum several times, by contracting a marriage to a jeweler, secretly courting a prince, being offered marriage by a Dutch merchant, and is finally able to afford her own freedom by accumulating wealth from these men. The novel examines the possibility of eighteenth century women owning their own estate despite a patriarchal society. The novel further draws attention to the incompatibility between sexual freedom and freedom from motherhood. Roxana becomes pregnant many times due to her sexual exploits, and it is one of her children who come back to expose her, years later, by the closing scenes in the novel.The character of Roxana can be described as a proto-feminist because she carries out her actions of prostitution for her own ends of freedom, but before a feminist ideology was fully formed.

Final years and legacy

In his final years, Defoe published two economic texts, The Complete English Tradesman (1725) and "Augusta Triumphans: A Plan of the English Commerce" (1728). Ironically, despite his personal interest in trade, and his successes as a bestselling pamphleteer and writer of fiction, Defoe died in poverty in his lodgings in Ropemaker's Alley, in Moorfields, London. Defoe is regarded as one of the founders of the English novel. Before his time fiction was primarily written in verse or in the form of plays, but Defoe developed a new form of storytelling - one which remains until today. He can also be credited with being one of the founding fathers of English journalism.

REFERENCES:

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/155842/Daniel-Defoe

http://www.notablebiographies.com/De-Du/Defoe-Daniel.html

http://www.biographybase.com/biography/Defoe_Daniel.html

Article by Jonathan Villar.