Biographical Notes on Daniel Defoe

Remembered today as the writer of what is often considered the first English novel, Daniel Defoe was best known in his lifetime as a tireless author of pamphlets and periodicals. Penning works that many critics feel influenced more people than the writings of Addison, Steele, and Swift, he was once called the "Goliath of his Party." His voluminous output, his dedicated service to government leaders, and his commitment to justice still did not win him the prizes he most desired: acceptance as a gentleman and respect as a writer. Although aware of Defoe's accomplishments as a writer, Jonathan Swift referred to him as "that fellow who was pilloryied, I have forgot his name." Daniel Foe was born in 1660 to committed Protestants who left the Church of England after the Act of Uniformity in 1662, following their Dissenting minister who refused to conform to the new laws. Descended from Flemish immigrants who came to England during Elizabeths reign, the elder Foe was a tallow chandler (candlemaker) who saw to it that his son received a solid education at Morton's Academy. There he was prepared for the Presbyterian ministry, a future he eventually rejected about the same time he hanged his name to the more illustrious-sounding Defoe. Throughout his life he worked energetically to achieve both social and financial success through careers in business, politics, and literature. No matter how close he came, however, these goals finally eluded him. As a businessman Defoe acquired much of the knowledge of economics and trade that he would use in later writings. He started out as a hosier (stocking maker) and achieved sufficient prominence to marry Mary Tuffley, the daughter of a wealthy Dissenting merchant who brought him 3,700 pounds as a dowry. This union lasted almost 50 years, producing six children who survived to adulthood. His next business ventures involved trading Spanish and Portuguese goods; during this period he traveled as far as Spain and developed strong opinions about the necessity for England to secure a physical presence in South America to facilitate trade in that area. When trade routes were lost to French privateers during King William's War in 1692, Defoe suffered huge losses, declaring bankruptcy when his debts reached 17,000 pounds. By working diligently he paid off many of these debts while at the same time investing in and finally

running a brick and tile factory in Essex, a promising venture that failed only when arrest for his political views made it impossible for him to supervise the firm properly. Although Defoe thought of himself as a political moderate with no firm party affiliation, he felt most akin to Whig ideals and supported the Revolution of 1688, which drove out King James II and replaced him with william and Mary. Indeed, he claimed to have "been in arms under the Duke of Monmouth" during the 1685 rebellion against James II, earlier going so far as to copy out the Pentateuch (first five books of the Old Testament) in shorthand when Dissenters feared English Bibles might be confiscated as part of the alleged "Popish Plot." He rode in the Lord Mayor's procession that welcomed William to London in 1689; in fact, his only official government posts came during William's reign, when he served as accountant to the commissioners of Glass Duty and as manager of the royal lotteries. Defoe's commitment to William's policies resulted in his first political writings, pamphlets that tried to explain the Revolution settlement and supported William's foreign policies. This interest in current affairs led to Defoe's first full-length book, An Essay Upon Projects, published in 1697. This work discussed problems ranging from the establishment of road systems, insane asylums, schools for women, and military colleges to discussion of economic and social reforms. A century later Benjamin Franklin acknowledged his debt to many of Defoe's ideas found in this book. During William's reign Defoe continued to publish articles seen as radical by the opposing party, which took a dim view of Defoe's faith in the power of the people over their elected representatives in Parliament. The Tory Party particularly wished to silence him when it attempted to return to power at the beginning of Queen Anne's reign in 1702. The chance came when Defoe wrote an ironic essay, "The Shortest Way With Dissenters," in which he criticized Tory policies by advocating executing Dissenters in lieu of the small fines currently imposed on them. This modest proposal came 27 years before Swift's essay on Irish poverty, and its irony was lost on Defoe's audience. Both Dissenters and Tories took him seriously, causing him to be tried in 1703 on charges of seditious libel. Although he hoped to gain mercy by pleading guilty, he was sentenced to stand in the pillory three times, to pay a heavy fine, and to remain in prison "at the Queen's pleasure." Fortunately, Defoe's writing ability had come to the attention of Robert Harley, a moderate Tory leader, who saw the chance to enlist a grateful and talented author in his cause. Bankrupt again because of the trial and time in prison,

Defoe agreed to serve Harley as a writer and information gatherer, often working secretly to arouse the least suspicion. Although he continued to pursue business interests, from 1703 until his death in 1731, writing of various kinds became Defoe's chief occupation. In Harley's service he published The Review, a newspaper that appeared thrice weekly from 1704-1713, in which Defoe promoted Harley's foreign and domestic policies but also took the opportunity to comment on many topics of concern to him. Defoe twice traveled the country seeking information on the views of prominent citizens, often relying on conversations with Dissenting ministers and booksellers, through whom he would later distribute his pamphlets. His most extended trip came in 1706 when he went to Scotland to promote the Act of Union, arguing with Scottish Jacobites (supporters of the exiled James II) who feared the Hanoverian Succession, with the Kirk who did not want their Presbyterian church organization replaced by an episcopalian one, and with citizens who doubted the economic wisdom of the plan. Until 1710 Defoe was able to reconcile his own moderate views and his sincere support of union with Harley's, but he became uncomfortable when an increasingly intolerant Tory Party shut down the Dissenting Academies, such as the one where he had been educated. He wrote his own views anonymously, and again his reliance on irony was his downfall when he published two pamphlets demonstrating the wisdom of instating an absolute Jacobite monarch. Briefly arrested, he was freed again by Harley in 1713. Queen Anne's death in 1714 also signaled the reemergence of the Whigs in government. That party was upset by Defoe's editing of a letter attacking one of their interim regents and he was again found guilty of libel in 1715. Defoe apologized to the Whigs for his seeming betrayal, both in the letter and in his service to Harley, resulting in his sentence's deferral and his employment as a writer for the Whig cause. Again, he dealt in clandestine tasks, being charged with continuing to write for Tory publications but "softening" their harshest criticisms of Whig policy. To this end Defoe was a subeditor of Mists Jounral until 1726, when Mr. Mist learned of his colleague's doubledealing, making it impossible for Defoe to get similar work in other publications. Ever resourceful, Defoe continued to publish his opinions under the name Andrew Moreton. Throughout this tempestuous period, Defoe also produced the majority of his full-length books, whose subjects included travel, marriage and family, the occult, history, and economy. Three historical novels (Memoirs of a Cavalier, A Journal of the

Plague Year, and The History of Colonel Jack) and several books about criminals were also popular. However, Defoe has secured his place in literary history on the basis of his virtual invention of the realistic English novel with the publication in 1719 of The Life and Strange Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, of York, Mariner. The polite audience of his day did not know quite what to make of it, questioning its veracity and its lessons. Defoe, however, was writing for the audience of Mists Journal, poorer people who could read but didn't have the time or desire to read extensively. In them he struck a chord with his tale of a resourceful, practical, moral, and ultimately successful middle-class man. From the first the novel was a success that helped create a new reading public, while at the same time making established writers like Alexander Pope contemptuous of this achievement, perhaps because of the threat they perceived to their own literary prominence. The final years of Defoe's life should have been rewarding. The novels that followed Robinson Crusoe, most notably Moll Flanders, were successful; he maintained a large house and rode out from it in a coach. He never recovered as a journalist, however, from the breach with Mist, and he continued to have problems with creditors, some of whom took advantage of his previous history to claim false debts. As late as his last summer, Defoe was trying to elude these charges; when he died in 1731 he had no idea that he would later be praised as the father of the English novel or that Robinson Crusoe would enter into European literature as a mythic figure, familiar to people who had never read his landmark work.
Source: http://www.coreknowledge.org/

Plot Overview Robinson Crusoe is an Englishman from the town of York in the seventeenth century, the youngest son of a merchant of German origin. Encouraged by his father to study law, Crusoe expresses his wish to go to sea instead. His family is against Crusoe going out to sea, and his father explains that it is better to seek a modest, secure life for oneself. Initially, Robinson is committed to obeying his father, but he eventually succumbs to temptation and embarks on a ship bound for London with a friend. When a storm causes the near deaths of Crusoe and his friend, the friend is dissuaded from sea travel, but Crusoe still goes on to set himself up as merchant on a ship leaving London. This trip is financially successful, and Crusoe plans another, leaving his early profits in

the care of a friendly widow. The second voyage does not prove as fortunate: the ship is seized by Moorish pirates, and Crusoe is enslaved to a potentate in the North African town of Sallee. While on a fishing expedition, he and a slave boy break free and sail down the African coast. A kindly Portuguese captain picks them up, buys the slave boy from Crusoe, and takes Crusoe to Brazil. In Brazil, Crusoe establishes himself as a plantation owner and soon becomes successful. Eager for slave labor and its economic advantages, he embarks on a slave-gathering expedition to West Africa but ends up shipwrecked off of the coast of Trinidad. Crusoe soon learns he is the sole survivor of the expedition and seeks shelter and food for himself. He returns to the wrecks remains twelve times to salvage guns, powder, food, and other items. Onshore, he finds goats he can graze for meat and builds himself a shelter. He erects a cross that he inscribes with the date of his arrival, September 1, 1659 , and makes a notch every day in order never to lose track of time. He also keeps a journal of his household activities, noting his attempts to make candles, his lucky discovery of sprouting grain, and his construction of a cellar, among other events. In June 1660 , he falls ill and hallucinates that an angel visits, warning him to repent. Drinking tobacco-steeped rum, Crusoe experiences a religious illumination and realizes that God has delivered him from his earlier sins. After recovering, Crusoe makes a survey of the area and discovers he is on an island. He finds a pleasant valley abounding in grapes, where he builds a shady retreat. Crusoe begins to feel more optimistic about being on the island, describing himself as its king. He trains a pet parrot, takes a goat as a pet, and develops skills in basket weaving, bread making, and pottery. He cuts down an enormous cedar tree and builds a huge canoe from its trunk, but he discovers that he cannot move it to the sea. After building a smaller boat, he rows around the island but nearly perishes when swept away by a powerful current. Reaching shore, he hears his parrot calling his name and is thankful for being saved once again. He spends several years in peace. One day Crusoe is shocked to discover a mans footprint on the beach. He first assumes the footprint is the devils, then decides it must belong to one of the cannibals said to live in the region. Terrified, he arms himself and remains on the lookout for cannibals. He also builds an underground cellar in which to herd his goats at night and devises a way to cook underground. One evening he hears gunshots, and the next day he is able to see a ship wrecked on his coast. It is empty when he arrives on the scene to investigate. Crusoe once again thanks Providence for having been saved. Soon afterward, Crusoe discovers that the shore has been strewn with human carnage, apparently the remains of a cannibal feast. He is alarmed and continues to be vigilant. Later Crusoe catches sight of thirty cannibals heading for shore with their victims. One of the victims is killed.

Another one, waiting to be slaughtered, suddenly breaks free and runs toward Crusoes dwelling. Crusoe protects him, killing one of the pursuers and injuring the other, whom the victim finally kills. Well-armed, Crusoe defeats most of the cannibals onshore. The victim vows total submission to Crusoe in gratitude for his liberation. Crusoe names him Friday, to commemorate the day on which his life was saved, and takes him as his servant. Finding Friday cheerful and intelligent, Crusoe teaches him some English words and some elementary Christian concepts. Friday, in turn, explains that the cannibals are divided into distinct nations and that they only eat their enemies. Friday also informs Crusoe that the cannibals saved the men from the shipwreck Crusoe witnessed earlier, and that those men, Spaniards, are living nearby. Friday expresses a longing to return to his people, and Crusoe is upset at the prospect of losing Friday. Crusoe then entertains the idea of making contact with the Spaniards, and Friday admits that he would rather die than lose Crusoe. The two build a boat to visit the cannibals land together. Before they have a chance to leave, they are surprised by the arrival of twenty-one cannibals in canoes. The cannibals are holding three victims, one of whom is in European dress. Friday and Crusoe kill most of the cannibals and release the European, a Spaniard. Friday is overjoyed to discover that another of the rescued victims is his father. The four men return to Crusoes dwelling for food and rest. Crusoe prepares to welcome them into his community permanently. He sends Fridays father and the Spaniard out in a canoe to explore the nearby land. Eight days later, the sight of an approaching English ship alarms Friday. Crusoe is suspicious. Friday and Crusoe watch as eleven men take three captives onshore in a boat. Nine of the men explore the land, leaving two to guard the captives. Friday and Crusoe overpower these men and release the captives, one of whom is the captain of the ship, which has been taken in a mutiny. Shouting to the remaining mutineers from different points, Friday and Crusoe confuse and tire the men by making them run from place to place. Eventually they confront the mutineers, telling them that all may escape with their lives except the ringleader. The men surrender. Crusoe and the captain pretend that the island is an imperial territory and that the governor has spared their lives in order to send them all to England to face justice. Keeping five men as hostages, Crusoe sends the other men out to seize the ship. When the ship is brought in, Crusoe nearly faints. On December 19 , 1686 , Crusoe boards the ship to return to England. There, he finds his family is deceased except for two sisters. His widow friend has kept Crusoes money safe, and after traveling to Lisbon, Crusoe learns from the Portuguese captain that his

plantations in Brazil have been highly profitable. He arranges to sell his Brazilian lands. Wary of sea travel, Crusoe attempts to return to England by land but is threatened by bad weather and wild animals in northern Spain. Finally arriving back in England, Crusoe receives word that the sale of his plantations has been completed and that he has made a considerable fortune. After donating a portion to the widow and his sisters, Crusoe is restless and considers returning to Brazil, but he is dissuaded by the thought that he would have to become Catholic. He marries, and his wife dies. Crusoe finally departs for the East Indies as a trader in 1694 . He revisits his island, finding that the Spaniards are governing it well and that it has become a prosperous colony.
Source: www.sparknotes.com/lit/crusoe

**Summary of individual chapters are available on www.sparknotes.com/lit/crusoe ** **** Book available on http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/521 **** (original text)

First evaluation questions: 1. How essential is setting to the story? Could it have taken place anywhere else? Justify your answer. 2. Comment on language and narrative style in the chapter youve chosen to read from the original text. 3. Based on chapters 2 and 3 of The Rise of the Novel by Ian Watt and other sources, how would you explain the emergence of the novel in England as a literary genre in the first half of the 18th century? Emphasize the historical causes for this emergence. 4. According to the lecture 1 on the novel: Definitions and Distinctions (youve received it by email) what are the differences between a novel and amatory fiction? 5. Based on the ppt presentation Fiction-Robinson Crusoe you should comment on theme, plot, characters, setting and point-of-view in The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe.