A.

The eighteenth century is the first period in which literacy rates, printing, and the
production of paper made reading a truly popular occupation. What effects do
you think this had on the English novel?
Due to this trend, daily newspapers, journals and magazines came to be and people had
reading as a main occupation; the periodical essay was born in order to entertain the
readers on a larger scale as they were witty, accessible and enjoyable. Thus the next
very important step taken in society was to have printed novels and modern novels as a
genre. With the aid of English Copyright Act which protected authors and their work and
of legal restraints on printing becoming looser, writers such as Defoe, Sterne or
Richardson could see the light of the day in terms of literature. In time, people who would
desire to write for money in order to satisfy the new literary market also emerged, showing
that a new form of culture in terms of literature had replaced the old one.

B. How does Crusoe’s individual life correspond to England’s history as an imperial-

colonial nation?
Crusoe in his story was very keen on exploring and his way of surviving through all his
challenges illustrate the economic and colonial aspects of an expanding British Empire:
Crusoe begins his adventure of escaping the boring life as a diplomat by becoming a
trader in order to raise money and develop, and when he ends up shipwrecked on a
deserted island he takes initiative and recreates civilization and all its patterns in
accordance to his memory but also to his own rules and views to which religious elements
are added, stating that God helps those who help themselves. As time passes for the
main character, it proves that his way and views are correct as after his rescue, Crusoe
leaves behind a fully civilized and colonized island and all by his own work and efforts, a
parallel to the symbol and expectations of the British Empire at the time.

C. 15. How are “masculinity” and “femininity” defined through Richardson’s novels?
Richardson’s “Pamela” had a strong impact on creating a balance in mentality when it
comes to gender roles, as female characters in fiction tended to be marginalized. Having
a main heroine who insisted on keeping her innocence in spite of her master’s attacks
intrigued that day’s society’s views. The impact was even greater coming from a male
writer, as such ideas would often come from female writers. He made iconic characters
that followed morality in order to make an example out of them to society. While women
in his novels held their ground, the men, out of respect, after multiple episodes of abuse,
ended up offering love and marriage, ending in an honorable conclusion. Thus, mainly in
his works, a woman’s virtue was her virginity and her reward of it was marriage, which
made it into a rigid form of ideal and moral values of a woman.
 D. 19. How do Fielding’s representations of gender roles differ from those of Defoe’s
and Richardson’s?

His works included mostly males as main characters, thus some may say that he
was a writer who focused on “masculinity” while his rival, Richardson, focused on
“femininity” due to this but it is not necessarily true. Fielding creates narrations that
depict a comical sense of gender roles, making parodies of Richardson’s works.
Richardson attempted to create perfect, unrealistically flawless characters while
Fielding decided that he needed to put on paper characters that are imperfect, as
it made them “human”. He writes female characters by giving them the benefit of
the doubt, allowing them to decide whether they should make promiscuous
decisions and yet still hold on to their sense of honesty, something Pamela didn’t
even consider in Richardson’s novel.

E. 21. Is Tristram Shandy a sentimental novel? Argument.

Actually, Tristam Shandy is an 8 volume experimental English novel which fell under the
parody genre or - more accurately said - an anti-novel published to ridicule the existing
conventions to the novel. Up to that point, plot tended to have a beginning, a middle and
an end but Laurence Sterne wanted to illustrate how relating to time, space and reality in
a linear form was ridiculous. For example, the author begins the story with the main
character’s conception, however he is finally born only on the fourth volume, ridiculing the
autobiographical novel. Tristam Shandy is meant to stand out also for its self-conscious
narrator who takes delight in lack of consistency or coherence in the narration.

F. 26. Frankenstein’s creature is referred to as a “monster” throughout. What

constitutes “monstrosity” in this text? Are there any other “monsters” in the novel?
The term “monster” is a way to describe someone or something being “inhuman”, to lack
humanity, therefore estrangement. The main character, Victor, lables the Creature as a
monster due to its grotesque physical features, but what he was unaware of was that the
creature had more moral values than Victor. Victor excludes himself from society to follow
his views and dreams, and while humans are social beings, Victor is illustrated as
estranged, a form of monster while comparing him to the social culture of everyone else;
he estranges himself so much that he ends up accepting a side of him which allows
murder.
 G. 33. Can Evelina be read as a buildungsroman?
“Evelina can be read and viewed as a bildungsroman due to its content. It highlights the
story of a young girl who lives in a rural area and hardly has any education up to the age
of 17 when she finally gets the chance to see the world and enter the fashion industry
where she develops and grows steadily through hardships and frustrations until she finally
meets the right people to guide her towards the right direction towards her desires and
goals.

H. 34. Why is Austen’s fiction labelled as “novels of manners”?

Austen’s fiction is labelled as “novels of manners” due to the fact that despite
having topics that fall into the category of romance and/or friendship and emotion,
Austen points out society’s faults at that day by ridiculing it. The discrepancies
between social classes (showing that not everything is at it seems) and the social
norms that need to be followed are criticized in most of her novel. For example, in
one of her most famous novel “Pride and Prejudice”, Elizabeth, who was born in a
middle class family later in the novel falls in love with Mr. Darcy who was a part of
the higher class, fact which was hardly accepted by society.