Daniel Defoe (1660-1731) PDF

Daniel Defoe (1660-1731) Performer Shaping Ideas Marina Spiazzi, Marina Tavella, Margaret Layton © 2020  Daniel Defoe 1. Defoe’s life Born into a family of Dissenters in 1660;...

Daniel Defoe (1660-1731) Performer Shaping Ideas Marina Spiazzi, Marina Tavella, Margaret Layton © 2020  Daniel Defoe 1. Defoe’s life Born into a family of Dissenters in 1660; studied modern languages, economics, geography, besides the traditional subjects; started to write in Whig papers; his greatest achievement was ‘The Review’; Queen Anne did not like his critical attitude and had him arrested, tried and imprisoned. Performer Shaping Ideas  Daniel Defoe 1. Defoe’s life Made three appearances in the pillory which turned into triumph when his friend threw him flowers; denied his Whig ideas and became a secret agent for the new government; started to write novels when was about sixty; regarded as the father of the English novel. Ron Embleton (1930-1988), Daniel Defoe. Private Collection. Performer Shaping Ideas  Daniel Defoe 2. Defoe’s works Robinson Crusoe The story of a shipwreck on a desert island. (1719) Captain Singleton The voyage story of a captain who becomes (1720) a pirate. Colonel Jack The story of a pickpocket who repents. (1722) The adventures of a woman who becomes a Moll Flanders thief and a prostitute to survive but finally (1722) leads a respectable life. Roxana The adventures of a high-society woman who (1724) exploits her beauty to obtain what she wants. Performer Shaping Ideas  Daniel Defoe 3. Defoe’s novels: structure Fictional autobiographies; a series of episodes and adventures; unifying presence of a single hero; lack of a coherent plot. Performer Shaping Ideas  Daniel Defoe 3. Defoe’s novels: structure Retrospective first-person narration; the author’s point of view coincides with the main character’s; characters presented through their actions. Performer Shaping Ideas  Daniel Defoe 4. Robinson Crusoe: the story Born in York in 1632 of a German father and an English mother, Robinson Kreutznaer, anglicised Crusoe, leaves home at the age of 19; he travels around the world to make his fortune; his first voyage leads him to Guinea and then back to England. Performer Shaping Ideas  Daniel Defoe 4. Robinson Crusoe: the story He becomes the owner of a plantation in Brazil and sets out on a voyage to Africa to get more slaves; during this journey he is shipwrecked on a desert island where he will remain for 28 years; when he returns to England, he discovers that his plantation in Brazil has made him very rich. Performer Shaping Ideas  Daniel Defoe 5. Robinson Crusoe: the island The ideal place for Robinson to prove his qualities. Robinson organises a primitive empire. Not a return to nature, but a chance to exploit and dominate nature. Performer Shaping Ideas  Daniel Defoe 6. Robinson Crusoe: Friday Friday is the first native character to be portrayed in the English novel. Attractive and lively, he becomes the symbol of the colonised. Robinson rescues him, teaches him the word ‘master’, Western culture and to read the Bible. Performer Shaping Ideas  Daniel Defoe 7. Robinson Crusoe: the middle-class hero Robinson is restless, refuses the model provided by his father and wants to find his identity. An act of transgression, of disobedience. His isolation on the island after the shipwreck. Pragmatic, individualistic outlook, rational approach to reality. Performer Shaping Ideas  Daniel Defoe 8. Robinson Crusoe: the style First-person narration; clear and precise details; description of the primary qualities of objects; solidity, extension and number simple, matter-of-fact and concrete language. Performer Shaping Ideas  Daniel Defoe 9. Robinson Crusoe: the individual and society The society Robinson creates on the island is not an alternative to but an exaltation of 18th-century England, its ideals of mobility, material productiveness and individualism. Though God is the prime cause of everything, the individual can shape his destiny through action. Performer Shaping Ideas  Daniel Defoe 10. Robinson Crusoe: a spiritual autobiography Full of religious references to God, sin, providence, salvation. The hero reads the Bible to find comfort and guidance. Defoe explores the conflict between economic motivation and spiritual salvation. Performer Shaping Ideas