What does Moll Flanders represent?

The major recurrent theme in the novel is that of greed — a greed which leads Moll to prostitution, thievery, and moral disintegration. Moll sees people as commodities — her relationships with them as business transactions. Although she is in love with the eldest brother, she has few qualms about taking money from him.

What is the narrative technique in Moll Flanders?

First Person (Central Narrator) With the exception of the Preface, all of Moll Flanders is told by, well, Moll Flanders of all people. That puts this book squarely in the first person point-of-view camp. In fact, even he Preface itself is told from a first person point of view.

How is realism portrayed in Moll Flanders?

In his novel Moll Flanders, Daniel Defoe portrays realism through a first person narrative. It is through her narrative that the reader really gets an impression of what life in eighteenth century England and the American colonies was like, both from the side of the rich and the poor.

What are the main themes in Moll Flanders?

Three recurring themes in Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe are greed, vanity, and repentance. Theme is defined as an underlying or essential subject of artistic representation. These three themes play an important role in the development of the story of Moll Flanders.

How is morality represented in Moll Flanders?

Defoe draws a direct parallel between crime and poverty in Moll Flanders and ultimately argues that morality, like many things, is a luxury that the lower class often cannot afford.

In what sense is Moll Flanders a picaresque novel?

Moll Flanders is considered an example of a picaresque novel. These novels usually employ a first-person narrator recounting the adventures of a scoundrel or low-class adventurer who moves from place to place and from one social environment to another in an effort to survive.

What type of novel is Moll Flanders?

Novel
Picaresque novelFantasy FictionAdventure fiction
Moll Flanders: An Authoritative Text, Contexts, Criticism/Genres

What does the narrator tell the reader to expect in the story Moll Flanders?

What does the narrator tell the reader to expect in the story Moll Flanders? ☛ In the opening pages of the book, the narrator tells the reader to expect a story about a woman who has lived a life of sin and crime but who eventually “dies a Penitent.” The narrator says that.

Why Defoe is considered the father of realism?

Daniel Defoe has frequently been considered the father of realism in regards to his novel, Robinson Crusoe. In the preface of the novel, the events are described as being “just history of fact” (Defoe and Richetti ). This sets the tone for the story to be presented as factual, while it is in of itself truly fiction.

How does Moll Flanders change as a character over the course of the novel?

Moll is never really developed as a character, but she is a survivor, and her character is filled with energy and determination. She isn’t “evil,” but she is moral either. It’s all about money and security, but once those things are realized and she feels secure……. she allows her goodness to shine through.

Is Moll Flanders a satire?

Moll Flanders is not a pure tragedy or pure comedy. On the one hand, it conveys a tragic and realistic view of life; on the other hand, tragic situations are recounted in a satirical way. Moll’s struggles to live, her subsequent marriages, her crimes for money are all expressed through parody.

What are the features of picaresque novel?

But most picaresque novels incorporate several defining characteristics: satire, comedy, sarcasm, acerbic social criticism; first-person narration with an autobiographical ease of telling; an outsider protagonist-seeker on an episodic and often pointless quest for renewal or justice.

What is the genre of Moll Flanders?

Is Moll Flanders a feminist novel?

Is Moll Flanders an early feminist novel? The most striking and unusual features about Moll Flanders as a female protagonist are her intelligence, her practical competence, her self-sufficiency, and her defiance of conventional feminine roles and mores.

How is Moll Flanders a picaresque novel?

What is the main idea of realism in literature?

Literary realism is a literary movement that represents reality by portraying mundane, everyday experiences as they are in real life. It depicts familiar people, places, and stories, primarily about the middle and lower classes of society.

Who is called the father of realism?

Henrik Ibsen was a Norwegian playwright in the 19th century who became well-known throughout the world for his significant influence on decades of authors and playwrights after him. Considered the father of realism, he holds a place in history as a founder of modernism in theatrical works.

What is peculiar of characterization in Moll Flanders?

Moll’s vanity and greed are the main focus of the characterization in the novel. Quite early in her life she has an all-consuming desire to become a gentlewoman, a fact which was almost impossible for a lower-class woman because of the rigid class lines in England in that period.

What is the character analysis of Moll Flanders?

Character Analysis Moll Flanders. Moll, the heroine of the book, was born in Newgate Prison and abandoned at about a year-and-a-half. She was a forceful, persistent, resolute young girl who obtained her way in most things. She was attractive and so vain about her appearance that she was easily convinced men were in love with her. Moll often…

When did Daniel Defoe write Moll Flanders?

He published his most famous work, Robinson Crusoe, in 1719; however, the book was originally published with Robinson Crusoe as the author as well as the title character and was received much like a travel journal. Defoe wrote Moll Flanders in 1722, but the book was published without an author and was assumed to be an autobiography.

What does the bank of money symbolize in Moll Flanders?

Moll keeps a secret “Bank of Money” throughout most of Moll Flanders, and it symbolizes security and Moll’s ability to care for herself. The bank of money shrinks and grows during Moll’s long life…

What is the setting of Moll Flanders fortunes?

Full Title: The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders, Etc. Setting: England and the American colonies during the 17th century Great Balls of Fire.