Daniel Defoe
D
aniel Defoe (1660-1731) English
novelist, pamphleteer, and
journalist, is most famous as the
author of Robinson Crusoe (1719), a story
of a man shipwrecked alone on an island.
Along with Samuel Richardson, Defoe is
considered the founder of the English
novel.
Defoe was born as the son of James Foe,
a butcher of Stroke Newington. He studied
at Charles Morton's Academy, London.
Although his Nonconformist father
intended him for the ministry, Defoe
plunged into politics and trade, traveling
extensively in Europe. In the early 1680s
Defoe was a commission merchant in
Cornhill but went bankrupt in 1691. In
1684 he married Mary Tuffley; they had
two sons and five daughters.
Defoe earned fame and royal favour with
his satirical poem "The True born
Englishman" (1701). In 1702 Defoe wrote
his famous pamphlet The Shortest Way
With Dissenters . Himself a Dissenter he
mimicked the extreme attitudes of High
Anglican Tories and pretended to argue
for the extermination of all Dissenters.
Nobody was amused; Defoe was arrested
and pilloried in May 1703. While in prison
Defoe wrote a mock ode, "Hymn To The
Pillory" (1703). The poem was sold in the
streets, the audience drank to his health
while he stood in the pillory and read aloud
his verses.
When the Tories fell from power Defoe
continued to carry out intelligence work for
the Whig government. In his own days
Defoe was regarded as an unscrupulous,
diabolical journalist.
Defoe was one of the first to write stories
about believable characters in realistic
situations using simple prose. He achieved
literary immortality when in April 1719 he
published Robinson Crusoe, which was
based partly on the memoirs of voyagers
and castaways, such as Alexander Selkirk.
During the remaining years, Defoe
concentrated on books rather than
pamphlets. Among his works are Moll
Flanders(1722), A Journal Of The Plague
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Year (1722) and Captain Jack(1722) His
last great work of fiction, Roxana,
appeared in 1724. In the 1720s Defoe had
ceased to be politically controversial in his
writings, and he produced several
historical works, a guide book and The
Great Law Of Subordination Considered
(1724), an examination of the treatment of
servants.
Phenomenally industrious, Defoe
produced in his last years also works
involving the supernatural, The Political
History Of The Devil (1726) and An Essay
On The History And Reality Of Apparitions
(1727). He died on 26 April 1731, at his
lodgings in Ropemaker's Alley, Moorfields.
Robinson Crusoe (1719) - based on the
story of William Selkirk, who went to sea in
1794 under William Dampier and was put
ashore at his own request on an
uninhabited island in the Pacific, where he
survived until his rescue in 1709 by
Woodes Rogers. As a journalist Defoe
must have heard Selkirk’s story and
possibly interviewed him. Selkirk never did
go back to the Pacific island, as Defoe had
Crusoe do in two sequels. Selkirk became
known as an eccentric. Robinson Crusoe
is a mariner who takes to the sea despite
parental warnings. He suffers a number of
misfortunes at the hands of Barbary
pirates and the elements. Finally Crusoe is
shipwrecked off South America. With
salvaging needful things from the ship,
Crusoe manages to survive in the island
and come to terms with his own spiritual
listlessness. He stays in the island 28
years, two months and nineteen days.
Aided with his enterprising behaviour,
Crusoe adapts into his alien environment.
After several lone years he sees a strange
footprint in the sand - his horrified
discovery leads to encounter with savages
and their prisoners, one of whom manages
to escape. Crusoe meets later the
frightened native and christens him Man
Friday. Finally they are rescued by an
English ship bound to England. Robinson
marries and promises before end of the
novel to describe his adventures in Africa
and China.
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 Daniel Defoe

COMPREHENSION CHECK
Are the following statements true (T) or false (F)?

True False

•  1- Defoe is known particularly for his book called Robinson Crusoe.

•  2- Samuel Richardson and Defoe contributed tremendously to English novel
•  3- Defoe’s father wanted him to have a career in political studies.
•  4- Defoe engaged in trade almost for two decades.
•  5- In the early 18th century, Defoe was arrested as he was a Dissenter himself.
•  6- People did not have good opinions about Daniel Defoe when he was a
journalist.
•  7- In the last decade of his life, he focused on writing about political controversies.
•  8- The author of this passage describes Defoe to be extremely hard-working.
•  9- William Selkirk himself asked William Dampier to leave him alone on the island.
•  10- The island mentioned in Robinson Crusoe was heavily populated.
•  11- The footprint he saw in the sand was an indication to the existence of another
person in the island.
•  12- Crusoe and Man Friday were unable to get rid of the pirates.

BUILDING VOCABULARY

A- Match the words on the left with a definition on the right.

__ pamphleteer 1. killing all the members of a group of people or animals

__ Nonconformist 2. to laugh at sb/sth in an unkind way, especially by copying what
they say or do
__ plunge into 3. to criticize sb strongly in public
__ satirical 4. to experience sth unpleasant
__ mimic 5. a person who writes pamphlets on particular subjects
__ extermination 6. a poem that speaks to a person or thing or celebrates a special
event
__ pillory 7. to copy the way sb speaks, moves, behaves, etc., especially in
order to make other people laugh
__ mock 8. using satire to criticize sb/sth
__ ode 9. a member of a Protestant Church that does not follow the beliefs
and practices of the Anglican Church

B- Match the words on the left with a definition on the right.

__ unscrupulous 1.tiredness
__ diabolical 2. extremely; very
__ cease 3. without moral principles; not honest or fair
__ industrious 4. to save parts or property from a damaged ship or from a fire, etc
__ phenomenally 5. to stop happening or existing
__ uninhabited 6. extremely bad or annoying
__ salvage 7. with no people living there
__ listlessness 8. working hard; busy

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 Daniel Defoe

Idioms and other phrases

A- Match the idioms on the left with a definition on the right.

__ go bankrupt 1. to do and complete a task

__ fall from power 2. (company, business) collapse due to lack of money to what you
owe
__ carry out 3. to lose the political control of a country or an area

B- Fill in the blanks with the appropriate idioms given below.

carry out fall from power go bankrupt

1- Following the economic crisis, the government ………………… .

2- The police will ………………… an investigation into the causes of the explosion.
3- Our company couldn’t pay for its debts and eventually …………………….. .

 Expressions with the word “hand”:

give sb a hand : Can you give me a hand with these bags?

lend a hand : He is so generous. He is always willing to lend a hand.
at the hands of sb : This nation suffered years of repression at the hands of the old
regime.
fall into the hands of sb: We tried hard to defend the city, but eventually,
it fell into the hands of the enemy.
at first hand : The governor visited the area to see the devastating impact of the
flood at first hand.

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 Daniel Defoe

ANSWER KEY

COMPREHENSION CHECK

1-T 2-T 3-F 4-F 5-F 6-T 7-F 8-T 9-T 10-F 11-T 12-F

BUILDING VOCABULARY

A-

1- extermination 6- ode
2- mock 7- mimic
3- pillory 8- satirical
4- plunge into 9- Nonconformist
5- pamphleteer

B-

1- listlessness 5- cease
2- phenomenally 6- diabolical
3- unscrupulous 7- uninhabited
4- salvage 8- industrious

Idioms and other phrases

A-

1- carry out
2- go bankrupt
3- fall from power

B-

1- fell from power

2- carried out
3- went bankrupt

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