Daniel Defoe's marks the birth of the modern novel as an art form distinct from other literary forms,

which shows the interplay of the individual and society. The picaresque novel was defined as an adventurous story of a rogue's life which through its episodic account of wanderings contains a satiric view of society. It originated in the Spanish and French picaresque novels, The English picaresque strain is represented by the many rogue- histories, chiefly of notorious criminals, a highly popular form of literature to which Defoe himself contributed accounts of Jack Sheppard and Jonathan Wilde. Defoe the author of picaresque novels and novels of adventures, is the writer who was most aware of the individualistic spirit of the middle- class man.Based on a picaresque strings of events his novels add a deeper insight into the psychology of the main characters His main preoccupation was the economic status of man. The ideal pursued by Defoeesque characters is their economic success. Everything else, including morality and conscience, is subordinated to this aim His heroes and heroines all make good, all reach affluence. They might be called stories of successful crime, the success is obtained at the price of a reformed life. Life is considered in terms of polarities: virtue vs, vice, good v evil.Poverty is the sin of Defoe's characters : it is better to steal than beg; Their choices are momentary, with immediate consequences. . His novelist's style was deeply influenced by his journalistic experience The narrative perspective of Defoe's novels is narrowed to that of the protagonist. The voice that speaks offers the perspective of a life that has mastered its vicissitudes. The tone of the first person narator suggests, the optimism of the Puritans The first person narrative of Defoe's novels is alert, captivating the reader's attention through an accurate powerof observation and gift of descriptjon. Defoe's technique, is called circumstantial realism

The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, of York, Mariner is a popular voyage-adventure tale. Defoe's protagonist is able to do without society due to the training and skills that he had learnt in society. Survival is his purpose. The message of the book is reassuring and inspiring: man can ultimately become his own sustaining force all he has to do is keep his mind in a proper condition. The Puritan sustains his morality by reading the Bible. The dialogue with God is both a means of salvation and psychic therapeutics. By the attained meditative state, man can transcend his animal state and create for himself a secondary, better world of abstract thoughts and feelings.. Theme Religion Robinson Crusoe is first

rebellious, then atones for his sins, and then converts himself and others to Christianity. The character is also pretty similar to a Biblical figure who had his faith tested through many trials and a tremendous amount of suffering.Wealth Crusoe is very interested in commerce, trade, and the accumulation of wealth He makes money in Africa and also in the sugar plantations , in Brazil Society and class Robinson Crusoe's family is of the middle class. The novel is concerned with what makes a society. We begin with Crusoe alone on an island and gradually we begin to see the social order come together. First, there are his animal friends (Poll and company), followed by Friday, the Spaniard, Friday's father, and then the mutineering Englishmen.. Man and the natural world Crusoe believes himself to be at the head of the social order. When he looks at the natural world, he sees its utility and the value of that. Instead of opining on the beauty of things, he notices production value. He also very much believes in the concept of private property.Rules and Order It is a novel that is very interested in hierarchy At the top is God next up Crusoe. He rules all that is under him. His moral authority and his allegiance to God gives him dominion over other people, places, and things. Family Crusoe must sort out his relationship to his biological father and his spiritual father (God)On the island, Crusoe must learn how to manage his little family:Fridayand friends. Upon his return to England,we notice that he takes a wife.. Slavery When Crusoe heads to Africa, it is to purchase slaves. He himself becomes a slave and then soon becomes a slave owner.. Moll F1anders narrates a female-picaro's autobiography. It is the story of a seventy year old woman who had to fight poverty, to move from husband to hushand, who managed to preserve her sanity.Moll represents the active type of picaro (the one mastering his own destiny) The novel lacks form, it is made up of a string of events: it starts and goes on to the end.The protagonist is not seen in stable relationships with other characters. The novel was conceived as a study into the social and economic conditions for sexual union as well as into the question of why and how women should maintain their dignity.Theme Woman and Femininity Women have only got a few options in life. They can be a wife, a mistress, a servant, a criminal, or prostitute. Moll moves between categories because she perseveres, but also because she is unusually lucky, and skilled in manipulation.Sex IWithin marriage, and outside that institution, women like Moll trade it, whether consciously or unconsciously, for housing and food. Some women even make it their profession. Sex is definitely not always associated with love, and sometimes not even with pleasure. For women, that's usually getting pregnant; for men, it's usually losing money. Wealth Money is the driving force Moll Flanders both the book and the character Moll needs money in order to achieve freedom from the servant life, and once freedom has been achieved, she needs money to support that freedom, let alone enjoy it. Money is what pushes Moll to make all of her decisions, good and bad. Criminality Adultery, bigamy, prostitution, gambling, thievery, murder, lying, and incest are all committed in Moll Flander. Whether the characters get caught or not, nearly all of them have engaged in some kind of criminal activity or deceit. Other theme : Identity (None of the people in Moll Flanders are who they say they are; We never learn Moll's real name, even when she's in prison and about to die), Society and class (The strict rules of the society help to explain Moll's downward spiral into prostitution and thievery. She's trapped in a society that gives her few options But the rules also help to explain just what

keeps Moll going).Morality and etics (Moll Flanders can be read as a story with one big moral: be good. And when you can't be good, be clever.)